Technology helping the aged at home

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I always struggled to open the door in time for the delivery man. Most of the time I was too late. Now I can talk to him through my tablet and let him in!Dutch I-stay@home userA transnational awareness-raising project is tackling the growing pressure on North West Europe’s social welfare system by providing ICT solutions for the region’s ageing population.By 2050, 25 % of most European countries’ populations will be over 65. This statistic is caused by a number of factors including lower birth rates and growing numbers of elderly people living longer. As an ageing population is a common phenomenon across Europe, solutions to address its implications must be transnational.High technology solutionAt the same time as Europe’s population ages, the technology and communication sector is larger than ever, and it can provide ICT products and services to assist with the issue. The I-stay@home project combines the skills of the social and public housing sector with those of the technology sector to create innovative solutions for elderly people at home.114 ICT manufacturers responded to an invitation to provide assistive ICT products to the project, which were then tested and evaluated in order to assess their suitability for assisting elderly people in their homes.  The approved list of companies and their products were then published in the I-stay@home product catalogue, which can be accessed online in English, French, Dutch, and German. The most promising products also entered a one-year live test in 180 dwellings all over Europe to collect first-hand experiences from the target group.The project team also surveyed elderly people to establish their views on ICT and what it means for them. The project collected, pooled, and transferred the survey’s results into a transnational system, which feature in an ICT catalogue available throughout the region and assists the elderly testers at using some of the technical devices. Furthermore, the system provides a dedicated communication platform for the users.To supplement the catalogues, I-stay@home also published a brochure describing each product chosen for live testing and gave reasons as to why each was chosenTotal Investment and EU FundingTotal investment for the project “I-stay@home–ICT Solutions for an Ageing Society” is EUR 5 325 263, of which the European Regional Development Fund is contributing EUR 2 662 631 from the Operational Programme “North-West Europe” for the 2007 to 2013 programming period.