The innovative ITINERA2 project, which aims to promote active ageing, improve health and social relations through physical activity in the village of Tineo (Asturias), was officially presented last Monday. Pablo Priesca, general director of the Information and Communication Technology Centre (CTIC), gave the keys to this research project, which will allow people over 40 to monitor the impact of physical activity on their social relations and health.
José Ramón Feito Lorences, Mayor of the town, stressed that this initiative fits in with the government team's objective of "making Tineo a council where people can age well and where they can implement and develop advances in new technologies", as well as with the project of activities being developed by the Municipal School of Health in favour of active ageing and to prevent situations of isolation and loneliness.
ITINERA2 is a technological solution applicable to open spaces and focused on improving the quality of life of people in the ageing process, motivating them towards physical activity and social relations through games and challenges. It also proposes a smart route based on the concepts of the Internet of Things (IoT) and gamification to offer a friendly environment that promotes healthy habits and the fight against loneliness in the adult population over 40 years of age, while over the next three months it will provide scientific evidence of the use of ICT to achieve these objectives.
The setting chosen for the development of this project is the 2.5-kilometre green path that links the village of Tinéu and El Cruceru (P.R. AS-245). It is a practically flat path with an asphalted road surface, with an optimal route for physical activity and accessible to the entire population. People over 40 years of age registered in this project will be provided with an elastic silicone bracelet which, as they pass through the four control points that have been installed along the path, will allow fully automatic monitoring of their physical activity data. The system will provide each participant with data on activity times, speed, total distance covered, calorie consumption and physical performance. With this data, participants will be able to set themselves challenges and participate in group challenges.
This project is part of the International Centre on Ageing (CENIE), an initiative approved within the INTERREG V-A Programme, Spain-Portugal, 2014-2020, (POCTEP), of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).