The VoiceAdapt project is coordinated by the Quality and Usability Lab at the Technische Universität Berlin. Further project partners are the Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, Nurogames GmbH, the University of Toronto and the University of Alberta.
The consortium of the VoiceAdapt consists of partners from Germany, Canada, and Austria. With this international team, the project partners gather extensive knowledge in the medical and in the technology sector to develop interactive training applications for people with aphasia.
Technische Universität Berlin (Coordinator)
Technical University of Berlin (TUB) is the one of four universities in Berlin, and the only one dedicated to technology. It takes part in this project through its Quality and Usability Lab (QU Lab), which is an integral part of the Faculty of EE and CS. It maintains close links with – but is administratively separated from – Telekom Innovation Laboratories, the research lab of the major German telecom provider. The Quality and Usability Lab covers research areas concerning the quality and usability of information and communication technology, speech-based and multimodal interfaces, mobile interaction techniques, audio and video signal analysis, as well as applications ranging from eLearning to security-and privacy-preservation.
Link to the website: www.qu.tu-berlin.de
AIT Austrian Institute of Technology
The AIT Austrian Institute of Technology is Austria´s largest non-university research institute, specialist on research and development activities of technologies, techniques and tools of key infrastructure solutions of the future. Within the Center for Technology Experience an experienced and interdisciplinary research team, headed by Prof. Dr. Manfred Tscheligi, deals with User Experience and specific factors, that influence experiences derived from interaction with innovative technology, goods, and services.
Based on enhanced foundational interaction thinking, research activities aim to create dedicated experiences in key technology areas and application contexts in order to optimally align future technologies to specific user groups and different contextual situations. In addition, subjectively perceived qualities of these experiences are a major research focus to ascertain high quality experiences in order to ensure that acceptance of future technological innovation will be accomplished and enhanced.
To get deep insight in usage patterns and interaction quality a User Experience Laboratory equipped with modern and leading edge technology is available for user research and demonstration activities in lab based settings as well as field trials. This further includes dealing with dedicated methods, frameworks, standards, and tools to support the development of high-quality technology experiences.
The team headed by Prof. Tscheligi has long-time experience in the development and execution of national and international research and cooperation projects and is an active contributor to the international research scene.
Link to the website: www.ait.ac.at
Nurogames GmbH
Nurogames GmbH was founded in 2005 by Jens Piesk and Dr. Holger Sprengel, experienced entrepreneurs in the media sector. Nurogames develops, produces and markets quality products, services and trend-setting media solutions and interactive rich-media content, focusing on reaching the public through a number of established media channels and social networks. Nurogames bundles high design and software competence as well as know-how related to the market and communication. All the project teams reflect this interdisciplinary idea. In order to give the customers a lasting competitive edge in communication, Nurogames is continuously developing new application- and performance-possibilities in the fields of communication and cross-media applications in close cooperation with well-known research- and technology-partners.
Link to the website: www.nurogames.com
University of Toronto
Professor Elizabeth Rochon is on faculty in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Toronto and is a Senior Scientist at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. Her research interests and expertise lie in developing and evaluating novel treatments for aphasia post stroke as well as for other patient populations, such as for patients with dementia and their caregivers. Professor Rochon’s research with the Consortium is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
University of Alberta
Esther Kim is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Alberta. Her research program focuses on investigating cognitive factors contributing to language processing, developing evidence-based treatments to remediate language impairments, and examining methods for increasing neural plasticity and promoting quality of life. Professor Kim’s research with the Consortium is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).