Anthropomorphic Virtual Assistant to Support Self-care of Type 2 Diabetes in Older People: A Perspective on the Role of Artificial Intelligence

Gergely Magyar, João Balsa, Ana Cláudio, Maria Carmo, Pedro Neves, Pedro Alves, Isa Félix, Nuno Pimenta, Nuno Pimenta, Mara Guerreiro, Mara Guerreiro

2019

Abstract

The global prevalence of diabetes is escalating. Attributable deaths and avoidable health costs related to diabetes represent a substantial burden and threaten the sustainability of contemporary healthcare systems. Information technologies are an encouraging avenue to tackle the challenge of diabetes management. Anthropomorphic virtual assistants designed as relational agents have demonstrated acceptability to older people and may promote long-term engagement. The VASelfCare project aims to develop and test a virtual assistant software prototype to facilitate the self-care of older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The present position paper describes key aspects of the VASelfCare prototype and discusses the potential use of artificial intelligence. Machine learning techniques represent promising approaches to provide a more personalised user experience with the prototype, by means of behaviour adaptation of the virtual assistant to users’ preferences or emotions or to develop chatbots. The effect of these sophisticated approaches on relevant endpoints, such as users’ engagement and motivation, needs to be established in comparison to less responsive options.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Magyar G., Balsa J., Cláudio A., Carmo M., Neves P., Alves P., Félix I., Pimenta N. and Guerreiro M. (2019). Anthropomorphic Virtual Assistant to Support Self-care of Type 2 Diabetes in Older People: A Perspective on the Role of Artificial Intelligence. In Proceedings of the 14th International Joint Conference on Computer Vision, Imaging and Computer Graphics Theory and Applications (VISIGRAPP 2019) - Volume 1: GRAPP; ISBN 978-989-758-354-4, SciTePress, pages 323-331. DOI: 10.5220/0007572403230331

in Bibtex Style

@conference{grapp19,
author={Gergely Magyar and João Balsa and Ana Cláudio and Maria Carmo and Pedro Neves and Pedro Alves and Isa Félix and Nuno Pimenta and Mara Guerreiro},
title={Anthropomorphic Virtual Assistant to Support Self-care of Type 2 Diabetes in Older People: A Perspective on the Role of Artificial Intelligence},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 14th International Joint Conference on Computer Vision, Imaging and Computer Graphics Theory and Applications (VISIGRAPP 2019) - Volume 1: GRAPP},
year={2019},
pages={323-331},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0007572403230331},
isbn={978-989-758-354-4},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 14th International Joint Conference on Computer Vision, Imaging and Computer Graphics Theory and Applications (VISIGRAPP 2019) - Volume 1: GRAPP
TI - Anthropomorphic Virtual Assistant to Support Self-care of Type 2 Diabetes in Older People: A Perspective on the Role of Artificial Intelligence
SN - 978-989-758-354-4
AU - Magyar G.
AU - Balsa J.
AU - Cláudio A.
AU - Carmo M.
AU - Neves P.
AU - Alves P.
AU - Félix I.
AU - Pimenta N.
AU - Guerreiro M.
PY - 2019
SP - 323
EP - 331
DO - 10.5220/0007572403230331
PB - SciTePress