Do we need an integrated framework for ambient assisted living?

Abstract

The significant increase of ageing population calls for solutions that help the elderly to live an independent, healthy and low risk life, but also ensure their social interaction. The improvements in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) have resulted in the development of equipment that supports ubiquitous computing, ubiquitous communication and intelligent user interfaces. The smart home technologies, assisted robotics, sensors for health monitoring and e-health solutions are some examples in this category. Despite such growth in these individualized technologies, there are only few solutions that provide integrated AAL frameworks that interconnect all of these technologies. In this paper, we discuss the necessity to opt for an integrated solution in AAL. To support the study we describe real life scenarios that help us justify the need for integrated solutions over individualized ones. Our analysis points to the clear conclusion that an integrated solution for AAL outperforms the individualized ones.