Emotionally supportive virtual assistant could help people with Alzheimer’s disease

Computer scientists at the University of Waterloo are creating a prototype of a virtual assistant to help people living with Alzheimer’s disease. It will prompt them to complete day-to-day tasks by taking the person’s personality and current state of mind into consideration.

Known as ACT@Home, the emotionally intelligent assistant is a research project to develop a home-based technology that combines artificial intelligence with social psychological models.