Table of Contents

Introduction

As we move deeper into our project, each conversation and technical refinement brings us closer to building a truly impactful solution. This week, in addition to enhancing our website to make it as appealing and intuitive as possible, we had two significant discussions:

1 - A meeting with our project coordinator, which helped us smooth out some rough edges, rethink critical aspects of our approach, and validate our current direction. After comparing our ideas with the insights we’ve gathered from stakeholders over the past few weeks, we emerged with a clearer, more refined vision—ensuring that our solution remains well-defined and centered on supporting caregivers through real-time elderly tracking.

2 - An eye-opening conversation with the Sapadores Firefighters, who operate Lisbon’s tele-assistance system. This discussion shed light on existing monitoring solutions, their limitations, and key areas for improvement, giving us valuable technical and operational insights.

Both of these meetings reinforced the importance of bridging the gap between existing solutions and the real needs of caregivers, making our system more than just a monitoring tool—but a comprehensive support system that enhances both safety and peace of mind.

As in previous weeks, we also continued gathering insights from organizations that work directly with caregivers and elderly individuals. These conversations have been essential in validating our solution, identifying critical pain points, and ensuring our system meets real-world needs.

Our Interviews

Throughout this process and for the past several weeks, we have conducted multiple interviews with organizations, professionals, and stakeholders involved in elderly care. These discussions have provided invaluable insights that continue to shape and refine our solution.

Below is a list of key interviews we’ve conducted so far. Click on any of them to access the full interviews’ takeaways:

Week 1

• Meeting with a Pharmaceutical Coordinator - A discussion on the feasibility of an automated pillbox with chatbot assistance, highlighting the need for scientific validation, user-specific adaptation, and a balance between chatbot complexity and usability

• Meeting with the Social Worker at a Day Center – An exploration of the challenges informal caregivers face, questioning the effectiveness of medication reminders and highlighting the need for non-intrusive, user-friendly monitoring solutions

Week 2

• Meeting with the Social Worker at a Day Center - A conversation emphasizing caregivers’ need for real-time well-being updates, the ineffectiveness of medication-focused solutions, and the potential value of wearable tracking for seniors prone to wandering

• Interview with the Social Worker from an Home Care Service – An insight into the emotional strain on caregivers, elderly resistance to new assistance, and the potential of discreet location-tracking wearables and AI-powered chatbots for caregiving support

Week 3

• Interview with a Social Worker from a Home Care Service – A discussion on the dangers of long unsupervised periods for elderly individuals, reinforcing the need for real-time monitoring solutions to prevent unnoticed incidents

• Interview with a Representative from an Alzheimer’s Association – An alarming overview of elderly isolation and dementia-related risks, stressing the importance of scalable remote monitoring solutions to support informal caregivers and care organizations

• Interview with a Social Worker from a Home Care Organization – A focus on staff shortages, the difficulty of detecting health emergencies in real-time, and the need for monitoring systems to bridge gaps between caregiver visits

• Interview with a Social Worker from a Home Care Service – An analysis of the accessibility and usability barriers in existing elderly monitoring tools, underscoring the need for intuitive, affordable, and real-time fall detection and wandering alerts

Week 4

• Interview with an Engineer from the Firefighters – An in-depth look at Lisbon’s emergency tele-assistance programs, revealing key limitations in current technology and highlighting opportunities for more advanced, caregiver-focused wearables with real-time monitoring

• Interview with a Social Worker from a Home Care Service – An unbiased discussion that reinforced the need for simple, reliable solutions to address falls, wandering behavior and emergency communication challenges faced by elderly individuals and their caregivers

Week 5

• Conversation with Nuno after the seminar – A valuable conversation with embedded systems expert Nuno Ferreira, where we clarified technical doubts, explored integration strategies for our solution and secured ongoing support to guide our project’s development

Week 7

• Second Meeting with the Firefighters – A follow-up discussion that focused on improving fall detection accuracy, reducing false positives and refining device design — leading to key decisions like using an indoor-optimized, bracelet-style wearable with fast alert capabilities

People and Associations We Spoke With

Interview with an Engineer from the Firefighters

(All the members were present at this interview)

Midweek, we had the opportunity to speak with the chief engineer from the firefighters, who are responsible for managing the city’s tele-assistance program. This system, overseen by Lisbon’s social services, provides elderly individuals with emergency wristbands that allow them to call for help when needed.

