AAL in the year 2030
As we look towards the future, one thing is certain – our population will continue to get older. AAL can play an even more pivotal role in helping define areas of need as well as developing products and services that help meet those needs and maximise economic opportunities. But we live in a rapidly changing world, where disruptive technologies like the Internet of Things, augmented reality, robotics and smart cities and devices are changing markets and delivering more and more opportunities for all in society. So what are the realities we should be considering now as we develop the products and services for this ageing market in 2030? These sessions will offer a fascinating glimpse into the AAL of the future.
Back to the future – Visions for age-friendly communities in 2030 and beyond
Wednesday 09.00-10.30
Advances in technology pervade all different areas of our lives. Computers are now embedded in a variety of materials and artefacts, signifying our movement beyond the keyboard and mouse as new interaction modalities have emerged. This workshop aims to discuss future visions in this field, based on current trends in the field of human computer interaction (e.g. social computing, tangible computing). We will look at how novel human computer interaction techniques can contribute to the design of future AAL solutions, smart cities and smart homes. We will also explore what new approaches advances in artificial intelligence can enable.
http://aalforum2016.tech-experience.at/
The presentations from this workshop can be found here.
Markus Garschall (chair)
Katja Neureiter
Expectations for AAL and enhanced living environments in 2025/2030
Wednesday 14.00-15.30
AAL arose from the application of the ambient intelligence paradigm to support the well being, health and care of older people. Some recent roadmaps for the future have specifically addressed AAL solutions. In many cases, predicted state-of-the-art and future AAL technologies and services are similar to those that were proposed a decade ago. This special session will discuss why the expectations in these roadmaps have either been fulfilled or failed to materialise. Participants will be able to voice their views about the current state of AAL and enhanced living environments, and which technologies and applications they expect and would like to see in the market in the next 5-10 years.
The presentations for this workshop can be found here.
Francisco Florez-Revuelta (chair)
Susanna Spinsante
Merging technical development and an ageing workforce
Wednesday 16.00-17.30
The trend towards digitalisation often elicits the question of whether or not the ageing workforce will be able to keep up. What is not often asked is how technical solutions can enable older adults to stay in jobs for longer. The aim of this workshop is to shed some light on the possibilities of new technologies e.g. assistance systems or robotics, that can keep people employable (“AAemployable”). As the elderly workforce of 2025 is today middle-aged and well versed in the use of IT, an additional need is the development of HR policies that guarantee ongoing development of competencies and capabilities at a younger age to avoid “intellectual senescence”.
The presentations for this workshop can be found here.
Sibylle Olbert-Bock (chair)
Jacqueline Lemm
Astrid Stuckelberger
From recognising motion to emotion awareness – Perspectives for future AAL solutions
Wednesday 16.00-17.30
There are several examples of successful use of sensor-based motion recognition, e.g. for fall prevention or rehabilitation of older adults. However, motivation is always key when it comes to redundant exercises. While motion recognition helps to ensure a movement is performed correctly, emotion recognition can help to ensure an exercise is performed regularly. This workshop will show best practices using motion recognition, the potential of emotion recognition, and will help develop perspectives for the application of emotion recognition in existing and future AAL solutions.
Oliver Korn (chair)
Gerald Bieber
Improving autonomy with robotics
Wednesday 16.00-17.30
People tend to be happy to let other people cook and clean for them as they get older, but requiring help for more personal matters such as going to the toilet and getting out of bed can feel like more of a surrender of autonomy. Technology that helps people move independently enables them to retain their independence and allows carers to focus on support services that require human skills such as understanding, empathy and communication. This workshop aims to provoke discussion on how to make support robots that increase patient’s mobility an accepted part of life in the future.
Einar Nielsen (chair)