Orientatech, the compass of social innovation technology

The Orientatech project developed by the Social Technologies Foundation (TECSOS) in collaboration with Spanish Red Cross and Vodafone Foundation, aims to encourage participation and provide access to verified information related to the purchase, acquisition and use of technological products that support vulnerable collectives, such as older people or people with disabilities

 

Orientatech is an initiative managed by the TECSOS Social Technologies Foundation constituted by the Spanish Red Cross and the Vodafone Spain Foundation. In the market there are many technological solutions and products for the comprehensive care of the elderly that have proven their usefulness. However, many of them are not used because their existence is not known by the beneficiaries, the caregivers or the entities that serve these groups. After a national and international study in which we detected that there was no resource, either at the public or private level, that fully covered this need, which led to the launch of the Orientatech program as “Social Technologies Advisor”. Orientatech was born to cover the need to access verified information on technological solutions and products that can be useful to promote health, active aging and personal autonomy.

 The project materializes with a web portal www.orientatech.es where, through a search engine, products can be located depending on the needs, the type of technology or the area of ​​intervention. The solutions are aimed at solving issues such as isolation, aging, disability, vulnerability, motor or cognitive difficulties. Technology also determines the way of serving and in Orientatech it is classified by Applications and Software, Virtual and Augmented Reality, Internet of Things (IOT) or wearables. The program aims to be a meeting point for all actors in the sector through which end users have a means to compare existing products and share their opinion, manufacturers can make their products and their products known, improve and adapt Public Administrations and professionals in the sector have a source to contrast information.

The analysis of the products that are included in the portal is carried out following a validation methodology based on public criteria and that have been previously established based on the Foundation’s more than 15 years of experience in validating Social Technologies, supplemented with international standards such as ETSI EG 202 116 Human Factors (HF), Guidelines for ICT products and services “Design for All” The tests are carried out by a team of engineers, from the Foundation for Social Technologies, experts in social application of technology, who carry out the technical verification of the product, and a group of volunteers and multidisciplinary professionals from the Red Cross and other social organizations, who know the needs to which the product is directed and who carry out social validation.

This technical and social assessment is complemented with practical information such as videos, photos, opinions of other users and entities as well as product data including type of guarantee, forms of acquisition and all that information that may be relevant.

 

Le portail Orientatech est opérationnel depuis 2017 et les solutions et produits sont mis à jour chaque semaine à la demande des utilisateurs. A ce jour le portail répertorie 170 produits technologiques à impact validés et analysés par l’équipe expérimentée de bénévoles et d’ingénieurs de TECSOS.

The Orientatech portal has been operational since 2017, solutions and products are updated every week at the request of users. Currently the portal has 170 social technology products validated and analyzed by the experienced team of volunteers and TECSOS engineers.

Ci-après le flux opérationnel d’Orientatech : 

• Identification de la solution/ du produit 
• Prise de contact avec l’entreprise à l’origine de la conception afin de permettre la réalisation des tests et, le cas échéant, d’acheter le produit 
• Vérification technique réalisée par le personnel expert en matériel et programmes informatiques accompagné des spécialistes de l’application sociale du produit. 
  •  Critère de vérification technique : Conception et production | Expérience usager | Caractéristiques technologiques | Accessibilité 
• Validation sociale des produits réalisée par des bénévoles et usagers du produits, conscients des besoins réels d’utilisation. Présentement, l’équipe de travail est composée de 10 volontaires et de 5 entités utilisatrices. 
  • Validation du critère sociale : Impact et Utilité | Facilité d’utilisation et accessibilité | Conception et ergonomie | Facilité d’acquisition. 
• Informer l’entreprise des résultats des tests 
• Publier les résultats sur la toile et les réseaux sociaux 

Here is the Orientatech workflow: 

• Identification of a solution / product.
• Contact with the provider company / SME to permit Orientatech the tests, and in case of requiring to purchase the product.
• Technical verification, carried out by personnel with technical knowledge of both hardware and software and specialists in their application in the social field.
  • Technical verification criteria: Design and manufacturing | User experience | Technical Features | Accessibility
• Social validation of the products, carried out by volunteers and end users of the product, aware of the real needs of use. At present the work team is made up of 10 volunteers and 5 user entities.
  • Social validation criteria: Impact and Utility | Usability and Accessibility | Design and ergonomics |Ease of acquisition 
• Inform the company with feedback from the tests.
• Publication of results on the web and Social Networks.

Les exemples des recherches les plus répandues sont les téléphones mobiles à destination des personnes âgées, les applications à l’attention des malvoyants ou des produits pour faciliter la communication des personnes en situation de handicap. 

Actuellement la Croix-Rouge Espagnole se focalise sur les questions d’adaptation au contexte actuel de la COVID-19 et de la fracture digitale, à la recherche d’innovation à destination des publics d’Orientatech. 

Budget : 46K