This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.
1. THE BEGINNING
This innovation came to life when…
Researchers at Flinders University in the Artificial Intelligence Lab realised that their ‘relational agent’ software could become a cutting-edge personal assistant and health coach application. Relational agents are ‘clever avatars’ and research shows that they make computer-based interactions more compelling and trustworthy, creating attachment and influencing behaviour change. This is essential for any type of health support application. With the explosion of smart tablet and phone devices, researchers realised that clever avatars could help to provide ‘care from a distance’ and help people stay healthy and independent.
2. WHAT & HOW
The purpose of this innovation is to…
The purpose of this innovation is to help families and service providers support elderly people and others with day-to-day health issues, to maintain their wellbeing and independence. Instead of resource-intensive visits and phone-calls, Clevertar uses innovative mobile technology to help you ‘care from a distance’.
It does this by…
Clevertar’s clever avatar, Anna, for smart tablets. Anna helps human caregivers and coaches by acting as their proxy in day-to-day interactions with patients. She reminds about important activities, monitors behaviour and alerts caregivers about any ‘flagged’ issues. This allows caregivers and service providers to focus on complex care coordination by allowing Anna to deliver routine support.
3. PURPOSE & BENEFITS
This innovation improves on what came before because…
Most care is still provided by people, through visits and phone calls. This is tiring and expensive, and unsustainable with an ageing population. People are looking for technology solutions and although other mobile and web applications can connect users and their caregivers, Anna Cares is vastly superior. Relational agents create personal attachment that cannot be imitated by other apps.
Its various benefits to the customer/end-user include…
Daily support for older people to help maintain independence, and reduced effort by caregivers to track their well-being. Families achieve peace of mind knowing that Anna is always there, while service providers save time and increase efficiency in delivering care.
4. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
In the past, this problem was solved by…
In the past, this problem was solved by personal phone calls and visits, sometimes several times a day to check on a family member or client’s wellbeing. This is costly for service providers, and at the same time family members do not want to be ‘intrusive’. New mobile apps can perform similar functionality but they remain impersonal and undesirable for care situations.
Its predecessors/competitors include…
Its predecessors/competitors include personal visits and phone calls, medication and other health reminder apps, and shared calendar and email apps. As well, ‘patient portals’ are becoming available for service providers. Except for personal visits, these all lack a true caregiving orientation.
5. TARGET MARKET
It is made for…
It is made for older people who want to maintain their independence at home and who have connections with family or service providers who support them. In Australia, this is conservatively estimated to be 0.5 million people. The web application is designed for aged care service providers who need to manage multiple clients, which in aged care equates to 1,700 providers. Naturally, these markets can be extrapolated to other developed countries. The product market can also be expanded to other similar domains, such as chronic disease self-management where the market size is 1 in 2 adults.
It is available for sale through…
It is available through the AppStore (initially) and equivalent mobile marketplaces. This will be supplied as a free app with in-app purchase options. The service provider application will be available direct via the Anna Cares website, in a Software as a Service model.
Our marketing strategy is to…
Our marketing strategy is to concurrently market to families and service providers, creating a network effect that is self-reinforcing. Public relation strategies will be used to promote a novel technology to consumers, while trade shows and conferences will be used to promote the product to service providers. Barriers to purchase will be reduced by free trial and download.
Your Turn — VOTE!
The Readers’ Choice Index was created to provide an opportunity for Anthill readers to vote on SMART 100 applications, in one of three ways:
- Tweet it: Top left of each page (3 points)
- Trigger a Reaction: Facebook ‘Like’, etc (2 points)
- Leave a Comment: Anonymous comments excluded (1 points)
We’ll use your vote to create the 2014 SMART 100 Readers’ Choice Index.
FINE PRINT
This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.
