CogAR: an augmented reality app to improve quality of life of the people with cognitive impairment

The number of people affected by dementia in the world is growing up due to the shift of the population age profile. This paper presents a tool to help and support people who suffer from both cognitive decline age-related and cognitive impairments. Cognitive impairment refers to a person who has trouble remembering, learning, concentrating, or making decisions that affect their daily life. Cognitive impairment varies from mild to severe. With mild impairment, people may begin to notice changes in cognitive functions, while still be able to do their everyday activities; on the other hand, severe levels of impairment can lead to losing the ability to understand the meaning or importance of something in addition to the ability to talk or write, resulting in the inability to live independently. We developed an augmented reality home-made App, CogAR, designed for smart glasses. The App can be a useful tool able to provide more independence to patients during actual daily living activities and in navigating their home, providing cues for memory integration in real time. In this way, elderly people, could stay at home longer without the need to move into a care home environment.