Gyeonggi Province to Pilot 'AI Independence Assistant' for Persons with Disabilities in Self-Reliant Housing Starting October

Gyeonggi Province will operate a pilot project for the 'AI Independence Assistant' from October through December, utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) technology to support the safety, health management, and daily living of persons with disabilities.

The 'AI Independence Assistant' is a project that provides personalized AI and IoT services tailored to the disability characteristics, living environments, and needs of persons with disabilities residing in self-reliant housing, enabling them to live more safely and independently in the community. The project develops AI utilization competencies for persons with disabilities and support staff, and promotes work efficiency by utilizing AI in repetitive administrative tasks.

The project targets 252 persons with disabilities and support staff residing in 194 units of self-reliant housing across the province, with participation applications being accepted from 46 organizations operating self-reliant housing facilities, including disability self-reliant living support centers.

Key services include enhancing AI utilization skills and supporting leisure activities, crisis detection and emergency response and welfare checks, health management such as meal planning and medication adherence, emotional support through AI conversation partners and counseling services, cognitive improvement training, voice phishing prevention, and identification of financial and contract-related risk factors.

Based on individual needs, IoT devices for daily convenience such as door sensors, voice-controlled lighting, and visitor identification systems will also be provided. During times when activity support workers or dedicated support staff are not present, AI will be utilized to check on welfare and detect changes in living patterns to fill care gaps.

AI will also be utilized in administrative work by dedicated support staff. It will assist in establishing and updating self-reliant support plans, writing survey forms, analyzing official documents and contracts, searching civil complaint information, and interpreting legal terminology, allowing dedicated staff to focus more on face-to-face support such as counseling and case management for persons with disabilities.

The project is being promoted as part of the disability self-reliant transition support system construction project, which is being entrusted to and operated by the Gyeonggi Province Comprehensive Disability Welfare Support Center (Noureum Center), with project funding of 43 million won from the province. Gyeonggi Province plans to monitor service usage performance, major cases, errors and safety-related matters during the pilot operation period, and after project completion, will analyze the effects of filling safety confirmation and daily life support gaps for persons with disabilities, as well as changes in the workload of dedicated staff.

Lee Eun-joo, Director of the Disability Independence Support Division at Gyeonggi Province, stated, "The advancement of AI technology should not create new disparities for persons with disabilities but should become an opportunity for greater choice and independence," and added, "We will verify services that are actually helpful in the field and develop them into a Gyeonggi Province-model AI independence support system that backs the safety and self-reliance of persons with disabilities."