What would it cost to license or integrate this coaching platform?+
The project received EUR 3,704,000 in EU funding under an RIA (Research and Innovation Action) scheme, meaning results are typically available under favorable licensing terms. Specific licensing costs would need to be negotiated with the coordinator, Universiteit Twente. As publicly funded research, the platform architecture and open agent design suggest accessibility for commercial partners.
Can this scale to thousands of elderly users simultaneously?+
The final technical prototype integrated all components — shared knowledge base, sensing, dialogue, and embodied agents — into a fully working system. However, the project focused on validating the concept through iterative prototypes rather than large-scale deployment. Scaling to thousands of concurrent users would require additional infrastructure work.
Who owns the intellectual property and can we license it?+
As an EU-funded RIA project, IP typically stays with the consortium partners who generated it. The consortium includes 8 partners across 6 countries (BE, DK, ES, FR, NL, UK), with Universiteit Twente as coordinator. Any licensing arrangement would need to involve the relevant IP holders within the consortium.
Has this been tested with real elderly users?+
Yes. The project ran 3 iterative functional prototypes specifically designed for gathering user input. The initial prototype used Wizard-of-Oz methods, the second focused on user experience, and the third tested acceptance and usability of advanced features including agent animations and behaviors.
Can we add our own coaching modules to the platform?+
The platform was explicitly designed as an open agent architecture — not confined to a fixed number of coaches. It enables developers and innovators to introduce new coaches that provide additional expertise and services. The system was built to connect with FIWARE and universAAL communities for ecosystem expansion.
What health domains does the coaching cover?+
The virtual coaches cover physical, social, cognitive and mental wellbeing support. The system includes short-term and long-term behavior analysis, behavior change detection, and a shared knowledge base that coordinates advice across all coaches. Each coach has distinct expertise, personality and coaching style.
Is this compliant with health data regulations?+
Based on available project data, the system includes a shared knowledge base for collecting and retrieving user health information. The consortium includes 4 universities and 2 research organizations, suggesting academic rigor in design. However, specific GDPR or medical device regulation compliance details would need to be confirmed with the coordinator.
