Delivering elder-care environments utilizing TV-channel based mechanisms

In this paper, we present a smart environment for elderly. What makes the development of such system challenging is that the concept of smartness for elderly brings to the extreme the idea of invisibility of the technology. In our experience, elders are well-disposed to new technologies, provided that those will not require significant changes - namely, they are invisible - to their habits. Starting from this consideration, 200 caregivers responses were collected by questionnaire, so as to better understand elders' needs and habits. A system was subsequently developed allowing elders to access a number of "modern web services" as standard TV channels: at channel 43 there is the health status, at channel 45 the photos of the family, at 46 the agenda of the week, just to mention few of the available services. The content of such services is automatically generated by the smart devices in the environment and is managed by the caregivers (e.g., family members) by simple web apps. Fourteen families were asked to install the system in their house. The results of these experiments confirm that the proposed system is considered effective and user-friendly by elders

Age-appropriate information technology on the advance: Putting paid to olden times

Ageing society opens up enormous economic potential. Whereas for a long time social interpretation homed in on the doomsday scenarios of demographic change, it is the economic potential that is now emerging with increasing clarity. Information and communication technologies stand a good chance of benefiting from this trend. Older people are not intrinsically technology refuseniks, as evidenced by the growing number of silver agers using the internet. Successful products will be far removed from disenfranchisement and stigmatisation. The challenge to product developers and marketing strategists is to create age-appropriate offers that older people do not perceive as encroaching on their autonomy or pointing up their physical infirmities. Particularly promising are offers enabling barrier-free use without seeming like segregational solutions for specific age groups. User friendliness, value systems and the legal framework are currently stymieing yet wider success. Technical fascination aside, the business potential hinges directly on regulations concerning data protection, teletreatment and cost reimbursement, on user friendliness and society’s attitude towards the application of robotics in medicine and healthcare. The tasks involved are enormous. Product developers, marketing strategists, physicians, nurses and carers, politicians and older people in need of help themselves must be prepared to take the new routes. Assistance systems, e-Health and health games benefit from demographic change. The range of offers is highly diversified. They extend from ‘intelligent’ tablet dispensers, emergency bio sensor technology in motor vehicles and motion sensor technology through tele-monitoring and online consultations to brain jogging and exercise games.demographics, technology,ICT, e-Health, games, AAL, assistance systems

Technical requirements of age-friendly smart home technologies in high-rise residential buildings : A system intelligence analytical approach

Smart home technology (SHT) has been identified as a promising means of helping seniors to remain independent and maintain their quality of life (QoL) while containing spiralling care costs for older people. Despite official pilot schemes in many countries to promote SHT in seniors housing, there is limited understanding of the forms that such SHT interventions should take. This study builds on the analytical model of intelligent building control systems developed by the author; the aim is to provide a systematic approach to understanding the key intelligent attributes of smart-home devices. A qualitative participatory evaluation approach involving focus groups was adopted to investigate the needs of seniors and their SHT preferences. Fourteen features of the SHT technical requirements of four key intelligent attribute types were identified. This study's insights will help to shape the way SHT is designed and used

Design and evaluation of a smart home voice interface for the elderly ― Acceptability and objection aspects

Impact-F=1.13 estim. in 2012International audienceSmart homes equipped with ambient intelligence technology constitute a promising direction to enable the growing number of elderly to continue to live in their own home as long as possible. However, this calls for technological solutions that suit their specific needs and capabilities. The SWEET-HOME project aims at developing a new user friendly technology for home automation based on voice command. This paper reports a user evaluation assessing the acceptance and fear of this new technology. Eight healthy persons between 71 and 88 years old, 7 relatives (child, grandchild or friend) and 3 professional carers participated in a user evaluation. During about 45 min, the persons were questioned in co-discovery in the DOMUS smart home alternating between interview and wizard of Oz periods followed by a debriefing. The experience aimed at testing four important aspects of the project: voice command, communication with the outside world, domotics system interrupting a person's activity, and electronic agenda. Voice interface appeared to have a great potential to ease daily living for elderly and frail persons and would be better accepted than more intrusive solutions. By considering still healthy and independent elderly people in the user evaluation, an interesting finding that came up is their overall acceptance provided the system does not drive them to a lazy lifestyle by taking control of everything. This particular fear must be addressed for the development of smart homes that support daily living by giving them more ability to control rather than putting them away from the daily routine

