The Intelligent Built-Environment as Cyber-Physical System

The field of Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) has shown great potential in counteracting some of the effects of the worldwide population ageing phenomenon. Its main goal is to promote a safe, healthy, and functional living environment for the elderly and people with disabilities who wish to live independently in their home. To achieve this goal, AAL environments utilize Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the emerging Ambient Intelligence (AmI) paradigm in order to provide sophisticated solutions that can support the needs of an elderly person or a person with disabilities, at home. This chapter will present examples of AAL environments found in research and academic literature and the solutions they offer to cater for the basic needs of people with motor impairments in order to support their independent living and quality of life. The challenges of using such technologies will also be discussed.

Attitudes Toward Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Residential Aged Care in Western Australia

This paper presents an initial proof-of-concept implementation of a comprehensively intelligent built-environment based on mutually informing Design-to-Robotic-Production and -Operation (D2RP&O) strategies and methods developed at Delft University of Technology (TUD). In this implementation, D2RP is expressed via deliberately differentiated and function-specialized components, while D2RO expressions subsume an extended Ambient Intelligence (AmI) enabled by a Cyber-Physical System (CPS). This CPS, in turn, is built on a heterogeneous, scalable, self-healing, and partially meshed Wireless Sensor and Actuator Network (WSAN) whose nodes may be clustered dynamically ad hoc to respond to varying computational needs. Two principal and innovative functionalities are demonstrated in this implementation: (1) costeffective yet robust Human Activity Recognition (HAR) via Support Vector Machine (SVM) and k-Nearest Neighbor (k-NN) classification models, and (2) appropriate corresponding reactions that promote the occupant's spatial experience and wellbeing via continuous regulation of illumination with respect to colors and intensities to correspond to engaged activities. The present implementation attempts to provide a fundamentally different approach to intelligent built-environments, and to promote a highly sophisticated alternative to existing intelligent solutions whose disconnection between architectural considerations and computational services limits their operational scope and impact.

The digital agenda of the European Commission includes plans for the building of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) based on a new generation of networks, or the Internet of the Future. To this end, the Future Internet Private Public Partnership (FI-PPP) has been established with the help of the European Commission. It will involve the building of a proof of concept FI platform in the coming two years. One of the main challenges of this platform is to be generic while serving the needs of specific application sectors. This workshop will focus on the challenges of integrating Ambient Intelligence (AmI) and Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) platforms with this kind of platform. Participants in the workshop will include members of the AmI/AAL platform community, members of the FI community, and policy makers.

With the tighter integration of power system and Information and Communication Technology (ICT), power grid is becoming a typical cyber physical system (CPS). It is important to analyze the impact of the cyber event on power system, so that it is necessary to build a co-simulation system for studying the interaction between power system and ICT. In this paper, a cyber physical power system (CPPS) co-simulation platform is proposed, which includes the hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation function. By using flexible interface, various simulation software for power system and ICT can be interconnected into the platform to build co-simulation tools for various simulation purposes. To demonstrate it as a proof, one simulation framework for real life cyber-attack on power system control is introduced. In this case, the real life denial-of-service attack on a router in automatic voltage control (AVC) is simulated to demonstrate impact of cyber-attack on power system.

Information and communication technology (ICT) can provide knowledge and clinical support to those working in residential aged care facilities (RACFs). This paper aims to: (1) review literature on ICT targeted at residents, staff and external providers in RACFs including general practitioners, dental and allied health professionals on improving residents' oral health; (2) identify barriers and enablers to using ICT in promoting oral health at RACFs; and (3) investigate evidence of effectiveness of these approaches in promoting oral health. Findings from this narrative literature review indicate that ICT is not widely used in RACFs, with barriers to usage identified as limited training for staff, difficulties accessing the Internet, limited computer literacy particularly in older staff, cost and competing work demands. Residents also faced barriers including impaired cognitive and psychosocial functioning, limited computer literacy and Internet use. Findings suggest that more education and training in ICT to upskill staff and residents is needed to effectively promote oral health through this medium.

