Activities, Projects and Events

Members of the Consumer Futures Lab will be presenting at the ARCH Sustainable Fashion event at the Abbey School in Reading on 13^th February 2025. ARCH (arch.theabbey.co.uk) is a hub that brings together individuals and organisations across Reading to offer opportunities and learning experiences to young people. The presentation will build on Lab members’ research interests into understanding attitudes towards ecologically responsible consumption.

Dr Rodrigo Perez-Vega, along with Professor Adrian Palmer and Alex Scher-Smith from the Consumer Future Lab, presented their research on using social robots in an Elderly Care Ward at the Royal Berkshire Hospital. Their work explores the perceptions of healthcare professionals towards this type of technology, and identifies barriers and enablers of staff adoption. This research is a key step toward testing these robots in more complex hospital settings and with end users. The project also highlights ongoing collaboration with industry partner Service Robotics and the Royal Berkshire Hospital Trust on this project.

Henley Consumer Futures Lab and the Chartered Institute of Marketing co-hosted the CIM Conference 2024, which was a repeat of the format of last year’s successful conference.

The theme of this year's conference was Resilient marketing: driving business performance and long-term success and was held at Henley Business School’s Greenlands campus. There were speakers from Mintel, Invesco, Henley Business School and a number of fast growth SMES who shared some useful insights and industry experiences with the attendees.

Lab member Dr Rodrigo Perez-Vega is part of a successful £1.08 bid with Reading Borough Council and others to help adults who choose to live independently at home. The significant grant – spanning a two year period - will enable the council to expand its Independent Living Care Technology Solutions, building on the success of the pilot program which took place over the last nine months. The project is part of the Council’s wider digital transformation programme, which aims to use digital technologies to make a real difference to the lives of residents.

Independent Living Technology Enabled Care (TEC) helps residents live safely in their own homes with the use of sensors installed in resident’s homes which collect information on daily routines, such as sleep patterns, bathroom visits, and meal preparation. Once standard patterns are established after a two week period, the system can then generate notifications if any deviations from these patterns occur. Examples includes increased bathroom visits during the night or a decrease in signs of meal preparation. Family members can also access a friends and family app.

The aim of the project is to evaluate the impact of sensor technology coupled with intelligent, advanced cutting-edge analytics - particularly for individuals who have been discharged from hospital or are living with long-term health conditions. Staff have been able to use the data to provide appropriate support to residents and enabling them to continue living at home.

The project is being delivered in partnership with voluntary sector care organisations, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and Berkshire West (BOB) ICB, University of Reading, technology suppliers, and care providers.

Henley Business School and CIM co-hosted the regional CIM Conference in October 2023. Speakers included senior executives from Microsoft, Meta and Deutsch Bank. Consumer Futures Lab member Dr Rodrigo Perez-Vega presented an update on research conducted within the Lab, highlighting the impact and emergence of social robots, artificial intelligence and virtual worlds. The joint conference was a success and will be repeated in October 2024.

The Consumer Futures Lab hosted an EU funded GoodBrother working group meeting with 37 participants from around Europe to discuss several research projects aligned with the goals of this research networks around audio and video-based assistive living technologies. During this meeting we also ran a panel discussion on Challenges and opportunities of AAL technologies with the following panellists:

• Tim Morgan, COO at Service Robotics
• Tracey Sloan, Service Delivery Manager, Digital Technology and Change Service, Reading Borough Council
• Kate Wigley, Transformation of Adults Social Care, Reading Borough Council
• Dr Ruby Zhang , Lecturer in Marketing, researching adoption and usage of social robots among older people, Henley Business School
• Dr Tatiana Rowson , Lecturer in Coaching and researching ageing and work, psychological aspects of adjustment to retirement and late life, Henley Business School
• Prof Malcolm Fisk, Professor of Ageing and Digital Health, De Montfort University

Consumer Futures Lab hosted a research seminar with members of the visual - Privacy-Aware and Acceptable Video-Based Technologies and Services for Active and Assisted Living group. Tamara Mujirishvili from the University of Alicante presented her work on the perceptions of personal safety and privacy in frail elderly, disabled people and their caregivers in the context of video-based lifelogging technologies.

Lab members Professor Adrian Palmer, Dr Rodrigo Perez-Vega , Dr Ruby Zhang and Alex Scher-Smith received a grant from the Academy of Marketing to investigate the Adoption of Service Robotics in Adult Social care. The findings were presented at the 2023 annual Academy of Marketing conference.

The Independent Living Project, in collaboration with the TEC team from RBC, hosted a workshop aimed at showcasing the innovative tech solutions currently being utilised to enhance adult social care in Reading. Occupational therapists, adult social care workers, and NHS staff from Royal Berkshire Hospital gathered to gain insights into these advancements. The Consumer Futures Lab team attended the event to collect valuable data for the Independent Living Project and also shared some of the research done on the use of social robots and VR simulations, providing a glimpse into the future of caregiving.

We hosted Prof Christoph Lutz from BI Norwegian Business School to discuss research on how different digital roles are evaluated using generative AI.

As part of a UKRI grant and in collaboration with the School of Biological Sciences, Henley Business School academic Dr Rodrigo Perez-Vega who is also a Consumer Futures Lab member co-organised a workshop to examine how precision approaches applied in marketing could help develop more effective interventions.

As part of the British Academy grant on the Adoption of Service Robotics in Adult Social Care, Consumer Futures lab members and representatives from robot manufacturer Service Robotics met with older adults in Reading to understand their perceptions and use of social robots.

Henley Business School academics and members of Consumer Futures Lab, Dr Rodrigo Perez-Vega , Dr Irene Garnelo-Gomez and Ilaria Mazzoli presented their work at the World Social Marketing Conference in Cali, Colombia in November 2023.
The research examines the influencer campaign #deinfluencing and the different framing strategies used amongst influencers that took part in this study.

Supported by a grant from the Academy of Marketing, Consumer Futures Lab members, Dr Rodrigo Perez-Vega and Dr Fabio Goncalves de Oliveira engaged with Gen Z consumers to understand how VR can help develop simulations that can improve different soft skills.