Towards Accessible Smart Homes for Senior Citizens

Will aging individuals accept the convenience and safety features of Smart Home technology? According to the U.S. Census Bureau Population Projections, there are currently 52 million people categorized as aging individuals with an age over 65. Almost a third of these individuals do not have internet connection. A majority prefer to maintain their independence, but many will likely encounter health issues that limit their abilities to continue to live on their own without support. Something as convenient as voice command lights, phone calls, or entertainment could assist these individuals in staying safe, even with limited mobility. This is where the problem arises. Most seniors do not accept life changing smart home technology for many reasons. In this work, I introduce an offline system and preferred command-device that can be used to control a house. In addition, pairing with Alexa is possible with internet access

Issues Related to the Emergence of the Information Superhighway and California Societal Changes, IISTPS Report 96-4

The Norman Y. Mineta International Institute for Surface Transportation Policy Studies (IISTPS) at San José State University (SJSU) conducted this project to review the continuing development of the Internet and the Information Superhighway. Emphasis was placed on an examination of the impact on commuting and working patterns in California, and an analysis of how public transportation agencies, including Caltrans, might take advantage of the new communications technologies. The document reviews the technology underlying the current Internet “structure” and examines anticipated developments. It is important to note that much of the research for this limited-scope project was conducted during 1995, and the topic is so rapidly evolving that some information is almost automatically “dated.” The report also examines how transportation agencies are basically similar in structure and function to other business entities, and how they can continue to utilize the emerging technologies to improve internal and external communications. As part of a detailed discussion of specific transportation agency functions, it is noted that the concept of a “Roundtable Forum,” growing out of developments in Concurrent Engineering, can provide an opportunity for representatives from multiple jurisdictions to utilize the Internet for more coordinated decision-making. The report also included an extensive analysis of demographic trends in California in recent years, such as commute and recreational activities, and identifies how the emerging technologies may impact future changes

Fall prevention intervention technologies: A conceptual framework and survey of the state of the art

In recent years, an ever increasing range of technology-based applications have been developed with the goal of assisting in the delivery of more effective and efficient fall prevention interventions. Whilst there have been a number of studies that have surveyed technologies for a particular sub-domain of fall prevention, there is no existing research which surveys the full spectrum of falls prevention interventions and characterises the range of technologies that have augmented this landscape. This study presents a conceptual framework and survey of the state of the art of technology-based fall prevention systems which is derived from a systematic template analysis of studies presented in contemporary research literature. The framework proposes four broad categories of fall prevention intervention system: Pre-fall prevention; Post-fall prevention; Fall injury prevention; Cross-fall prevention. Other categories include, Application type, Technology deployment platform, Information sources, Deployment environment, User interface type, and Collaborative function. After presenting the conceptual framework, a detailed survey of the state of the art is presented as a function of the proposed framework. A number of research challenges emerge as a result of surveying the research literature, which include a need for: new systems that focus on overcoming extrinsic falls risk factors; systems that support the environmental risk assessment process; systems that enable patients and practitioners to develop more collaborative relationships and engage in shared decision making during falls risk assessment and prevention activities. In response to these challenges, recommendations and future research directions are proposed to overcome each respective challenge.The Royal Society, grant Ref: RG13082

Blueprint for an ageing Australia

This paper sets out sets out the steps for Australia to take to ensure that ageing is an asset, not a liability

Increasing the Capacity of Primary Care Through Enabling Technology.

Primary care is the foundation of effective and high-quality health care. The role of primary care clinicians has expanded to encompass coordination of care across multiple providers and management of more patients with complex conditions. Enabling technology has the potential to expand the capacity for primary care clinicians to provide integrated, accessible care that channels expertise to the patient and brings specialty consultations into the primary care clinic. Furthermore, technology offers opportunities to engage patients in advancing their health through improved communication and enhanced self-management of chronic conditions. This paper describes enabling technologies in four domains (the body, the home, the community, and the primary care clinic) that can support the critical role primary care clinicians play in the health care system. It also identifies challenges to incorporating these technologies into primary care clinics, care processes, and workflow