Everything gets smart is an often heard slogan in the research field of Pervasive Computing. Nowadays this slogan becomes more and more reality. A lot of products and devices which we use in daily life are already smart. Furthermore our living spaces become smarter, too. Smart houses, homes and environments are nowadays no longer science fiction.
One aim of Smart Environments and Product is to enhance the comfort of the occupant and the user respectively. All these (new) comfort can be an essential benefit for people with disabilities or elderly persons. Such equipped environments have the ability to compensate some disabilities of the occupant. It can simplify their daily lives and reduce the dependency on other persons. They can use all the provided functionality of the environment by themselves, reinforce their independence and personal freedom and can therefore remain longer in their usual surroundings.
Ambient and Assisted Living (AAL) is the name for a European technology and innovation funding programme. It aims at extending the time older people can remain in their home environment by the use of smart technologies and remote and care services. Therefore Ambient and Assisted Living is one important field of application for Smart Homes.
The STS is organized to provide a forum for the discussion of major issues related to 'Smart and Assistive Environments' and 'Ambient and Assisted Living', to identify technologies, strategies and approaches to realise smart living spaces and to identify the barriers and problems of existing approaches. Also the benefits and chances of such living spaces for elderly people and people with disabilities should be examined.
Papers should address, but are not limited to the following areas:
- Ambient and Assisted Living
- Smart Devices and Intelligent Products
- Smart Environments, Assistive Environments, Smart Houses
- e-Care, e-Health
- Environmental Control Systems
- Accessible control systems for Smart and Assistive Environments
- Technology to realise Smart and Assistive Environments
- Experiences with existing Smart and Assistive Environments
- Social aspects of Smart and Assistive Environments
Chairs
Gerhard Nussbaum, Competence Network Information Technology to Support the Integration of People with Disabilities, (KI-I), Austria
Stefan Parker, Competence Network Information Technology to Support the Integration of People with Disabilities, (KI-I), Austria