Meaningful play. Connected care.

Arka is an IoT-powered platform that brings motor and cognitive exercises into interactive games for older adults. It connects physical training devices with a caregiver web app, helping nursing homes and hospitals guide sessions, record results, and follow each participant's activity over time.

2nd Place - JOINTS x INSPIRE 2026

Category: Hackathon

Organizer: Department of Computer Science and Electronics, Universitas Gadjah Mada

Arka earned 2nd place in the Hackathon competition at JOINTS x INSPIRE 2026, presenting a connected approach to motor and cognitive training through interactive games, ESP32 devices, and a caregiver dashboard.

Arka brings caregivers, participants, and connected devices into one training workflow. Caregivers prepare a session and select an exercise, participants respond through a handheld grip device or physical buttons, and the platform records session metrics for later review.

This organization maintains the web application, backend services, and ESP32 firmware that power the Arka experience.

• Interactive Training - three game modes for grip control, attention, and sequence memory
• Connected Physical Devices - ESP32 grip and button devices turn physical responses into live game input
• Caregiver Dashboard - prepare sessions, check device readiness, and review recent activity
• Realtime Sessions - synchronize game instructions, device input, timers, and results through WebSocket connections
• Participant History - review recorded sessions and metrics within each institution
• AI-assisted Summaries - generate optional, nonclinical summaries grounded in recorded session metrics
• PDF Reports - download session and participant reports for review
• Institution Access - authenticate caregivers through institution accounts and keep participant records scoped to their organization

Caregiver Web App (Arka-FE)       ESP32 Training Devices
           |                               |
     REST / WebSocket               Secure WebSocket
           |                               |
           +---------------+---------------+
                           |
                           v
                        Arka-BE
                           |
                           +-- PostgreSQL / Prisma
                           +-- Redis / Valkey
                           +-- Better Auth
                           +-- AI Summary Worker (optional)

The backend coordinates session state, timers, scoring, device reservations, and result storage. The web app displays session updates, while ESP32 devices exchange input and commands with the backend over secure WebSocket connections.

Frontend - React, Vite, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, TanStack Query, React Router, Framer Motion

Backend - Node.js, Express, TypeScript, Prisma, PostgreSQL, Redis/Valkey, Better Auth, WebSocket, Zod

Hardware - ESP32/ESP32-C3, Arduino C++, HX711, load cell, physical buttons, LEDs, buzzer

AI Summaries - optional Ollama or an OpenAI-compatible provider for summaries of recorded activity

1. A caregiver signs in with an institution account.
2. The caregiver selects a participant and a training mode.
3. Arka checks device readiness and prepares the session.
4. The participant follows the on-screen instructions and responds using the physical device.
5. The backend processes input, calculates metrics, and stores the completed session.
6. The caregiver reviews results, participant history, summaries, and downloadable reports.

See the setup guide in each repository:

• Frontend Setup
• Backend Setup
• Grip Device Setup
• Sequence Memory Device Setup

Arka supports supervised training and session recording. Game scores and summaries describe recorded activity; they do not provide a diagnosis or prescribe treatment.