SENSACTION-AAL : SENSing and ACTION to support mobility in Ambient Assisted Living

none11. Project summary The Specific Targeted Research Project SENSACTION-AAL, SENSing and ACTION to support mobility in Ambient Assisted Living was selected to be funded by the European Commission within the last IST call, Sixth Framework Programme (FP6), Priority 2.6.2, Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) in the Ageing Society. The total budget of the project is € 3.468.476 with the contribution of the EC of € 2.000.000. The project has an expected duration of 30 months, starting at the 1st of January 2007 and ending at the 30th of June 2009. The SENSACTION-AAL project offers the opportunity for a significant advancement in the field of ambulatory assisting devices for enhancing safety and security in human balance and mobility. The ultimate goal of the project is to assist older people in maintaining independent mobility in daily life activities and prevent falls and injuries. To achieve this goal, the SENSACTION-AAL project will design, test and release a next-generation, smart, wireless on-body system which enables: (1) monitoring of activities of daily living and (2) simultaneous real-time active control of physical performance using principles such as sensory augmentation and biofeedback. This system is equipped with both sensors and actuators in-the-loop. The SENSACTION-AAL architecture will introduce new ICT solutions that make the proposed system: 1) easy-to-wear and easy-to-use; 2) active anywhere, anytime; 3) cost effective. SENSACTION-AAL will develop an ICT-based solution which is highly usable and can support the elderly people in their preferred environment. The key challenge is to develop an integrated system that brings together the different components involved (network cells; communication protocols; embedded real-time algorithms for actuator control; signal processing algorithms; data warehousing, web-based data access). An extended in-vivo accurate validation carried out with the support of end-users is also foreseen to assess the satisfaction of key user requirements and produce a solution which is adequate for industrial take-up. Ultimately, this project could have important influences on the quality of life of European citizens. These new systems will empower persons with disabilities and aging citizens to play a major role in society and will help them to augment their autonomy and realize their potential. 2. Participant List Università di Bologna - Dept. of Electronics, Computer Science and Systems, IT [coordinator] Mc Roberts – Moving Technology, NL Robert Bosch Gesellschaft fuer medizinische Forschung, DE University of Groningen - Centre for Human Movement Sciences, NL STMicroelectronics, IT Slovak Academy of Science - Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology - Dept. of Biocybernetics, SK Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center - Laboratory for Gait & Neurodynamics, IL Atos Origin, ESmixedL. ChiariL. Chiar