A man lives in Chicago and his 80-year-old mother lives alone in Florida. How do they manage to have dinner together at the same dining table? The Virtual Family Dinner, a new prototype developed by researchers at the Accenture Technology Labs in Chicago, uses “ubiquitous computing” to bring families together.

“Long-distance caregivers live an average of 450 miles and over seven hours away from the person for whom they provide care, and nearly a quarter of the nation’s long-distance caregivers are the primary source of assistance for an elderly relative or friend,” said Dadong Wan, a senior researcher at Accenture Technology Labs and developer of the Virtual Family Dinner prototype. “This concept is intended to bring people together and remove the feelings of isolation common among the elderly and the frustration experienced by many caregivers who are unable to spend as much time with loved ones as they would like."

The Virtual Family Dinner, now being tested in the Lab’s “test kitchen,” uses small ceiling-mounted cameras that act as sensors. These track mom in her kitchen while she prepares a meal. Once the system sees that she has brought dishes to the table, it infers that she is ready to receive company.

A screen, which is transparent when not in use, pops up at the end of the dining room table. A computer application runs through a directory of preregistered family members and friends to find someone who is available for dinner -- or, at least, for a conversation during the meal. This person's image is projected, life-sized and in real time, on the screen – as though sitting at the end of the table - and mom no longer feels like she’s eating alone.

Accenture will be collaborating with university researchers to study the impact of the Virtual Family Dinner on the health of homebound older adults. They will be looking at factors such as whether the homebound adults eat more or better food and experience better quality of life, and whether caregivers feel less stress. Studies have already shown that people at high risk for undernourishment consume more than 100 calories more per meal if they eat with someone else.