Integration of Stationary and Wearable Support Services for an Actively Assisted Life of Elderly People: Capabilities, Achievements, Limitations, Prospects – A Case Study

Abstract:
Within the recent three years, a stationary home assistance system has been developed, continuously optimized and operated for supporting seniors of very high age. In the last year, the scope of the system has been extended by function and beyond the spatial borders of the familiar home by a smartwatch with integrated cellular radio (Samsung Gear(TM) S) as a wearable device. All condensed data from the different stationary and mobile sensors are transferred to and collected by a central server for long-term analysis. The technical structure of the system is presented and its capabilities will be described, especially with respect to the variation of collected data over time in the course of a progressing dementia of one of the inhabitants. The different achievements and perceived value, which the system delivers to its users and their relatives over the course of the years will be presented. But also the limitations of the currently available technology in comparison the actual demand of the inhabitants and their relatives will be characterized which defines the boundary conditions and guidelines for further research.