Virtual ‘yellow brick road’ app for people with dementia awarded £80,000 Longitude Prize
18 Aug 2023
3 min read
This #GoodNewsFriday we’re saying well done to the Dorothy app, Care City and TPXimpact who were named as semi-finalists in the Longitude Prize on Dementia.
The Longitude Prize on Dementia is driving the development of personalised, technology-based tools that are co-created with people living with the early stages of dementia, helping them live independent, more fulfilled lives and enable them to do the things they enjoy.
24 semi-finalists receive £80,000 grants as part of the overall £4million Longitude Prize on Dementia, which is funded by Alzheimer’s Society and Innovate UK and delivered by Challenge Works.
The awards have been co-designed with people living with dementia, and judges were advised in their decision making by a Lived Experience Advisory Panel.
The Dorothy app was developed with Care City and TPCimpact. It’s an augmented reality platform which places a virtual ‘yellow brick road’ within community spaces such as shops, parks and museums, enabling people with dementia or memory loss to find their way around.
Traditionally, the Dorothy app has been used within care homes to help people navigate and move around. It also uses artificial intelligence to help with reminders of daily tasks, such as taking medication. The prize money will be used to develop the app into a platform called ‘The Dorothy Community,’ where any organisation can offer indoor navigation, making them more accessible and dementia-friendly whilst enabling independence for the user.
Matt Skinner, CEO, Care City, said:
We are thrilled to have won an award to build on the Dorothy app prototype. Expanding the scope of this technology for use in a variety of environments will allow us to grow the Dorothy community and help more people living with dementia to regain some of their independence and confidence.
David Robson, Lead Service Designer at TPXimpact, said:
Dementia is one of the biggest health challenges of our time, which is why we are proud to be supporting Care City and Dorothy in testing if Dorothy can help people live more independently. This disease affects such a wide range of people, and through working together to create this innovative, forward-thinking solution, we can take an important step in improving the lives, experiences, and outcomes of those living with dementia.
Kate Lee, CEO, Alzheimer’s Society, said:
It’s vital people with dementia are able to live independently, doing things that bring them fulfilment, for as long as possible. And that’s exactly what tech innovation can provide.
In 2024, five finalists will progress with an additional £1.5 million in funding to build real-world prototypes. In total, more than £3 million will be awarded in seed funding and development grants with a £1 million first prize to be awarded in 2026.
In addition, wider expert non-financial support has been funded to provide innovators with crucial insight and expertise in the next three years, such as access to data, specialist facilities, collaborations with people living with dementia and expert advice on technical and business aspects of the innovation and to facilitate knowledge sharing between participants.
Well done to all the semi-finalists!
Find out more about the Longitude Prize on Dementia and the semi-finalists.
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