Living Lab: Interdisciplinary Laboratory in Health and Inclusion is an initiative developed at the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso (PUCV) and led by an interdisciplinary team in which MICARE researchers actively participate: Vanessa Vega, director of Inclusion at PUCV and principal investigator at MICARE, and Felipe Muñoz La Rivera, professor of engineering at PUCV and principal investigator at MICARE; UDLA professor and young researcher at MICARE, Izaskún Álvarez-Aguado, together with MICARE doctoral student, Herbert Spencer.
The Living Lab is conceived as a new space geared toward the development of applied research, innovation, and co-creation with social impact, focused on contemporary challenges in health, accessibility, and inclusion. It functions as a space for collaborative experimentation where engineering, health, social sciences, education, and design converge, actively integrating users and communities into the research and development processes.
The laboratory is part of competitive research projects awarded to MICARE researchers, including the FONDEF TEAsy-Life project, which seeks to develop an artificial intelligence model to support the autonomy of adults on the autism spectrum at home, and the FONDECYT Regular project aimed at promoting the self-determination of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in higher education. These initiatives reflect MICARE’s commitment to generating applied knowledge and evidence-based solutions to improve quality of life and social inclusion.
During the inauguration, the Living Lab’s main technological capabilities and lines of action were presented, including the use of virtual reality and artificial intelligence, the development of tools for accessibility assessment, solutions to support rehabilitation and learning processes, and people-centered participatory methodologies.
Laboratory managers Vanessa Vega and Felipe Muñoz La Rivera highlight the importance of this type of initiative. “The Living Lab is a space that reflects a new way of understanding research, where interdisciplinarity, technology, and people come together to generate real social impact. Through co-creation with communities and the use of tools such as virtual reality and artificial intelligence, we seek to develop evidence-based solutions applied to health and inclusion that contribute to improving quality of life and promoting effective inclusion in different contexts,” said Felipe Muñoz.
The Living Lab is also designed as a training environment, integrating undergraduate and graduate students into real projects and strengthening technical, ethical, and social skills. For MICARE, this initiative constitutes a strategic space for inter-institutional collaboration that contributes to its mission of producing excellent research in care, disability, and inclusion, with an impact on public policies and social practices.