RESEARCH ARTICLE Contributions of ambient c

In the following centuries the upcoming demographic change in most of the developed western countries will lead to big social and economic challenges in the daily life and care of elderly people [1]. It will become neces-sary to develop solutions which facilitate social support for old people, enable workforce availability and make the geriatric care of old people more cost effective for funding the healthcare systems. One of the major chal-lenges in geriatric care is the maintenance of independency and prevention of institutionalization [2]. To address this one approach is to give elderly the possibility to live in the own home as long as possible by applying new technology-based solutions which support a widely self-determined life of aged people. The aim is to combine information and communication technologies and the social environment of elderly to develop new concepts, products and services for their daily life. In Europe such solutions are developed under the term “Ambient Assisted Living (AAL)”. AAL solutions will become economically importan