The consequences of demographic change and the thereby increased need of care of the ageing society have to be addressed in the near future by ambient assisted living (AAL-) systems that enable a healthy and self-determined life in the own home that is, if need be, also aided by care services. Commercially optainable AAL technologies are not readily available because they are expensive, not retrofittable, and difficult to operate, among other things. Furthermore, the lack of acceptance and trust in the systems by the affected people, especially in regards to controllability and reliability of the technology, present crucial challenges. The project “Whistle” aims at developing an accepted and retrofittable AAL-system that is suitable for the mass market. At the core of this technology are micro-whistles that use ultrasonic signals to analyze the movements and activities of care-dependent persons. These micro-whistles are integrated into everyday objects and control elements and emit acoustic, for the human ear undetectable, signals that are forwarded to the responsible caregiver or nursing personnel as either references or even alerts. The software for this system will be developed in collaboration with the users to ensure an optimal demand analysis and, therefore, provide all the relevant information needed to plan an individually customized caregiving and support.
Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung
01.01.2016 - 31.12.2018
Julia van Heek, M.Sc.
Simon Himmel, M.A.
EVOCURA GmbH
Enervision GmbH
ambiHome GmbH
Javox Solutions GmbH
Haus am Buchenhain GmbH (HaB)
KEmikro, RWTH Aachen
Communication Science, RWTH Aachen