NESTORE · Project

AI-Powered Personal Coach That Keeps Older Adults Healthy and Independent at Home

healthTestedTRL 5

Imagine your parent or grandparent having a smart companion — part fitness coach, part nutritionist, part social organizer — that actually understands how they feel and what they need. NESTORE built exactly that: a system combining wearable sensors, a decision engine, and a friendly virtual coach that nudges older adults toward better eating, more exercise, sharper thinking, and staying socially connected. Think of it like a personal trainer who also happens to be a caring friend, packaged into an app and a small physical device that sits at home. An 18-partner team across 7 countries spent over 3 years co-designing it directly with elderly users.

By the numbers

consortium partners across Europe

countries represented in the consortium

EUR 4,977,000

EU contribution to the research

total project deliverables produced

SMEs in the consortium

industry partners involved

The business problem

What needed solving

Europe's population is ageing rapidly, and the cost of elderly care is soaring. Care providers struggle to keep older adults physically active, mentally sharp, nutritionally healthy, and socially connected — all at once — without massive staffing costs. Current solutions tend to address only one dimension (fitness OR nutrition OR cognitive health) rather than the whole person.

The solution

What was built

NESTORE built a multi-dimensional coaching system including: a Decision Support System prototype that analyses senior behaviour and sets personalised wellbeing targets; tangible sensor interfaces and wearable monitoring devices; a conversational AI coach with emotion recognition; serious games for cognitive and physical engagement; a social interaction platform; and personalised activity pathways covering nutrition, exercise, cognition, and social life — totalling 30 deliverables.

Audience

Who needs this

Senior care facility operators looking to reduce staffing costs while improving resident outcomesHealth insurers seeking preventive wellness programs for policyholders over 65Digital health companies building elderly care platforms that need validated AI coaching technologyMunicipal social services departments managing home care for ageing populationsPharmaceutical companies developing companion digital therapeutics for age-related conditions

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Senior Care & Assisted Living

mid-size

Target: Residential care providers and home care agencies

If you are a senior care provider dealing with rising costs of monitoring residents and keeping them physically and mentally active — this project developed a multi-domain coaching system with wearable sensors, a decision support engine, and personalized activity pathways that can reduce staff burden while improving resident wellbeing. The system was co-designed with actual elderly users across a consortium of 18 partners in 7 countries, covering nutrition, physical activity, cognitive training, and social engagement.

Health Insurance & Managed Care

enterprise

Target: Health insurers and wellness program managers

If you are a health insurer spending heavily on preventable hospitalisations among policyholders over 65 — this project built a personalized coaching platform backed by a Decision Support System that monitors seniors across physical, nutritional, cognitive, and social dimensions. The EUR 4,977,000 research effort produced serious games for cognitive engagement, tangible sensor interfaces, and a social platform — all designed to keep older adults healthier longer and reduce acute care episodes.

Digital Health & Wellness Technology

any

Target: Healthtech companies building elderly care products

If you are a digital health company looking for validated technology to integrate into your elderly care product line — NESTORE produced 30 deliverables including a Decision Support System prototype, advanced conversational coach with emotion recognition, serious games for cognitive engagement, and a social interaction platform. The technology was validated for usability and acceptability with real users and is backed by 8 universities and 3 research institutes, making it a strong candidate for licensing or co-development.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to license or adopt this technology?

NESTORE was funded as a Research and Innovation Action with EUR 4,977,000 in EU contribution across 18 partners. Licensing terms would need to be negotiated directly with the coordinator (Politecnico di Milano) and relevant IP-holding partners. As a publicly funded project, some results may be available under favourable terms.

Can this scale to thousands of users in a care network?

The system was designed with scalability in mind — it uses wearable and environmental sensors feeding into a centralized Decision Support System. The 30 deliverables include a social platform and supporting apps, suggesting the architecture supports multi-user deployment. However, large-scale commercial deployment would likely require further engineering and infrastructure work.

Who owns the intellectual property?

IP is distributed across the 18-partner consortium, coordinated by Politecnico di Milano. With 5 industry partners and 4 SMEs in the consortium, there is likely a defined exploitation plan. Specific licensing arrangements should be discussed with the coordinator.

Does this meet healthcare regulatory requirements?

The project focused on wellness coaching and health promotion rather than medical diagnosis or treatment, which may simplify regulatory requirements in many jurisdictions. The system was validated for usability and acceptability with older users. Specific medical device classification would depend on the deployment context and claims made.

How long would integration take?

NESTORE produced a first prototype of the Decision Support System, tangible interfaces, a social platform, and supporting apps — all as separate but integrated components. Integration into existing care platforms would depend on the target architecture, but the modular design with distinct pathways for nutrition, physical activity, cognition, and social interaction allows phased adoption.

Was this actually tested with real elderly users?

Yes. Co-design research was adopted throughout the project, meaning older adults were involved from the start. The project explicitly aimed for thorough system validation with respect to usability, acceptability, and effectiveness. Tangible interfaces and coaching interactions were co-designed directly with users.

What ongoing support or development is available?

The project ended in February 2021. The consortium included 8 universities and 3 research organisations who may continue related research. The 4 SMEs and 5 industry partners may offer commercial support or further development. The project website at nestore-coach.eu may have updated contact information.

Consortium

Who built it

The NESTORE consortium is a strong mix of 18 partners from 7 countries, led by Politecnico di Milano — one of Europe's top technical universities. With 8 universities and 3 research institutes providing deep scientific expertise, plus 5 industry partners (including 4 SMEs) ensuring practical relevance, the consortium has a 28% industry ratio. This balance means the technology was developed with real-world deployment in mind, though it remains closer to validated research than a commercial product. The geographic spread across Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, and the UK gives broad European market perspective. For a business looking to adopt or license this technology, the presence of SME partners suggests there may be commercially-minded parties ready to discuss exploitation.

POLITECNICO DI MILANOCoordinator · IT
CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHEparticipant · IT
SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITYparticipant · UK
AGE PLATFORM EUROPEparticipant · BE
UNIVERSITAT DE BARCELONAparticipant · ES
LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITYparticipant · UK
UNIVERSITAT ZURICHparticipant · CH
FUNDACIO EURECATparticipant · ES
HAUTE ECOLE SPECIALISEE DE SUISSE OCCIDENTALEparticipant · CH
ROPARDO SRLparticipant · RO
FUNDACIO SALUT I ENVELLIMENTparticipant · ES
FONDAZIONE POLITECNICO DI MILANOthirdparty · IT
TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITEIT DELFTparticipant · NL

How to reach the team

Politecnico di Milano (Italy) — reach out to the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering for licensing inquiries

Order a report on this consortium See POLITECNICO DI MILANO profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore licensing NESTORE's coaching technology or connect with the research team? SciTransfer can arrange an introduction and help evaluate the business fit for your organisation.

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