*Article* **A Low-Cost Cognitive Assistant**

#### **Angelo Costa 1,***∗***, Jaime A. Rincon 2, Vicente Julian 2 and Paulo Novais 1 and Carlos Carrascosa 2**


Received: 29 December 2019; Accepted: 5 February 2020; Published: 11 February 2020

**Abstract:** In this paper, we present in depth the hardware components of a low-cost cognitive assistant. The aim is to detect the performance and the emotional state that elderly people present when performing exercises. Physical and cognitive exercises are a proven way of keeping elderly people active, healthy, and happy. Our goal is to bring to people that are at their homes (or in unsupervised places) an assistant that motivates them to perform exercises and, concurrently, monitor them, observing their physical and emotional responses. We focus on the hardware parts and the deep learning models so that they can be reproduced by others. The platform is being tested at an elderly people care facility, and validation is in process.

**Keywords:** cognitive assistants; aging; emotion recognition
