Years of the research: 2009 - 2011
Country: Hungary, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, United Kingdom
Language: English
Keywords:
Abstract:
The HAPPY AGEING project (AAL-2008-1-113) is a 28-months project, started on April 1st 2009, that involved seven partners of five European countries (IT, SP, HU, NL, UK). The project was aimed at developing a new device, the HAPPY AGEING system, for the support of older people's daily activities, following the user-centred design paradigm. The HAPPY AGEING system consists in the integration of sensors and other hardware technologies already available on the market in a pervasive intelligent system. In particular, three main modules were elaborated, allowing a flexible combination with the users’ needs: a) a lifestyle monitor, for recording the main activities in the home and comparing them with the habits of the elderly; b) a navigation assistant, for supporting user’s mobility in close environment; c) a personal assistant, for supporting actions such as searching for personal objects.
Researchers:
Type of research: research and development
Target group: older people living alone with limited phisical and/or cognitive capacities
Sample:
180 elderly ( in IT, NL, HU); 83 elderly were involved in rapid prototyping stages of the three envisaged modules; 15 (in each country) were involved in a field trial, for testing the system at home
Aims/Objectives/Background:
The main objectives of the project were: i) to prevent the incidence of chronic conditions and to manage such conditions when present, supporting independent living; ii) to develop and integrate a customizable system matching the demand for technology by the elderly with current market supply; iii) to directly involve the end-user in the development phase, assessing the user’s expectations and needs, assuring user acceptance of the new system; iv) to stimulate business innovation and create market opportunities to distribute and sell HAPPY AGEING devices.
Findings/outcome/conclusion/research questions:
The acceptance of the system was promoted by the adherence to the user-centred design paradigm, during each developmental phase: as for the first phase, a survey on older people's needs and attitude towards technology was conducted in IT, NL, and HU on 180 elderly, followed by focus groups with stakeholders for exploring the system opportunities in the countries; then 83 elderly were involved in rapid prototyping stages of the three envisaged modules and, finally, 15 older people were involved in a field trial, for testing the system at home. The comparison of economic costs and benefits has shown that the HAPPY AGEING system provides significant value to the end user, and thus to families and governments, based upon prolongation of the time individuals can continue to live independently.
Financed by: Ambient Assited Living project framework AAL-2008-1-113
Contact person: Zsuzsa Széman (project leader in Hungary), e-mail: szeman.zsuzsanna@public.semmelweis-univ.hu
Copyright
“The Central and Eastern European Active Ageing Network database is protected by copyright law, under international agreements and the EC Database Directive 96/9/EC. The owner of the database is the Institute of Mental Health of Semmelweis University and the University of Debrecen Faculty of Health. Reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is not permitted without the prior written authorization of the [owner].”