133042Voice Controlled EmpowermentClosedStudyInnovate UKDigital exclusion means the people that could benefit the most from technology are the ones that often have least access to it. Graphic user interface designs and interactions with smart devices often assume a level of digital literacy that many groups, like disadvantaged or cognitively impaired older adults, simply do not possess. Emerging technologies, like voice recognition software, have the potential to minimise these usability and accessibility gaps. Alcove, a #caretech ecosystem, plans to discover how voice control can best be used to improve lives by on-site design and iteration with older adults living in social housing in the London Borough of Newham. We will use existing consumer technology, the Amazon Echo, to see if its Alexa voice control is useful and usable to our future customers. From their feedback, we will look to define what features and functionality address their needs and aspirations the best. From calling for help in an emergency; to dimming lights or turning the heating on; to an AI doctor diagnosing an illness. We will let the users choose what's important to them; then work out what's technically and commericially viable. From idea to prototype, using off the shelf applets and plugs ins, users will then be able to try, assess, and report back on new features.