Why Ambient Assisted Living?

Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) is concerned with using various technological solutions to allow people with additional care needs to live independently in their preferred environment.   The NHS and social services are struggling and the pressure on the statutory services will continue increasing as the population ages. Therefore, solutions that can help manage more conditions in the home, reduce hospital stays, and promote wellbeing will be crucial for addressing the impending care crisis. This requires the development of systems through which support services can be delivered remotely and autonomously and that can be straightforwardly retrofitted into existing homes as well as incorporated into new housing. Our research, supported by industrial and care partners, is aiming to develop such systems.

From Safety to Wellbeing

Previous AAL work concentrated mainly on ensuring safety in the home by monitoring for well-defined emergencies, such as falls, or help users with a specific task such as medication compliance. To meet future care needs, the next generation of AAL will need to be systems of interconnected devices that support the lifestyle of the person in their own home and help carers prioritise the interventions that they make.

The focus of our research is on monitoring the performance of Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) and ensuring that they are being undertaken to promote wellbeing as well as safety. The system will be able to support home occupants in undertaking ADLs (e.g. through prompts or reminders), intervene if an unsafe situation is occurring, alert formal and informal carers of emergencies and provide an on-going assessment of wellbeing trends and the status of the home occupant to their carers.

Smart Environments

There are several categories of health technologies utilised in AAL systems, including wearable sensors, smart everyday objects, environmental sensors, and social assistive robots. While wearable sensors can be easily used and have been applied extensively to tasks like fall detection, they can also interfere significantly with users’ everyday activities.

The key feature of our approach is the use of multiple non-contact environmental sensors that can be easily retrofitted into existing accommodation or specified for new builds. Such technologies can be integrated with other smart home technologies looking after energy consumption, air quality, and other aspects, creating a unified smart environment for wellbeing.