The significant contributions of information and communication technology (ICT) and other operational technologies (OTs) or cyber networks have had a tremendous impact on the real-time monitoring, management, and control of the power or energy system facilities. Thus, the integration of these technologies into the energy grid system created a smart, complex, and interdependent system. This system is established and referred to as a smart grid cyber physical power system (SGCPPS). The performances of cyber physical systems are achieved via computation and communication and are imperatively based on a real-time feedback mechanism. In reference to the energy system, monitoring and control of the grid systems is extremely essential in ensuring efficient power supply, quality, reliability, stability and resilience among other determinants. However, their interdependence and integrated nature exposes the grid to disturbances subsequently leading to faults in the grid. Hence, failure to know the grid conditions at a particular period subjugates it to complete system collapse. This paper focused on the development of a mathematical model for a smart gird cyber physical system. Additionally, simulations were performed to study the behaviour of the Smart grid cyber-physical power system (SGCPPS) with regards to monitoring and controlling the physical systems using MATLAB Simulink tool to facilitate system awareness.

Information exchange (IE) is a critical component of the complex collaborative medication process in residential aged care facilities (RACFs). Designing information and communication technology (ICT) to support complex processes requires a profound understanding of the IE that underpins their execution. There is little existing research that investigates the complexity of IE in RACFs and its impact on ICT design. The aim of this study was thus to undertake an in-depth exploration of the IE process involved in medication management to identify its implications for the design of ICT. The study was undertaken at a large metropolitan facility in NSW, Australia. A total of three focus groups, eleven interviews and two observation sessions were conducted between July to August 2010. Process modelling was undertaken by translating the qualitative data via in-depth iterative inductive analysis. The findings highlight the complexity and collaborative nature of IE in RACF medication management. These models emphasize the need to: a) deal with temporal complexity, b) rely on an interdependent set of coordinative artefacts, and c) use synchronous communication channels for coordination. Taken together these are crucial aspects of the IE process in RACF medication management that need to be catered for when designing ICT in this critical area. This study provides important new evidence of the advantages of viewing process as a part of a system rather than as segregated tasks as a means of identifying the latent requirements for ICT design and that is able to support complex collaborative processes like medication management in RACFs.

Recognition of human activity is a significant area of research with numerous uses. In developed countries, the rising age of citizens requires the improvement of the medical service structure, which raises the price of resources, both financial and human. In that sense, ambient assisted living (AAL) is a relatively novel information and communication technology (ICT) that presents services and recognizes various products that enable older people and the disabled to live autonomously and improve their quality of life. It further assists in reducing the cost of hospital services. In the AAL environment, various sensors and devices are fixed to gather a broad range of data. Moreover, AAL will be the motivating technology for the latest care models by acting as an adjunct. This will become thought-provoking research in a fast-growing world, but exploring different ADL and self-classification will become a major challenge. This paper proposed a Novel Stacking Classification and Prediction (NSCP) algorithm based AAL for the elderly with Multi-strategy Combination based Feature Selection (MCFS) and Novel Clustering Aggregation (NCA) algorithms. This paper’s main aim is to recognize the activity of older people, such as standing, walking, sitting, falling, cramps, and running. The dataset is derived from the Kaggle repository, which refers to data collection from wearable IoT devices. The experimental outcomes demonstrate that the MCFS, NCA, and NSCP algorithms work more efficiently than existing feature selection, clustering, and classification algorithms, respectively, regarding the accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, precision, recall, F-measure, and execution time dataset size and the number of features. Furthermore, the NSCP algorithm provided high accuracy, precision, recall, and F-measure are 98%, 0.96, 0.95, and 0.98, respectively.

BackgroundLiving in residential aged care (RAC) facilities can be passivating and negatively impact residents’ well-being and quality of life. With a growing global population of older adults and an increasing number residing in RAC facilities, it is crucial to address these concerns. Person-centered reablement, which enhances activity and participation through tailored, multidisciplinary strategies, has shown promising results in home settings. However, its implementation in RAC facilities, especially in Sweden, requires further evaluation.This research project will examine whether the reablement intervention in RAC (Re-RAC) impacts activity performance and satisfaction, participation, quality of life, and well-being, in older adults living in RAC facilities. Additionally, the project will evaluate the health-economic effects of the intervention and explore potential associations with the outcomes. A further aim is to describe the experiences of both the participating older adults and RAC facility staff involved in Re-RAC.MethodsThis is a multi-center prospective pragmatic randomized controlled trial has two parallel groups comparing the Re-RAC intervention with usual care. A total of 86 participants are planned to be enrolled. The 8-week intervention will be evaluated using quantitative, qualitative, and health-economic methods. Data will be collected at baseline and after the intervention. Health-economic data will also be gathered 3 months before and after intervention. Primary outcomes are activity performance and satisfaction with performance captured using the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure; secondary outcomes, i.e., health-related quality of life, psychological well-being, and physical activity levels will also be evaluated. Experiences of participants and staff will be captured through individual and focus-group interviews. Cost-effectiveness will be estimated by calculating the cost per quality-adjusted life year gained.Quantitative data will be analyzed using descriptive and comparative statistics; qualitative data will be analyzed using thematic analysis and focus-group methodology.DiscussionThis study evaluates the Re-RAC intervention for older adults in RAC through a real-world pragmatic trial, examining activity performance, satisfaction, quality of life, well-being, and health outcomes for older adults in RAC facilities. The study also explores participant and staff experiences and evaluates cost-effectiveness. The results will offer valuable insights informing the future implementation and assessment of reablement interventions in RAC settings.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, ID: NCT06793501. Registered on 20 January 2025.

