Aura: The Adaptive Rural Care Network
Inspiration
Aura was inspired by the “Triple Barrier” faced by rural elderly patients—physical, cognitive, and geographic challenges. We imagined a user like Elias, an 82-year-old living far from urban care, struggling to interact with small UI elements, understand complex medical jargon, and identify the right healthcare facility. This pushed us to design for the extreme user, where accessibility is not a feature, but a necessity.
How We Built It
We developed Aura as a full-stack adaptive web application:
Adaptive Engine:
We tracked cursor coordinates $(x, y)$ and applied a low-pass filter to detect high-frequency oscillations: $$ x_{smooth}(t) = \alpha x(t) + (1 - \alpha) x_{smooth}(t-1) $$ When tremors are detected, the UI dynamically increases button sizes, simplifies layouts, and stabilizes cursor movement.AI Explainer:
A contextual AI layer summarizes complex pages into simple, 2-sentence explanations, reducing cognitive load.AI Hotline:
A voice-first interface using speech-to-text and text-to-speech allows users to describe symptoms and receive immediate guidance.Data Engine:
We integrated public healthcare datasets (CMS, HRSA) and mapped them into a unified, queryable system.Offline Support:
Using service workers, we cached critical healthcare data to ensure functionality in low or no connectivity zones.
Challenges We Faced
- Tremor Detection Accuracy: Distinguishing intentional movement from tremors required careful tuning of thresholds and smoothing factors like $\alpha$.
- Data Integration: Combining multiple healthcare datasets with inconsistent formats was complex.
- Real-Time Adaptation: Ensuring smooth UI transitions without disrupting user experience was technically challenging.
- Voice Reliability: Handling noisy rural environments for voice input required robust processing.
What We Learned
We learned that designing for accessibility uncovers deeper system flaws. Building Aura taught us how adaptive interfaces, real-time data, and AI can work together to create meaningful impact. Most importantly, we realized that inclusive design is not just ethical—it is essential for building truly effective technology.
Built With
- gcp
- node.js
- supabase
