Toilet4me Project News

Upcoming

Start of new T4ME2 implementation project in 2020.

Achievements and Results

Preparation of final documents and answers to review report.

A proposal for a follow-up project has been submitted (May 24 2019). The concept is basically similar to the iToilet solution for the home area but fulfills much higher requirements on robustness, hygiene and integration.

Sketch of components in future toilet4me concept — Toilet4me future module concept © Toilet4me

The project has been finished.
We successfully presented the findings and the route to a follow-up project at the final review in Vienna (May 15th 2019).

Main results:

Users (from primary to tertiary) confirmed the need for better (semi-)public toilets
Between 35% and 66% of primary users expect difficulties with public toilets
Functions for height/tilt adjustment of the toilet seat and shower WC are ranked high
Current sanitary devices do not fulfill requirements for robustness and usability in the (semi-)public area
The areas of centres (community, shopping, health etc.) and hotels (tourism etc.) seem most promising for a market start. Full public toilets are currently not favoured because of envisaged robustness problems.

Decision on route to market based on rich results from user involvement. Preparation of final documents.

See what Portuguese users say about their expectations in Toilet4me:

The answers from 185 primary end-users of 55+ to questionnaires on limitations in the area of toilets, as well as indepth interviews with 40 primary end-users, 40 secondary end-users and 30 tertiary end-users (plus some additional stakeholders) are being processed to elaborate the draft business model and the background for the decision on the further route to market. The high need for a supportive toilet and cleaning solution is confirmed, but at the same time also the lack of awareness of the possibilities of modern technology became evident.
Solutions available for the home market can be an inspiration but semi-public use environments are much more challenging and will require new approaches (April 2019).

WorldCist’19 – La Toja, Spain - April 5-8, 2019. 7th World Conference on Information Systems and Technologies. Cáritas Coimbra had the oportunity to present the Toilet4Me project as well as disseminate the project through networking and matchmaking with other partners. Read more (external)

Exhibit on Social Innovation projects – Coimbra, Portugal – March 15, 2019. The Toilet4Me project was disseminated through presentations, showcasing and networking at the Exhibition of Solutions and Innovative Projects - Intervention in the Adult and Advanced Age, promoted by NCLC. Read more (external)

Working group meeting of SheldOn COST project – Paredes, Portugal – 27-28 February 2019. The meeting of the work group of the Sheldon COST had researchers from 35 different countries discussing Friendly Environments for the older adults. Cáritas Coimbra had the opportunity to present the Toilet4Me project in the field of active ageing and improvement of the quality of life and health of older citizens. Read more (external)

National Conference OnCare, innovate in Senior Care - Pombal, Portugal – February 27, 2019. The Conference presented the importance of prevention at senior health level in a paradigm shift, enabling older people to be given more support and preventive action. The Toilet4Me project was presented by Cáritas Coimbra though an oral communication on its main social innovation activities, detailing its aims, purposes and framework. Read more (external)

The Toilet4me project and iToilet base modules have been presented at the conference 2019
for INDEPENDENT LIVING AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION 20 – 22 February 2019 in Vienna (February 2019).

Photo of iToilet base modules at the zero conference — Toilet4me and iToilet base modules at the Zero Project conference 2019 © Toilet4me

Healthy Cities Debate – Coruña, Spain – February 14, 2019. The Healthy Cities initiative was organized by the Health Cluster of Galicia with the Ministry of Health, with the main objective of promoting, disseminating and communicating the principles to local authorities and citizens. The Toilet4Me project was presented by Cáritas Coimbra though an oral communication on its main social innovation activities, detailing its aims, purposes and framework. Read more (external)

Workshop at ICT 2018 – Imagine Digital Connect Europe – Vienna, Austria – December 04-06, 2018. The ICT 2018 is a conference promoted by the European Commission and the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which took place from 4 to 6 December. Caritas Coimbra was coordinating a workshop on Smart Healthy Age-Friendly Environments and presented the Toilet4Me project to the audience of the Conference, detailing its aims, purposes and framework. Read more (external)

The kick-off meeting took place in Vienna on Dec 3-4 2018. Read more about the kick-off meeting(external)

The project started on November 20th, 2018.

The Toilet4me Consortium Agreement entered into force on November 1st, 2018.