We answer the five most frequently asked questions about our work
5 FAQ’s about Deep Care and ISA
How did Deep Care and ISA come about?
Transfer innovation through own involvement
The founding team got to know each other while working together at Bosch in the field of robotics. Due to the long and concentrated work at the computer screen, unhealthy work routines, such as long and rigid sitting in an unergonomic posture, have gradually developed there. Despite the many health offerings at Bosch, these routines have had a noticeable impact on health over time, as conventional health offerings rarely have a lasting effect on the employee’s own behavior in everyday life. The idea of an assistance system for sitting behavior that directly addresses habits was born out of the company’s own concern and technical know-how.
In 2020, Deep Care GmbH was founded and the concept for ISA was developed in close cooperation with physiotherapists, company health managers, health insurance companies and numerous test persons. Initially part-time and since 2022 full-time with a growing team of health and behavioral scientists as well as software, product and market developers. This was made possible primarily by the first innovative companies that saw potential in ISA for their employees and thus became customers at an early stage. But public funding programs and courageous investors were also very important for us.
Why is ISA an extra device and not a smartphone app?
For users – little distraction with high effectiveness
The duration and intensity of use is crucial for high effectiveness in terms of behavior change. This also applies to health apps. One reason we implemented the concept with an additional device rather than as a smartphone app is that it is used more long-term this way. Health apps and their push messages are easily lost among the numerous other apps on the cell phone and can distract from work by tempting to use the smartphone (nudging). With the additional device, we create a better separation and thus promote a permanent, everyday use, true to our motto “Simply healthy – by the way”.
For data protection – offline and anonymous
Do you like being watched by a camera? Neither do we nor your colleagues. That’s why we at ISA use a sensor to record sitting and movement behavior at the desk instead of a webcam or smartphone camera. This is extremely precise and records the data completely anonymously, without the possibility of facial recognition. The specially developed device can be used completely offline and only requires an Internet connection for an update.
For the enterprise – easy integration
The separate device works autonomously and plug & play. No integration into the company’s IT infrastructure is necessary. Simply place it on the desk – whether in the office or home office – and off you go!
How is ISA used in companies? Can you test it first?
For companies with more than 200 office employees, our ISA on Demand circulation system is the easiest and most sustainable way to provide employees with healthy work routines through ISA. Here’s how it works:
1. Employees can independently book a period of 1-3 months via a booking platform and have ISA sent directly to their office or home office.
2. As a result, there is hardly any effort Occupational Health and Safety, since only the annual maximum usage quota has to be defined and information about the offer has to be provided internally. There is also no financial risk for the company, as we only invoice the actual number of ISA bookings.
3. The 1-3 month ISA use is derived from behavioral science to create a lasting effect on individual employee health routines.
4. If individual employees wish to continue using their ISAs after completion, they can do so independently and at their own expense with a discounted company subscription that can be cancelled monthly.
For you as an employer, this means: hardly any effort, no financial risk, sustainable health effect! And of course you shine as an innovative employer who attaches great importance to the health of its employees. More about ISA on Demand.
How is data protection ensured?
Offline data processing, anonymous sensors and data economy
ISA works without a camera, but with a special sensor that can accurately record sitting and movement behavior without identifying a person. This allows ISA to provide targeted assistance for a healthy way of working, while users remain completely anonymous. What’s more, all data is processed offline on users’ individual devices and deleted at the end of the day.
Okay, ISA works offline, but how does it receive updates? Users who are provided ISA by their employer for several weeks as part of ISA on Demand always receive the latest software pre-installed. Long-term users can connect ISA independently from time to time to perform updates and thus participate in continuous further development despite data protection-safe offline operation.
Has the data protection concept been reviewed and approved by a neutral body? As part of a publicly funded project, our data protection concept was critically reviewed and jointly optimized by Fraunhofer IOSB and the FZI Research Center for Information Technology. These institutes subsequently confirmed the quality of our data protection concept in an expert opinion.
What role does artificial intelligence (AI) play in ISA?
More than just a buzzword – AI is at the heart of ISA
The AI at Deep Care is responsible for detecting seating and ergonomic behavior. A deep learning algorithm processes the data and ensures the detection of relevant behaviors.
The deep learning algorithm is a completely in-house development and is continuously trained by us offline in the lab. We do this with the help of many volunteer test subjects of different height, stature, clothing, etc. In this way, the AI is constantly learning and gathers enough information to recognize the movement and ergonomics of the user, even when ISA is used offline.
Based on this recognition of sitting and movement behavior by ISA, another “decision algorithm” provides the user with the right health recommendations at the right time according to their actual behavior.
Doesn’t all this already exist? During the development of ISA, we also tested various open-source modules, but in the end they were always too inaccurate or incompatible with our privacy-compliant sensor technology. That’s why our development team built this system from scratch, trained it with health scientists, and also patented the entire process.