Visiting an ancient heritage site or exotic environment, even those nearby, is out of reach for too many people. However, new technologies are changing that and promoting access to experiences and services that can improve the quality of life for people.
The University of Plymouth is pioneering this effort and working with partners to invest in a set of approaches to developing inclusive technologies for people in rural and isolated communities. This means that new opportunities and worlds can open up for people, old and young, who would not usually be able to access them.
As part of the Intergenerational Codesign of Novel Technologies in Coastal Communities (ICONIC) project, a team from Plymouth worked with the Ocean Conservation Trust, which curates the National Marine Aquarium. ICONIC collaborated with groups of adults across Cornwall and Devon to co-design an experience using virtual reality headsets and 360-degree cameras. This allowed them to see and engage with the incredible underwater world. The technology included an AI that helped identify the different sea creatures they observed.
“We wanted to work with people who are excluded from tech design,” said Dr Rory Baxter, research fellow in the Centre for Health Technology. “Our whole aim was to give them a voice, which then has ramifications for the eventual adoption, acceptability, and accessibility of tech, as it’s often created without understanding diverse user needs,” he added. “Here in the coastal regions we have people who have lived by the sea for their whole life, but they have never been underwater,” explained Oksana Hagen, research fellow in the School of Engineering.
The team brought VR headsets that allowed them to look at the stream from the underwater 360-degree camera. The tech used an AI that could identify the fish they were seeing in the marine environment. “We also brought in an underwater robot – a remotely operated vehicle – and we allowed our participants with no prior experience to actually operate it in the sea outside, which was absolutely wonderful,” Hagen said. These sessions enabled the team to develop a technology that would support remote access to underwater environments.
“The participants were really prioritising the fact that you should be able to take this technology and put it in a care home or take this technology and take it to a landlocked school to allow children to look underwater,” she said.
This underwater work was one of four innovative technologies developed by the ICONIC project, run by the University of Plymouth to counter digital exclusion in Devon and Cornwall. “Its roots were in supporting people’s access to digital health tools, because there are lots of barriers, such as cost, digital skills and access to different technologies,” explained Baxter.
South-west England also has an older population, who are at greater risk of digital exclusion. However, the team found some surprising results in their intergenerational workshops. “We got really wonderful, expansive ideas from some of the older participants. Whereas some of the younger participants recognise the limits of the technologies we were working with and built their ideas around those constraints,” explained Baxter.
The technologies can be used to provide access to real-world places for those who might not otherwise be able to visit them. The University of Plymouth worked with the National Trust team at Cotehele, a medieval hall with Tudor and Victorian extensions, including the estate in the Tamar Valley.
The team developed an extended reality experience of the medieval great hall. “The idea was to recreate this space in a virtual environment for people to be able to feel like they’re actually in it,” explained Dr Marius Varga, research fellow in the School of Art, Design and Architecture.
Another group of younger and older people from the area co-designed the technology. They also wanted to do more than just look around, Dr Varga explained: “There was a keen need to interact with things, to touch things.” The Great Hall features swords and shields that adorn the walls and would usually be off-limits to visitors. However, Dr Varga and his team are exploring how to make those objects interactive, providing an experience that cannot be replicated in person.
That is not to say that pre-existing reliable technologies cannot be augmented for the digital age. The AI for Social Prescribing scheme is telephone-based but uses AI to help people self-refer to services that support their health and wellbeing, such as diabetes support groups, explained Hagen. Potential users can access the service through a phone call, which is especially beneficial for those without internet access or devices.
These services have been shown to address some of the greatest health challenges of our time – loneliness, isolation and poor mental health – through a social approach rather than a medical one. However, pressures on the NHS mean the link workers, who connect people to these services, are under strain.
Co-designing the technology with the people who needed it the most ensured it was adapted to suit their needs, Hagen said. “At every single stage of the design process, users are part of it; they’re consulted. Their needs are understood, and this goes from the very conception of the ideas for technology, all the way through the design process,” she added. Hagen hopes to develop it further with input from link workers, adapting it so it can be used to make appointments without needing to go online. The potential to expand this to other areas, relieving pressures on the health system and promoting access to healthcare, is significant.
The team at Plymouth has built the expertise to deliver new technologies and products that meet the needs of both older and younger people in their communities. They are now looking for new collaborations, partners, and funding to continue and expand this work.
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