ABSTRACT
Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 510 AAL4ALL Project ........................................................................................................................ 512
Selected AAL Life Settings .................................................................................................... 513 AAL Developments................................................................................................................ 514 Scenario Specification ............................................................................................................ 515
State of the Art ............................................................................................................................. 518 Mobile Device Application Development of the AAL4ALL Architecture .......................... 519
Integration Features of AAL4ALL ....................................................................................... 519 Mobile Device Application ................................................................................................... 521
Functional Profiles for Independent Living and Recreation in Life Scenarios .................. 523 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................. 528 Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................................... 529 References ..................................................................................................................................... 529
The increase in life expectancy at birth, the decrease in birth rates, and the growth of the older population (over 64) in Portugal, Europe, and the world contributed to an increase of the age dependency rate as seen in Figure 19.1. It can be seen that larger families are decreasing very fast while smaller families are increasing. This makes it very hard to renew the society’s structure, leading to a population decrease. Figure 19.2 presents a comparison between people aged 0 to 19 years and people above 50 years in the different continents. This comparison can lead to the conclusion that the population is getting older. It is expected that by 2030, the number of elderly persons will greatly surpass that of the younger population in all continents. This ageing effect intensifies the demands for elderly
care. In the worst-case scenario, the families’ monthly income will not be sufficient to support an elderly person under their care. Current elderly care services are costly and will not be sufficient in the future to match needs [1,2]. Day care centers and nursing homes are expensive and do not have sufficient resources to attend to everyone in need. Furthermore, there are many people who are reluctant to leave their homes and go to an unknown environment, thinking that they will lose their independence and privacy.
