The Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) will develop a technological solution to help determine the degree of disability DISABILITY

The Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) has started to develop a system that uses technology to complement the existing evaluation protocol in the Public Sector for integrating people with special needs in the job world. The project, known as PROLOG, aims to take advantage of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and specifically certain video game applications such as Kinect technology, to offer new tools to be used by professionals for the assessment and therapy of certain skills and abilities.

The PROLOG project is the first initiative to be undertaken by the Indra Adecco Foundation Research Chair for Accessible Technologies at the UAB, and it was launched today when the agreement was signed by the rector of the university, Ferran Sancho, Indra's director in Catalonia, Manel Brufau, and the general director of the Adecco Foundation, Francisco Mesonero.

UAB experts will define the basic competencies, abilities and skills that must be analysed in each case, as well as the activities to be carried out by people with disabilities so they may be evaluated. This information will be used to develop the various applications with which users may interact without any remote controls by adapting Kinect technology that detects the movements of users.

Aside from supporting the assessment of abilities and skills, the application will make it possible to perform maintenance activities and follow-up on users since it will automatically create a history of the progress in each person's abilities and skills. One of the objectives in developing this technology is the possibility of using this history in the future as justification for requesting short-term disability from the Administration, retirement, or assessing occupational risk levels.

Existing protocols that enable measuring the degree of disability and job placement are performed by specialised staff and the person's physical presence is required for learning as well as assessing these skills. The solution developed in the PROLOG project aims to complement these protocols and to be helpful for users, therapists, monitors, businesses and the Administration.

Researchers at the CAIAC-UAB (Catalonia Centre for Accessibility and Environmental Intelligence) Research Centre, led by Pilar Orero, a professor from the Translation and Interpretation Department, will be responsible for developing the new solution.

Commitment to Accessible Technologies

With the new Research Chair at the UAB, there are now nine Research Chairs for Accessible Technologies that Indra, as part of its corporate responsibility, has established in collaboration with the Adecco Foundation and various universities. The aim is to research and develop new solutions and services that facilitate access to technology as well as social and employment inclusion for people with disabilities.

The UAB Research Chair is also the result of the framework collaboration agreement signed by Indra and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in September 2012. The objective of this agreement is to promote signing specific agreements between Indra and various research groups within the UAB, as well as the execution of joint R&D&i projects along various lines of activity. Plans are also in place to promote academic relations for carrying out seminars and training sessions, exchanging experiences, and supporting the mobility of professors and UAB graduate students to receive training in research matters at Indra.

Indra in Catalonia

Indra employs nearly 3,000 professionals in Catalonia at its eight work centres in the provinces of Barcelona and Lleida. Its regional office is located in Barcelona's 22@ technological district, where it was one of the first companies to establish a presence.

It has a Software Lab at the Scientific and Technological Park in Lleida that, as part of Indra's Software Lab global network, supports the company's operations throughout the world. It also has a Help Desk Service in Lleida that provides 24/7 support for companies located both in Spain and abroad.

Indra

Indra is the leading consultancy technology multinational in Spain and a leader in Europe and Latin America. Innovation is the cornerstone of its business and sustainability, having allocated €550 million to R&D in the last three years, making it one of the leading companies in Europe in its sector in terms of investment. With sales approaching €3,000 million, nearly 60% of its income is from the international market. The company employs 42,000 professionals and has customers in 118 countries. 

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

The UAB is a multidisciplinary framework that combines teaching, research, technological platforms, technology transfer and business creation. It has more than 3,500 research professors and nearly 35,000 students. In leading international rankings, it is positioned amongst the top 200 universities in the world and the top 100 in Europe. It is renowned for the quality and innovative nature of its research, as well as the quality of its training in the areas of social sciences, humanities, experimental sciences, biosciences, health sciences, engineering and technology. 

Adecco Foundation

Established in July 1999, the Adecco Foundation is the result of the social responsibility Adecco has assumed as the world leader in human resources. Its main objective is the inclusion in the job market of people who find it harder to gain employment.

The Adecco Foundation has work placement programmes for: 

• The disabled
• The long-term unemployed over the age of 45
• Single mothers and victims of gender violence
• Other groups at risk of social exclusion

 

For further information:

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Communication and Promotion Department
Tel: 935813301
g.premsa.@uab.cat

Indra
Communication and Media Relations.
Tel.: 91 480 97 01
indraprensa@indracompany.com

Adecco Foundation
Andrea López / Irene Gil
Tel: 91 700 49 20
Andrea.Lopez@adecco.com / Irene.Gil@adecco.com