SMARTIE “Soluzioni Multisensoriali per Accessibilità e Resilienza Tecnologica Inclusiva” is a Research and Development project promoted by the ICT4SSL Consortium and funded by the Veneto Region. It was created to respond to the growing need to make university living environments more inclusive, accessible, and technologically advanced. The initiative aims to develop a smart residential ecosystem designed to improve the autonomy and quality of life of university students with motor, visual, and auditory disabilities, leveraging digital technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and adaptive assistive interfaces. Through the integration of smart home automation systems, multimodal human-machine interfaces, and AI-driven personal assistants based on large language models, SMARTIE transforms conventional student housing into interactive, personalised, and accessible cyber-physical spaces. The project promotes a vision of inclusive living that is not only technological, but also equitable, participatory, and human-centered. It aims to co-design assistive solutions with end users, develop accessible and adaptive interfaces to support users with diverse abilities, and implement intelligent systems for environmental control, personalised alerting, and social inclusion through emotional robotics.

The goal is also to foster new models of inclusive living based on the integration of assistive technologies and to promote the active involvement of users with disabilities through participatory design approaches and user-centered experimentation. In particular, the Research Unit of the Human Technology Lab (HTLab), which is part of the Human Inspired Technology Research Center (HIT) at the University of Padova, will be responsible for designing and conducting co-design activities with university students with motor, visual, and auditory disabilities, in order to gather user requirements (e.g., through Focus Groups and participatory design sessions) to inform the design and development of accessible multimodal interfaces and assistive solutions. Moreover, the HTLab team will oversee the development and integration of interactive tools that make the residential environment more accessible, controllable, and responsive to the needs of diverse user groups. The team will also evaluate the user experience, usability, accessibility, and acceptance of the digital and physical solutions developed within the SMARTIE project.