Mobility in the
Technological Era

One in three people over the age of 65 falls yearly, and the implications of falls in older age are devastating on an individual and societal level. In the modern era, requirements for participation in the community are greater than before since they include technology planned by, and aimed for the young generation. This presents a series of challenges, but also opportunities, for older adults and people with various clinical conditions. The laboratory for Mobility in the Technological Era explores these challenges and opportunities by adopting a multi-faceted approach, in order to promote the development of novel technologies for assessment and intervention of mobility decline. We use augmented and virtual reality technologies (such as HTC Vive), brain imaging (including functional infrared spectroscopy) and high-end motion capture systems in order to quantify mobility characteristics under various conditions. We further evaluate the affordances of novel technologies such as virtual and augmented reality to modify performance and learning characteristics of motor tasks.

Current and past studies at the lab are done in collaboration with faculty within University of Haifa (Dr. Arik Cheshin, Human services; Dr. Michal Kafri and Dr. Osnat Atun-Eini, Physical therapy; Dr. Rachel Kizony and Prof. Tamar Weiss, Occupational Therapy; Dr. Maayan Agmon, Nursing; Dr. Joel Lanir, Information systems) and other institutions in Israel and abroad, including New York University (Prof. Anat Lubetzky), University of Exeter (Prof. Will Young), Tel-Aviv University (Prof. Jason Friedman), Rambam hospital (Prof. Eyal Fruchter) and Sheba medical center (Pediatric Rehabilitation Department, Center for Advanced Technologies in Rehabilitation).