Many societies across the world are confronted with demographic changes, usually related to increased life expectancy and, often, relatively low birth rates. Information and communication technologies (ICT) may contribute to adequately support senior citizens in aging societies with respect to quality of life and quality and efficiency of health care processes. For investigating and for providing answers on whether new information and communication technologies can contribute to keeping, or even improving quality of life, health and self-sufficiency in ageing societies through new ways of living and new forms of care, the Lower Saxony Research Network Design of Environments for Ageing (GAL) had been established as a five years research project, running from 2008 to 2013. Ambient-assisted living (AAL) technologies in personal and home environments were especially important. In this article we report on the GAL project, and present some of its major outcomes after five years of research. We report on major challenges and lessons learned in running and organizing such a large, inter- and multidisciplinary project and discuss GAL in the context of related research projects. With respect to research outcomes, we have, for example, learned new knowledge about multimodal and speech-based human–machine-interaction mechanisms for persons with functional restrictions, and identified new methods and developed new algorithms for identifying activities of daily life and detecting acute events, particularly falls. A total of 79 apartments of senior citizens had been equipped with specific “GAL technology”, providing new insights into the use of sensor data for smart homes. Major challenges we had to face were to deal constructively with GAL’s highly inter- and multidisciplinary aspects, with respect to research into GAL’s application scenarios, shifting from theory and lab experimentation to field tests, and the complexity of organizing and, in our view, successfully managing such a large project. Overall it can be stated that, from our point of view, the GAL research network has been run successfully and has achieved its major research objectives. Since we now know much more on how and where to use AAL technologies for new environments of living and new forms of care, a future focus for research can now be outlined for systematically planned studies, scientifically exploring the benefits of AAL technologies for senior citizens, in particular with respect to quality of life and the quality and efficiency of health care.

The demographic shift toward an aging population calls for innovative strategies to ensure independence, health, and quality of life in later years. In this context, Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) solutions, supported by Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), offer promising advances for non-invasive and continuous support. Commonly, ICTs are evaluated only from the perspectives related to key performance indicators (KPIs); nevertheless, the design and implementation of such technologies must account for important psychological, social, and ethical dimensions. Radar-based sensing systems are emerging as an option due to their unobtrusive nature and capacity to operate without direct user interaction. This work explores how radar technologies, particularly those operating in the millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum, can provide core key value indicators (KVIs) essential to aging societies, such as human dignity, trustworthiness, fairness, and sustainability. Through a review of key application domains, the paper illustrates the practical contributions of mmWave radar in Ambient Assisting Living (AAL) contexts, underlining how its technical attributes align with the complex needs of elderly care environments and produce value for society. This work uniquely integrates key value indicator (KVI) frameworks with mmWave radar capabilities to address unmet ethical needs in the AAL domain. It advances existing literature by proposing a value-driven design approach that directly informs technical specifications, enabling the alignment of engineering choices with socially relevant values and supporting the development of technologies for a more inclusive and ethical society.

