Evaluating the Energy Requirements of Assistive Technologies for Older Adults.

The successful adoption of assistive technologies for older adults requires considering and evaluating many different factors and dimensions such as effectiveness, usability, cost and equity of access, to name some of the most relevant. In line with this, the energy requirements to power such assistive technologies remains a hidden factor that might to some extent influence the success in their adoption and the user experience in a wider sense. Very often energy availability is taken for granted and its associated costs and operational requirements are mostly neglected.

Bedtime Monitoring for Fall Detection and Prevention in Older Adults.

Life expectancy has increased, so the number of people in need of intensive care and attention is also growing. Falls are a major problem for older adult health, mainly because of the consequences they entail. Falls are indeed the second leading cause of unintentional death in the world.

Phyx.io: Expert-Based Decision Making for the Selection of At-Home Rehabilitation Solutions for Active and Healthy Aging.

While the importance of physical activity in older adults is beyond doubt, there are significant barriers limiting the access of older adults to physical exercise. Existing technologies to support physical activity in older adults show that, despite their positive impacts on health and well-being, there is in general a lack of engagement due to the existing reluctance to the use of technology. Usefulness and usability are two major factors for user acceptance along with others, such as cost, privacy, equipment and maintenance requirements, support, etc.

The SHAPES Smart Mirror Approach for Independent Living, Healthy and Active Ageing.

The benefits that technology can provide in terms of health and support for independent living are in many cases not enough to break the barriers that prevent older adults from accepting and embracing technology. This work proposes a hardware and software platform based on a smart mirror, which is equipped with a set of digital solutions whose main focus is to overcome older adults' reluctance to use technology at home and wearable devices on the move. The system has been developed in the context of two use cases: the support of independent living for older individuals with neurodegenerative diseases and the promotion of physical rehabilitation activities at home.