The European Project “HAPPY AGEING”: A Home based APProach to the Years of AGEING

1. The European Project “HAPPY AGEING”:A Home based APProachto the Years of AGEING Fiorella Marcellini (I.N.R.C.A., Ancona -IT) The System The project wants to improve the quality of life, autonomy and participation in social life of older users through a new ICT product. HAPPY AGEING system will integrate sensors and technologies available on the market in a whole smart system, able to assure reliability, unobtrusiveness and privacy of the user The three technical modules of the system are: 1. Lifestyle monitor, capable of recording main activities that take place in the home and compare them with habits of the monitored subject. The aim is two fold: on one hand to remind the user about activities that need to be performed (e.g. taking medicines) and on the other to monitor a lack of activity for an extended period, or to identify unusual behaviors. 2. Navigation assistant, aimed to support user’s mobility in close environment, particularly useful for older people affected by either low vision or difficulties of orientation. 3. Personal assistant, characterized by two main groups of functions: a) support in performing usual common actions (e.g. dialing a phone number), b) support in searching for personal objects lost at home (e.g. spectacles or keys, etc.). . Happy ageing partners For further information: I.N.R.C.A. (Istituto Nazionale di Riposo e Cura degli Anziani IRCCS) Dr. Fiorella Marcellini (Project Coordinator) f.marcellini@inrca.it Via. S. Margherita 5, 60124, Ancona, Italy http://www.inrca.it Framework The Ambient Assisted Living (AAL)Joint Programme is a new research and development (R&D) programme funding activity by 23 European Member States and Associated States with the financial support of the European Community, provided on the basis of article 169 of the EU treaty. The overall objective of the programme is to enhance the quality of life of older people and strengthen the industrial base in Europe through the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The HAPPY AGEING project, funded by the AAL first call, started on April 1° 2009 for a length of 24 months. Project background Independent living stands for being able to perform autonomously simple daily activities. Most of progressive difficulties, that lead ageing process, involve mental processes and vision; furthermore older people have to be taken into account psychological implications such as the sense of frailness and the feeling of safety. This is very important especially for those living alone , who are going to increase in all Europe. Despite this difficulty in carrying out the everyday activities due to physical and cognitive age related limitations, nowadays an increasing number of older people are obliged or want to live alone and desire to be independent. HAPPY AGEING wants to answer to the older people needs developing a new assistive device, to be used at home. The HAPPY AGEING Project involves five European countries (IT, NL, SP, UK, HU) and seven international partners , with different expertise (informatics, engineers, social and psychological experts, economists). The HAPPY AGEING Project involves five European countries (IT, NL, SP, UK, HU) and seven international partners in the development of a new assistive device for elderly people To this extent, the main objectives of the HAPPY AGEING European project are: 1) to prevent the incidence of chronic conditions and to manage such conditions when present, supporting independent living in old age; 2) to develop and integrate a customizable system matching the demand for technology by the elderly with current market supply; 3) to directly involve the end-user in all phases, assessing the user’s expectations and needs, assuring user acceptance of the new system. United Kingdom The Netherlands Objectives The final aim of the project is the implementation of a system,able to monitor daily actions and to support everyday life, keeping into consideration on one hand the limitations due to ageing and on the other the need of security of older people. Hungary Main functions of the three HAPPY AGEING modules. Italy Spain Commissione Europea