Building Digital Inclusion – Innovations to Support Work-Life Skills and Independent Living

Cities face social and economic changes, along with the digitalisation of services, which threaten to push some residents to the margins. The Horizon-funded CommuniCity project addresses these challenges by piloting and co-developing innovative solutions with cities, professionals, and residents. Over the three-year project, a total of 100 pilots are running across European cities, with 25 of them taking place in Helsinki.

In the spring of 2024, several digital solutions were piloted in Helsinki. The target groups included older adults, the long-term unemployed, non-Finnish speakers, and people with intellectual disabilities. The aim was to support, for example, the development of professional and personal skills and independent living through various means, as well as to enhance overall well-being.

The technological solutions piloted were selected via a Europe-wide open call, launched in September 2024. Each selected pilot team received a grant of up to €32,500 to develop and test their solution, in close co-creation with the city and its residents. Furthermore, there were cross-border pilots, spanning two or three countries.

AI-Powered “Smart Ball” for people with intellectual disabilities

Many individuals with severe intellectual disabilities require support for communication and service use. Many of them benefit from stimulating exercises and activities, for example, as part of day activities organized by the City of Helsinki. In the spring of 2024, Ai2Ai Oy piloted whether the PALL0 technology could assist individuals with severe disabilities in communication and provide new activation methods for the Helsinki’s day activities. The ball-shaped PALL0 combines movement expression, sensors, and artificial intelligence with gamification and interaction.

In Helsinki, the technology was piloted at the Sofianlehto Activity Centre, which offers day activities for the city’s residents with disabilities. The team piloting PALL0 co-developed the solution with Sofianlehto’s physiotherapists, instructors and clients. During the pilot, the solution’s user-friendliness, technical functionality, and suitability for both day activity clients and to the use of activity center staff were evaluated. The collaboration yielded promising results.

Gathering route information through new methods

Cities need up-to-date and comprehensive information about the condition and accessibility of their routes. However, this information is often not readily available nor does it cover a wide area. In Helsinki and Tallinn, a cross-boarder pilot was conducted to crowdsource data collection using a mobile game. The pilot was implemented by Riesa Consultative Oy and Crowdsorsa.

The pilot aimed to collect information specifically on the accessibility of pedestrian crossings and the condition of routes. The Crowdsorsa mobile game was adapted for this purpose. The game encouraged users to move around the city in various predefined areas and take photos along the way in exchange for a small monetary compensation. The photos provided information on how accessibility is implemented, in other words, how the routes work from the perspective of visually impaired and wheelchair users. Riesa Consultative Oy analysed the photographic material.

The pilots conducted in Helsinki and Tallinn demonstrated that the game works well as a method for data collection. Additionally, the pilots proved that there is a need for more up-to-date information on routes and accessibility. In Tallinn, the game has since been used to map the accessibility of public transport stops.

Sensorized seat cover to prevent pressure ulcers

Suomen Digitaalinen Tehdas Oy and Touchlab Oy aim to reduce the formation of pressure ulcers for wheelchair users with a new, smart sensor solution. The solution is based on a highly sensitive sensor system that, during the pilot, was printed as part of the fabric of a wheelchair seat cushion. In Finland, an estimated 55,000–80,000 people suffer from pressure ulcers annually, so the solution has significant potential impact.

During the pilot, nurses at the Kivelä Senior Center set individual pressure thresholds for each patient, which were monitored with mobile devices. If a pressure threshold was exceeded, the patient’s position in the wheelchair could be adjusted to avoid the risk of pressure ulcer formation. The solution was also found to help determine the correct wheelchair settings, as the sensor cushion indicated when the center of gravity was ideal for the patient.

Digital Survey Measures Skills and Guides to Training

Cities want to measure the digital skills of the long-term unemployed to identify their hidden competencies and to better target training for them. For this purpose, Stereoscape Oy developed a digital survey to map skills. The aim was for the survey to help identify what kind of training each unemployed person would benefit from and inspire new learning.

The survey was developed by three cities: Helsinki, Porto, and Tallinn. The service was first piloted in Helsinki, where the solution was further developed in close cooperation with the City of Helsinki’s Rehabilitation Work Activities Unit and its clients. Users provided feedback on the survey during workshops, and the service was modified based on this feedback. The survey was then piloted in Porto as an interactive video with Instituto do Emprego e Formação Profissional. Although the digital platform used in Porto was different, the co-creation work done in Helsinki provided a valuable basis for the Porto pilot.

Quiz Motivates Work-Life Skills Training

Helsinki and Tallinn piloted a new way to identify and develop work-life skills for unemployed residents. The technological solution aimed to develop the job search skills of the long-term unemployed and provide opportunities to learn new skills.

The service piloted is based on Kwizie Oy’s “AI Co-Pilot for Recognizing Competence through Interactive Video Quiz Games,” which combines videos and questions into playful quizzes. The platform can be used for various purposes. In the case of Helsinki, it was applied to skill mapping, as the pilot aimed to support the City of Helsinki’s rehabilitation work activities in identifying and validating the competencies of long-term unemployed individuals. As part of the pilot, Kwizie produced video material that supported the provision of services to homeless people in Tallinn. The videos reduced the administrative burden and improved the acquisition of the content of the documents of the City of Tallinn’s welfare and health care services. 

Through the pilots, Kwizie Oy was able to develop its product with customers through real-world applications. The Helsinki and Tallinn pilots demonstrated that gamification works well in developing work-life skills. Both cities and Kwizie Oy employees were satisfied with the pilot and the collaboration.

New round of pilots in 2025

The CommuniCity project’s third and largest open call was launched in September 2024. Based on the needs defined by 17 European cities, it sought new technologies to improve city services and the daily lives of vulnerable communities. Almost 60 technology pilots were selected for the final round of piloting, to be implemented by the end of May 2025.  In Helsinki, thirteen of these pilots will be carried out in collaboration with the City of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital.