Increasing Independence after Brain Injury with Autonomous Sensing, Planning, and Cueing

PEAT is an advanced cognitive aid which uses NASA's autonomous planning and control methods to compensate for cognitive impairments due to brain injury, stroke and other disorders. The system is used by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to help Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) veterans with brain injury. PEAT assists users with planning and execution of daily activities, monitors progress and replans when changes occur. PEAT’s monitoring relies on users to self-report progress by pressing Start and Stop buttons, which has obvious limitations. We propose to solve this problem by adding advanced sensor and activity monitoring methods. Sensors will track user location, objects they grasp, and other state properties. We will integrate PEAT running on a cellphone with GPS, experimental RFID reader bracelets, and advanced cognitive sensory interpretation methods developed by Co-Investigator Henry Kautz. This will provide more reliable monitoring, more flexible plans, less intrusive cueing, and assistance that currently requires a caregiver. Our Advisory Board of brain injury experts from the VA, California Department of Rehabilitation, and a county hospital, are all PEAT customers who will provide guidance about clinical and commercial considerations.