A global challenge to find new technologies that use AI to transform the lives of people with dementia has announced its five finalists.
They include AI glasses to help people navigate their environment and a smartwatch that learns daily routines.
The prize is rewarding the creation of new assistive technologies that use AI to help people with dementia post-diagnosis to maintain their independence for as long as possible.
Each will be awarded £300,000 as a finalist in the £4.4m Longitude Prize on Dementia.
The global project announced in early 2022 is funded by the Alzheimer’s Society and Innovate UK, and run in partnership with Challenge Works.
Its focus is on tools that are co-created with people living with the early stages of dementia, helping them to live independent, fulfilled lives so they are able to do the things they enjoy.
The finalists are:
CrossSense, from Animorph (UK)
High-tech glasses that help users recognise objects and people
The technology helps people living with dementia to recognise objects and people and remember what to say or do to improve memory recall. This will help them to carry out daily activities independently, such as making a cup of tea or greeting a loved one. The glasses, which also work with existing prescriptions, aim to delay the progression of memory loss and use synaesthesia – associating senses such as sights and sounds.
Theora 360, from Clairvoyant Networks Inc, (USA)
Smartwatch to predict and prevent falls using football pitch sensor technology
Existing ‘fall’ technology can only inform caregivers once an accident has happened, this groundbreaking update will use the technology that maps how a football moves on a pitch (Ultra Wideband) to establish when falls are likely to happen and ultimately prevent them. This tech, in the form of a smartwatch designed for older people, could anticipate slips at certain points in a daily routine (e.g. before bed) or in certain locations (e.g. the bathroom). By detecting and calculating fall risk, the tech could limit risk of hospital admission which can speed dementia symptom progression.
Automous, from Associação Fraunhofer Portugal Research (Portugal)
A smartwatch-based app to provide guidance on daily routines
This AI software processes data from a smartwatch and sensors around the home to learn about its users’ activities and gently guide them on their routines, reminding them of actions they may have forgotten through personalised cues such as illustrations (eg an open fridge or running tap), text, audio and vibrations. If they are not responsive, it will alert a carer. The software will become more intensive as a person’s dementia progresses, helping them to stay in their own home and community for longer.
Supersense Technologies, from Supersense Technologies (UK)
At-home monitoring-box that protects privacy
When a loved one is in the early stages of dementia and is still able to live independently, family members can sometimes worry about their wellbeing. This ‘sensor’ box and automated messaging system scans rooms to help remotely inform family members of the loved one’s wellbeing via Whatsapp or text message (e.g. your mum is up and about and the heating came on at the usual time this morning). This provides reassurance for both family member and user, but unlike existing monitoring technology, doesn’t use cameras or wearables, connecting caregivers without infringing on privacy.
Memory Aid, from the MARCS Institute at Western Sydney University and Deakin University’s Applied AI Institute, Australia
Home assistance device resembling a traditional telephone
A device which offers a screen for video calls which can also display personalised reminders of daily activities. The phone connects users to a reassuring voice-recording of their choice that shares prompts on daily activities and displays images of items in that person’s house. It also makes video-calling loved ones as easy as picking up the phone, to empower people living with dementia to do things they love that bring meaning.
Kate Lee, CEO of Alzheimer’s Society, says: “AI presents exciting opportunities to help those with dementia stay active and independent, to enable them to remain in their own homes for as long as possible. By harnessing the power of technology, we can support memory recall and assist individuals in maintaining their daily routines. The five finalists of the Longitude Prize on Dementia are tackling these challenges in innovative and diverse ways. I look forward to seeing how their technologies evolve over the next year.”
Stella Peace, interim executive chair, for Innovate UK adds: “Dementia’s impact is devastating for those who develop the condition and for their loved ones. There is much we can do to ensure that those with dementia continue to live fulfilling lives.
“Technology has a great role to play and the projects for which we have announced funding today have the potential to truly change lives for the better.”
In early 2026, one winner of the prize will receive £1m. This will follow a judging process with the international judging panel and lived experience advisory panel.
