A web-based voice-controlled assistant designed to help elderly and digitally inexperienced users perform essential phone actions without complex navigation.
The Elderly Voice Assistant is a lightweight, browser-based prototype that enables users to execute essential actions—such as calling family members, contacting emergency services, and managing medicine reminders—using simple voice commands.
Focus Areas:
- Accessibility
- Simplicity
- Digital inclusion
- Respect for privacy & browser security limitations
- Recognizes commands like:
"Call son""Call emergency""Check medicine"
- Provides instant voice feedback:
- “Calling your son now.”
- “I did not understand, please try again.”
- Opens phone dialer with pre-configured emergency number.
- Requires voice confirmation to prevent accidental calls.
- Designed for clarity and safety.
- Opens native WhatsApp chat with pre-set contact.
- Pre-fills phone number and message.
- Automatic calling is restricted for privacy compliance.
- Add reminders using a simple form.
- Alerts user via voice notification.
- Snooze feature allows delayed reminders without canceling.
- Reminders stored in
localStorage. - Can be marked as taken or removed.
- Single-screen layout
- Large buttons and high-contrast colors
- Minimal interaction steps
- Mobile responsive
- Optional features: larger text, simplified voice feedback, one-tap repeat last action
- Frontend: HTML, CSS, JavaScript
- Voice Processing: Web Speech API (Speech Recognition & Speech Synthesis)
- Storage: Browser
localStorage - Deployment: GitHub Pages
- Privacy: No backend. No external data storage. No voice data retained.
| User | Age | Digital Familiarity | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 60 | First-time internet user | Full Demo Video |
| 2 | 46 | Occasional phone user | Validation Clip |
| 3 | 38 | Limited experience with voice commands | Validation Clip |
Commands Tested:
"Call son""Call emergency""Check medicine"
Results:
- Voice recognition successfully detected commands.
- Correct actions triggered (WhatsApp / Dialer opened).
- Automatic calling blocked (browser security behavior as expected).
- Users interacted successfully without complex guidance.
Observations:
- First-time internet users triggered commands successfully.
- One-button interaction reduces confusion.
- Voice feedback improved clarity for users unfamiliar with touch navigation.
- Snooze respected real-life behavior: users could delay medicine instead of cancelling.
- Emergency confirmation prevented panic during accidental triggers.
This project prioritizes:
- Human dignity over strict compliance
- Accessibility over complexity
- Ethical constraints over automation
- Simplicity over feature overload
The goal isn’t to build another AI assistant—but to demonstrate how simplified, voice-triggered actions can improve digital accessibility for elderly users.
- User-centered design
- Accessibility-first UI thinking
- Voice interface implementation
- Real-user validation & testing
- Understanding of browser security & privacy constraints
- Frontend development (HTML/CSS/JavaScript)
- Structured documentation & evaluation
- Hosted on GitHub Pages
- Optimized for mobile browsers (Chrome recommended)
accessibility, voice-assistant, web-app, elderly-tech, digital-inclusion, emergency-calls, whatsapp-integration, medicine-reminders
- Full demo video (User 1)
- Short validation clips
- Available via Google Drive evidence folder