We approached this project by examining the emotional and operational challenges within elderly care & dementia. Our research focused on how conversational AI could help address feelings of loneliness among residents while reducing the cognitive and physical strain on caregivers.
From these insights, we developed Aura, a conversational AI designed to create emotional connection and support daily care routines. Creating more sustainable and human-centered interactions between caregivers and those they support.
TYpe
Semester Project / StartUp
Duration
9 Months
Team
Moritz Scheffer
Role
Industrial & Experience Design
Supervision
Prof. Pelin Celik / Samsung / Impact Hub Berlin
OVERVIEW
Enhancing elderly care through AI-driven interactions.
Dementia is a growing global challenge, not only affecting memory and orientation but also placing heavy burdens on caregivers.
Aura introduces conversational AI as an empathetic, screen-free medium that supports daily care and communication. By combining natural speech with context-aware prompts, Aura provides reassurance to patients while streamlining documentation and task management for caregivers.
HIGHLIGHTS
Aura improves residents’ mood in 75% of cases and saves caregivers up to 1.5 hours per day.
Initially started as a semester project at university, we developed it further into a startup project with the support of Samsung, after winning Samsung Solve for Tomorrow. Combining natural speech with context-aware prompts to provide reassurance to patients while streamlining documentation and task management for caregivers.
In early tests with residents and nursing staff, Aura facilitated smoother communication, reduced stress in interactions, and showed potential to save caregivers time while increasing residents’ sense of connection.
We developed Aura as a conversational AI with a defined structure and clear design system. This version has been realized by us as an MVP, which we are already using for testing in care contexts, validating both functionality and user experience.
PROBLEM SPACE
The current care model is unsustainable for both caregivers and those they support.
An aging population, rising caregiver burnout, and increasing elderly loneliness are converging into a systemic challenge. Traditional care models struggle to keep up, leaving critical gaps in both emotional support and sustainable caregiving.
THE IDEA
Care for aging populations must adapt to rising complexity if we want to prevent caregiver burnout and elderly isolation.
If care systems continue to rely on fragmented tools and overstretched human labor, the result will be increasing stress for caregivers and declining well-being for patients. Just as technology reshapes work and communication, we need equally adaptive ways to sustain emotional connection, reduce burden, and strengthen resilience in everyday care.
COMPETITIVE FIELD
Current solutions do not address the needs of care & patients.
Aura distinguishes itself by combining proactive engagement, documentation, and seamless integration into daily routines.
VALUE PROPOSITION
Designing technology that strengthens both sides of care.
Aura uses speech-interactive AI to support both caregivers and residents in daily care. For residents, it provides companionship, reminders, and gentle guidance through natural conversation. For caregivers, it streamlines documentation, tracks routines, and reduces cognitive load, all without relying on screens or complex systems.
By combining empathy with efficiency, Aura helps create more time for genuine human connection while making care processes more sustainable.
PROCESS
Using conversational AI to connect patients, caregivers, and families.
Aura serves as a conversational hub between patients, caregivers, and their support networks. Patients engage with Aura through natural dialogue, receiving reminders, check-ins, and companionship. Caregivers benefit from automated documentation and streamlined information flow, reducing cognitive load. This information can be shared with families and doctors, ensuring continuity of care and better-informed decisions.
ITERATION
Auras Development from a Physical Product Concept to a Digital Experience.
Throughout this project, you will see the images and process of Aura’s development as a physical product. Aura began as an industrial design university project, originally as part of a medication dispenser. After winning Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, we realized that Aura’s true potential lay in its conversational AI. By evolving it into software that can run on any device, the concept became more accessible and adaptable, transforming the original idea into a broader digital experience.
FORM EXPLORATION
Developing Aura across physical dimensions.
Early concept drawings explored Aura as a physical product, originally developed as part of a medication dispenser project.
Prototypes and VR models were used to test ergonomics, usability, and integration into everyday care contexts, allowing quick iteration and refinement.
DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT
Developing Aura’s digital identity to feel alive, empathetic, and unobtrusive.
As Aura evolved, its identity shifted toward software. The digital representation became a central UI element, later one of the most important ways users interact with Aura.
The interface uses rhythmic motion to convey presence and empathy. Through subtle breathing-like animations, talking and gradient transitions, Aura maintains a living quality that builds emotional connection while distraction, which was a central problem with personified interfaces in testing.
A cohesive design system defining Aura’s visual and interaction language, including branding, color, typography, and motion principles.
USER TESTING
User testing validates the concept: selling back time to care teams and making elderly people less lonely.
Initial testing was conducted with 5 elderly residents during the university phase. These sessions explored how conversational AI could support daily routines, provide companionship, and reduce loneliness. The trials highlighted the importance of simple interactions that required no training, while also informing the early design of Aura’s dialogue style and care integration.
Building on these findings, the second phase of testing involved 30 participants across multiple care homes and scenarios. Here, Aura was evaluated as a software-based concept, focusing on documenting care tasks, supporting caregivers, and enhancing resident well-being. Combined with extensive target-user interviews, these studies confirmed Aura’s potential to save caregivers time while improving residents’ mood and engagement.
IMPACT
Introducing Aura.
Aura introduces a new form of care, created to support people with dementia and elderly individuals facing loneliness. It offers personalized conversations and simplifies daily care routines, helping to reduce the strain on the caregiving system. At the same time, Aura enhances emotional well-being, safety, and a sense of connection for both patients, families and their caregivers.
Aura’s patient-facing speech-based interface, designed to provide companionship, reassurance, and personalized daily guidance.
Aura’s caretaker-facing overview interface, streamlining care with reduced check-ins, automated documentation, and clear task priorities.
To ensure accessibility and adaptability, Aura was designed to function across multiple platforms. This flexibility allows for use on existing devices in care environments, lowering barriers to adoption and enabling scalability.
VALIDATION
Samsung Solve for Tomorrow
Aura was awarded first place at Samsung Solve for Tomorrow in Germany, receiving the Innovation Award for its potential to transform dementia care through conversational AI.
Over three months, Aura progressed from an initial pitch at Samsung Germany’s Idea Camp in Frankfurt to a refined concept, supported by Samsung mentors. We then entered a six-month Impact Phase in collaboration with Impact Hub Berlin. Here, Aura was further developed with the support of their community, moving from competition concept to practical implementation and positioning itself for real-world application.
Following this achievement, Aura was exhibited at international design events including Milan Design Week and Dutch Design Week, and received the Isola Design Award at Dubai Design Week. The project has been featured in eight major German newspapers and is currently undergoing further development.
REFLECTION
Exploring how digital systems can embody empathy.
Aura demonstrates how technology can move beyond task automation toward emotional resonance. The project revealed that empathy in care systems is not achieved through complexity, but through presence, tone, and rhythm.
By studying both caregivers and residents, the research highlighted the value of subtle, consistent communication, moments where reassurance and efficiency can coexist.
While Aura currently exists as a software-first solution, its evolution points to a broader inquiry: how digital interfaces might convey warmth and attentiveness once reserved for physical interactions. Future work could explore re-materializing Aura as a tangible device, uniting digital intelligence with embodied design to create more human, emotionally responsive systems of care.