CO-HUMANICS: Co-presence between humans and Interactive Companions for seniors

Loneliness due to physical distance and limited mobility is a major challenge for older people. The aim of this research project is to enable seniors to communicate and interact with distant relatives or friends in their homes as if they were present (co-presence). For this purpose, two different support systems are investigated: Avatars and assistance robots. How to improve the user experience and co-presence of augmented reality (AR) and robotics solutions? How can the environment, but also the pose, speech and facial expressions of interlocutors be captured in such a way that interaction can be generated as naturally as possible? These and similar questions will be analyzed in the research project.