Here’s a breakdown of how the system works:

• The wristband – A simple, battery-powered, water-resistant device with an emergency button. If pressed, the user is connected to the fire department, which operates 24/7.

• User profiles – Each individual enrolled in the program has a dedicated file with key information:

  • Health condition & autonomy level

  • Family support network

  • Frequency of visits

  • Clinical details & emergency contacts

• Data-driven insights – With this information, the system can identify cases of social isolation, pinpoint users at higher risk, and track service efficiency.

Despite its usefulness, the system has several inefficiencies:

• Data access is slow and outdated, making it difficult for different departments to collaborate effectively.

• Family resistance is a major issue—while some elderly individuals are comfortable wearing the wristband, family members often object, particularly in cases where the senior is already struggling with autonomy loss.

• Limited technological capabilities – The current wristbands lack fall detection, location tracking, or integrated communication, making it difficult to provide real-time assistance beyond the emergency button function.

A potential alternative platform (Pegil) was suggested, offering differentiated access for different stakeholders, which could improve data management efficiency. Key Takeaways & Areas for Improvement

Our discussion revealed several critical areas where technology could enhance elderly care:

• Automated risk assessment – Evaluating the severity of a user’s condition to prioritize emergency responses.

• Geographic coverage analysis – Mapping out which areas need better support and intervention.

• Better monitoring of assistance services – Tracking how often users receive visits and whether remote assistance could help bridge the gaps.

• A more advanced wearable device – A wristband with fall detection, real-time alerts, and direct caregiver communication (similar to Helpphone but with improved features).

These insights strongly aligned with our project’s direction, reinforcing the need for a more sophisticated, user-friendly, and accessible tracking system — one that not only monitors but also actively supports caregivers in their daily challenges.

Interview with a Social Worker from a Home Care Service

(João Carlos conducted this interview)

For this conversation, we intentionally did not reveal our project upfront, instead allowing the discussion to flow naturally so we could uncover unbiased insights about the main challenges caregivers face.

The association highlighted several pressing concerns:

• Fall risks – One of their biggest worries is the high frequency of falls, especially among elderly individuals living alone. Without real-time detection, it can take hours before someone is alerted.

• Wandering behavior – Many elderly individuals, particularly those with dementia or Alzheimer’s, leave home unnoticed, creating safety hazards. Families often struggle to track their whereabouts.

• Communication barriers in emergencies – When an elderly person needs help, they often find it difficult to reach out—whether due to physical limitations, memory issues, or unfamiliarity with mobile devices.

• Unclear caregiver roles – Families frequently request services outside of a caregiver’s responsibilities, leading to confusion and inefficiencies in providing essential care.

These challenges once again emphasized the importance of technological solutions that are easy to use, enhance user safety, and provide caregivers with quick, reliable information when needed.

Interview with a Social Worker from an Elderly-Care Organization

(João Carlos conducted this interview)

The interview with this organization reinforced many of the same concerns while also bringing up new points:

• Lack of continuous supervision – Many elderly individuals spend long hours without any direct monitoring, increasing the risk of unnoticed emergencies.

• Unauthorized exits & tracking difficulties – Elderly individuals frequently wander off, yet there is no efficient way to track their exact location. This often results in police or community intervention to bring them home safely.

• Emergency communication struggles – Many users cannot effectively communicate when they need help, either due to cognitive decline or difficulty using modern technology.

The discussion confirmed the urgent need for a simple, intuitive, and highly responsive system that enables real-time tracking, automated alerts, and an easy way for caregivers to stay connected with their loved ones.

Week Recap

This week’s discussions reinforced the real-world challenges that caregivers and elderly individuals face daily. The need for a smarter, more responsive monitoring system has never been clearer.

As we move forward, our priorities will be:

• Refining our wearable device design – Ensuring it includes fall detection, GPS tracking, and a user-friendly alert system.

• Enhancing caregiver communication tools – Making it easier for caregivers to receive updates, respond to emergencies, and stay connected in real time.

• Testing and iterating our solution – Using the insights we’ve gathered to build prototypes and refine functionalities based on real user needs.

Each step we take is bringing us closer to a solution that truly makes a difference—and with every new conversation, we gain the confidence that we are on the right path.

Stay tuned for next week’s updates as we continue to push forward!