Overview of MPOWER: Middleware Platform for the Cognitively Impaired and Elderly

Abstract: The number of cognitively impaired and chronically ill elderly is increasing. The main objective is to support older people living independently in their homes as long as possible, with good quality of life – no place is like home. Technology is utilized to support the elderly and help provide enhanced health-care services. This paper presents the MPOWER project and the features this innovative middleware platform will provide. It will support rapid development and deployment of integrated innovative services for elderly and cognitively disabled. For this system that provides a collaborative environment for distributed and shared care, usability, security and interoperability between systems is central; biosensors and SMART house technologies are integrated; and structured mechanisms are provided for adapting to changes in user context in a distributed, mobile environment supporting various user contexts