The Florence Project is developing AI-enabled communication technology that helps people living with dementia stay connected, confident and independent in everyday life through personalised support, communication assistance and human-centred design.
What's the problem?
Dementia can affect a person's ability to communicate, remember information and participate in everyday activities. Changes in communication are often among the most challenging aspects of living with dementia, affecting relationships, independence and quality of life.
Many existing technologies are not designed with the needs of people living with dementia in mind. Complex interfaces, reliance on smartphones and limited consideration of communication challenges can create barriers to adoption and reduce the effectiveness of digital support tools.
What's UQ's innovation?
The Florence Project is a community-based initiative led by the UQ node of the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language. The project brings together people living with dementia, care partners, researchers and technology developers to co-design technologies that support everyday life.
Florence combines AI, language technologies and human-centred design to create tools tailored to the needs of people living with dementia. The technology includes:
A personalised Life Library, containing meaningful information that people wish to record and share with family members, carers and health professionals.
An ecosystem of accessible technologies to support photo sharing, music, calendars and smart home options.
Connection to a safe and personalised social network to share information and engage with people and places important to them;
Prompts and supports for everyday tasks, helping people maintain independence and confidence.
The project's distinctive feature is its co-design approach. People living with dementia and care partners participate as lived-experience experts, helping shape the technology, research priorities and design decisions from the earliest stages of development. This includes reflecting on the use of AI, and strategies and design to enable safe, trustworthy and ethical approaches.
The interdisciplinary team includes expertise in lived experience, computer science, interaction design, speech pathology, psychology, cognitive science and occupational therapy, ensuring the technology addresses both technical and human needs.
What's the impact?
Florence is demonstrating how AI can be used responsibly and practically to support people living with dementia in their homes and communities. The project was featured at the United Nations AI for Good Global Summit, highlighting its contribution to the development of human-centred AI technologies that address real-world social challenges.
By supporting communication, memory and everyday activities, Florence aims to help people living with dementia maintain stronger social connections, greater independence and improved quality of life. The project also provides a model for how AI technologies can be developed in partnership with the people who will ultimately use them supporting trust, ethical development and safe systems.
Beyond dementia care, the project is advancing new approaches to co-design, assistive technology and human-centred AI that may inform future digital health innovations.
Key researchers
- Professor Janet Wiles
School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - Dr Peter Worthy
School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - A/Prof Jacki Liddle
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences - A/Prof Anthony Angwin
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
| AI Research Strength | Human-Centred AI |
|---|---|
| Industry Portfolio | Health and Biomedical Sciences |
| Key Partners | ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language People living with dementia and care partners (lived-experience expert reference group) UQ interdisciplinary research teams spanning computing, health and social sciences |
| Key Publications | Nickbakht, M., Angwin, A. J., Cheng, B. B. Y., Liddle, J., Worthy, P., Wiles, J. H., Angus, D., & Wallace, S. J. (2023). Putting “the broken bits together”: A qualitative exploration of the impact of communication changes in dementia. Journal of Communication Disorders, 101, Article 106294. doi.org Notley, Neve, Peter Worthy, Matthew E. Peters, Jacob Shaw, Andrea Nelson, Dennis Frost, Eileen Taylor, Dubhglas Taylor, Janet Wiles, and Jacki Liddle. "Encountering technology: a qualitative exploration of the technology experiences of people living with dementia and their care partners to inform knowledge, practice and technology design." International Review of Psychiatry (2025): 1-14. Liddle, Jacki, Peter Worthy, Dennis Frost, Eileen Taylor, Dubhglas Taylor, Ron Beleno, Daniel Angus, Janet Wiles, Anthony Angwin, and Florence Project Living Experience Expert Reference Group. "Personal and complex: the needs and experiences related to technology use for people living with dementia." Dementia 21, no. 5 (2022): 1511-1531. Liddle, Jacki, Peter Worthy, Dennis Frost, Eileen Taylor, and Dubhglas Taylor. "Partnering with people living with dementia and care partners in technology research and design: Reflections and recommendations." Australian Occupational Therapy Journal 69, no. 6 (2022): 723-741. |
Published 15 September 2026