Citation
Damant, J. (2011), "The Mainstreaming on Ambient Intelligence project", Journal of Assistive Technologies, Vol. 5 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/jat.2011.55105caa.002
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2011, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
The Mainstreaming on Ambient Intelligence project
Article Type: Project report From: Journal of Assistive Technologies, Volume 5, Issue 3
The Mainstreaming on Ambient Intelligence (MonAMI) project, funded under the European Commission’s IST e-Inclusion work programme (FP6 framework), set out to demonstrate that accessible, useful services for older, and disabled people can be delivered using mainstreamed systems and platforms. An open platform, based on an Open Services Gateway initiative (OSGi Alliance™, 2011), framework, was developed to deliver a bouquet of Ambient Assisted Living services. The services were developed with a Design for All (European Commission, 2000) approach, in consultation with potential users in the following areas:
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Monitoring: home (environmental and appliance control), health.
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Time management.
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Safety and security: safety at home, visitor validation, activity detection.
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Communication and networking.
The platform integrated elements from reliable self-organizing networks, wearable devices, user interaction technology, monitoring capability, and service infrastructures and delivered services on mainstream devices such as broadband internet and third-generation mobile telephones. In addition, to facilitate use and user interaction, the consortium designed an innovative user interface (UI), using Universal Control Hub architecture (Zimmerman, 2009).
The services were first tested by older and disabled users in laboratory settings in six feasibility and usability centres across Europe (France, Germany, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and the UK). Once the platform, services and UI were found to be feasible, usable, and appropriate to user needs, a living-scale field trial was carried out in three communities (Kosice, Slovakia; Stockholm, Sweden; and Zaragoza, Spain), where 70 users, 45 carers, and 14 care staff employed the services in users’ homes over a three-month period. In addition to testing the scalability of the platform, the trial evaluated the services’ potential of meeting the long-term care needs of older and disabled people and the support needs of caregivers. The commercial viability and economic effects on long-term care financing were also evaluated in order to understand the impact of mainstream implementation of the MonAMI concept, as part of the Ambient Assisted Living Open Association (AALOA, 2010) initiative. The MonAMI project ran for 57 months and came to completion in May, 2011.
Jacqueline Damant, Martin Knapp, Maggie Ellis, Sarah Watters and Ariane Buescher
References
AALOA (2010), AAL Open Association, available at: www.aaloa.org/ (accessed 28 June 2011)
European Commission (2000), “eEurope: an information society for all”, paper presented at the Communication on a Communication Initiative for the Special European Council of Lisbon, European Commission, Brussels, 23-24 March
OSGi Alliance™ (2011), available at: www.osgi.org/About/HomePage (accessed 27 June 2011)
Zimmerman, G. (2009), available at: http://myurc.org/TR/uch1.0-20091103/ (accessed 27 June 2011)
Jacqueline DamantResearch Officer at London School of Economics, London, UK
Martin KnappProfessor of Social Policy, Director of PSSRU and Co-Director of LSE Health and Social Care, London School of Economics, London, UK
Maggie EllisSenior Research Fellow at London School of Economics, London, UK
Sarah Watters Research Assistant Based at London School of Economics, London, UK
Ariane BuescherResearch Assistant Based at London School of Economics, London, UK