SilverCompanion

The aging population presents significant challenges for Europe's future. In 2018, about 75 million adults in Europe experienced social isolation, according to a European Commission Joint Research Centre report. Additionally, 28 million seniors live alone, accounting for 32% of the EU population aged 65 and over, as reported by Eurostat in 2023. Loneliness and social isolation adversely affect quality of life, especially for older adults with declining health, mental, and physical capabilities. Artificial intelligence holds great promise for breakthroughs to combat elderly loneliness and isolation is essential. In 2023, the WHO stated that timely provision of assistive technology can enhance older people's independence and safety, allowing them to live at home longer, therefore reducing the need for long term care and improving their health related quality of life (HRQoL). However, many proposed solutions are too complex or expensive for widespread implementation. Current financial pressures on healthcare systems demand cost-effective solutions that free healthcare professionals to focus on more critical cases and ensure affordability for elderly. The goal of SilverCompanion consortium is to develop an advanced AI-based social companion featuring an AR avatar. SilverCompanion should work on low-tech and smart-tech solutions - from button phones, to tablets and smart TVs. The AI core will combine all the data coming in and will proactively approach senior, while at the same time will feed relevant information to healthcare, social care, family and carers, government and other stakeholders databases and interfaces, and issue alters and notifications, when needed. It would improve the following of care plan, quality of life of elderly and their independence, at the same time it would free up resources for carers. SilverCompanion is looking to in integrate cutting-edge technology, including artificial intelligence, natural language processing, large language models, rule and constraint-based reasoning, augmented reality, and more in a novel way. This will enable the companion system to learn from elderly daily patterns and behavioural changes, as and offer empathetic bi-directional communication to reduce loneliness and support elderly.