BackgroundThe application of technology is an important and growing aspect in the field of long-term care. Growing evidence shows the positive impact of technology aids in helping the lives of the elderly. However, it is not known which aspects of information and communications technology (ICT) are preferred by older adults living in long-term care facilities.ObjectiveThe goal of the research was to compare the impact of ICT-communication, ICT-entertainment, and conventional care on older adults’ health and psychological change after interventions among older adults in assisted-living facilities.MethodsA three-arm group-randomized trial design was used to evaluate participants who resided in three different but comparable assisted-living facilities and received different aspects of the ICT interventions. A total of 54 older adults with disabilities received one of the three interventions over 12 weeks and completed pre- and postevaluations on quality of life, social support, and psychological well-being.ResultsParticipants completing this study had a mean age of 73 (SD 11.4) years, and 50% (27/54) were male. Both the ICT-communication and ICT-entertainment groups showed significant improvement in the mental component of quality of life (4.11, P=.012 and 37.32, P<.001, respectively), family/friend–related social support (0.05, P=.001 and 0.04, P<.001, respectively), happiness (0.79, P=.038 and 3.72, P=.001, respectively), and depressive symptoms (–2.74, P=.001 and –7.33, P<.001, respectively). Importantly, participants in the ICT-entertainment group improved significantly more than the other two groups. The ICT-entertainment group also showed improvement in the physical component of quality of life (20.49, P<.001) and health care worker–related social support (0.1, P=.008).ConclusionsResults suggest that the entertainment but not the communication part of ICT is the most effective health promotion method for improving the health and psychological well-being of older adults in assisted-living facilities.

The ubiquitous computing (UC) idea envisioned by Weiser in 1991 has recently evolved to a more general paradigm known as Ambient Intelligence (AmI). This vision represents a new generation of user-centred computing environments aiming to find new ways to obtain a better integration of the information technology in everyday life devices and activities. AmI environments are integrated by several autonomous computational devices of modern life ranging from consumer electronics to mobile phones. Ideally, people in an AmI environment will not notice these devices, but they will benefit from the services they provide them. Such devices are aware of the people present in those environments by reacting to their gestures, actions and context. Recently, the interest in Ambient Intelligence Environments has grown considerably due to new challenges posed by society, giving place to new interesting associated research disciplines such as vehicular ad hoc networks (VANET), Ambient Assisted Living (AAL), e-Health, Internet of Things and Home Automation among others. This theme issue focuses on gathering research results coming from Ambient Intelligence and probably its most promising, socially and commercially speaking, application domain, namely Ambient Assisted Living (AAL). The papers in this issue have been selected from two international conferences held in Valencia in September 2010, namely UCAmI and IWAAL, respectively. The Symposium of Ubiquitous Computing and Ambient Intelligence (UCAmI) has consolidated, in its four editions, as a reference event in Europe and South America, and it is one of the two oldest Ambient Intelligence-specific events. On the other hand, the International Workshop of Ambient Assisted Living (IWAAL) is one of the few specific conferences on the topic of Ambient Assisted Living (AAL). AAL is, without doubt, one of the most clear targets of Ubiquitous Computing/Ambient Intelligence since it attempts to solve a real problem, i.e. how the seamless integration of infocommunication technologies within homes and residences can enhance elderly people’s quality of life and autonomy, thus reducing their need for being institutionalized or aiding them when it happens. In what follows, a short overview of the papers included classified by their specific topic within AmI is given. Notice that contributions from researchers from Belgium, France, Mexico, Chile and Spain have been compiled in this issue. Firstly, several works have centred on the application of novel software engineering techniques and middleware to make reality the Ubiquitous Computing vision:

Gender inequalities in health-related quality of life (QoL) are generally few and small, even in large surveys. Many generic measures limit assessment to QoL overall and its physical and psychological dimensions, while overlooking internationally important environmental, social, and spiritual QoL domains. Unique cross-cultural legacy data was collected using four WHOQOL-100 surveys of adults living in 43 cultures world-wide (17,608 adults; ages 15-101). It was first used to examined gender profiles of its five QoL international domains, and their component facets. Few significant gender differences (p < .001) were found. Women reported higher spiritual QoL than men on faith, and spiritual connection facets specifically. Men reported higher physical and psychological QoL domains than women. We aimed to identify those QoL dimensions that contribute to women's overall QoL in health, as this information could inform gender inequalities interventions in health. Environmental QoL explained a substantial 46% of women's overall QoL and health (n = 5,017; 17 cultures) (stepwise multiple regression adjusted for age, education, and marital status covariates). Five environmental QoL facets contributed significantly to this result; home environment offered most explanation. Age band analysis was conducted to understand when interventions might be best timed in the lifespan to improve women's QoL. Younger women (< 45 years) reported the poorest QoL across the lifetime, and on every domain. After 45, all domains except physical QoL increased to very good at about 60, and high levels were sustained beyond 75, especially environmental QoL. Global findings show that assessing environmental, social, and spiritual QoL domains are key to fully understanding women's QoL and health. These assessments should be prioritized in surveys that aim to improve international conservation, and public health policies.