Research at James Anthony Consulting

Pioneering communication technology for cognitive accessibility

Over the past half decade, motivated by the family experiences of our director and supported by our management team, James Anthony Consulting (JAC) has been at the forefront of research and development in assistive communication technology, pushing the boundaries of what's possible in dementia-friendly user interfaces, advanced video/audio streaming algorithms, and intelligent hardware systems for aged care.

Our focus is the design of telepresence devices that genuinely work for those living with cognitive, visual, and hearing impairments. Through multidisciplinary collaboration, rigorous experimentation, and deep empathy, our team has developed a pipeline of novel technologies that support human connection—even in the most challenging environments.

Some of our research areas

  • Audio & video streaming algorithms for cognitive comprehension

    Designed and tested novel video and audio compression algorithms that preserve emotional and non-verbal cues—critical for people living with dementia.

    Developed and refined variable bitrate systems, optimised for poor or un-managed network conditions.

    Created noise-cancellation systems that retain meaningful sounds (sighs, laughter, ambient cues) while suppressing background interference.

  • Human-computer interfaces for impaired cognition, dexterity and mobility

    Created device interfaces tailored to sequencing difficulty, limited mobility, limited dexterity, low impulse control, and speech aphasia.

    Achieved measurable success in simplifying menu nesting, incorporating photo-based calling buttons, and implementing real-time visual feedback.

    Iterated UI designs using empirical “thumbs up/thumbs down” field testing across aged care sitesand at-home users.

  • Intelligent subtitling and real-time automated interpretation

    Built and trialled multiple captioning styles and real-time AI-driven subtitle approaches for those reverting to native languages.

    Partnered with AI vendors to explore cross-lingual translation for dementia patients, with a particular focus for clinical conversations and cross-generational conversations.

    Evaluated subtitle formats with diverse cohorts, identifying which placement, timing, and text contrast best aid comprehension.

  • Hardware & integration innovations

    Engineered custom telepresence prototypes optimised for passive video use by aged care residents and people ageing at home.

    Integrated alternative communication protocols eg. personal area analogue induction loop for hearing aids.

    Explored AI-driven facial expression augmentation, lip-reading support, and acoustic fall detection systems.

    Comparison of performance between software and hardware acoustic echo cancellation technologies, combined with custom audio and video codecs.

Our impact

With provisional patents and global PCT applications arising from JAC research activities, and IP licenced for use in on-market technology products helping hundreds of people across Australia, our research program continues to deliver real world results.

We were invited to present on a panel at the National Dementia Conference 2023, presented at the 17th International Conference on Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease 2025, and will be presenting later this year at the Oceanic Palliative Care Conference.

Apply to join our research fellowship program

We’re growing our research capabilities and are actively recruiting fellows with backgrounds in:

  • Signal processing and audio engineering

  • UX/UI for impaired cognition

  • Human-computer interaction

  • Real-time translation algorithms

  • Medical device prototyping and embedded systems

Our fellows contribute to real-world impact—shaping technologies used by those most in need.