Improving the vitality of

people and society with intuitive

technology

The Vitality project that was launched this year demonstrates how intuitive technology can contribute to a healthy society. The first objective is to address vitality at work. Brainport partners Fontys, imec, TNO, and TUe have created a new partnership (FITT) aimed at making this region not only the smartest, but also the most vital in the world.

Technology explained

The challenge of keeping people vital and resilient is, of course, more relevant than ever in the current pandemic – and it shows that a working environment is not confined to the office space. Holst Centre brings over 15 years of experience in the health domain to this programme. Technology has already helped increase people’s health with wearables, but these are devices for health-conscious users. With our technology, we are able to intuitively embed preventive technology into people’s daily routines. We are applying our expertise in body-monitoring solutions to deliver high-quality, multi-sensor data to create invisible, unobtrusive technology that we can integrate into the workplace.

Environmental quality at work is more important than ever. Air quality, including aspects like particles, temperature and humidity, is constantly measured in real-time so that the smart climate control system based on algorithms can create an optimal, but still generic, working climate. Even the colour and intensity of the lighting can be adjusted to the tasks and biorhythm. The challenge is to tailor the environment to a specific person. Therefore, we need reliable data of someone’s physical state with sensors mounted close to the body, instead of on the skin. The final step is to close the loop and improve someone’s wellbeing and productivity by adjusting the working environment.

To put this technology to the test in a real-life working environment, the FITT partners are jointly creating office spaces at the Hightech Campus where Brainport employees can share their experience and Brainport partners benefit directly from this research project.

Societal benefits

Vitality and resilience are very relevant topics for Eindhoven’s Brainport region where so many high-tech companies depend on highly specialised knowledge workers. Attracting, retaining and taking good care of your employees is a big challenge.

Healthy and happy employees are better at their jobs; they are more productive and less inclined to leave the company. By supporting people in their daily life environment, you can improve workflows and increase efficiency. So, on top of the physical and mental benefits of increased vitality there are significant economical advantages. Not just for office workers in the Brainport region, of course, but for all working environments. We intend on using the results of this local project to create effective preventive technology that invisibly and unconsciously becomes part of our daily routine, so that we can all add healthy years to our lives.