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On September 6-7, Cáritas Coimbra was in Lucerne, Switzerland, to participate in the consortium meeting of the AAL4All project, which started in January of this year.  During these two days, the consortium discussed the project’s developments, trying to exchange knowledge and experiences among the various partners, with special focus on the analysis of the technology that will begin to be tested in January of next year.

Representing Cáritas Coimbra were Ângela Pinto and Patrícia Condesso, from the Innovation Department, who made a brief presentation on the ethical concerns of the project, under the aegis of the need to ensure data protection of all participants, since these will be collected during the implementation of the various pilots in this project. This testing experience will be shared by three pilots in different locations in Europe, namely: Portugal, Romania and Denmark. In this sense, the technology will be tested over 15 months directly with potential end users.

Thus, the AAL4All solution intends that the active older adult remains independent for longer in his own home. This solution integrates a virtual assistant that learns the habits and preferences of the older adult, to which sensors are added to help build a smart home. Both formal and informal caregivers are involved in the design of the solution, to ensure the proper development of this technology. This solution rethinks current healthcare, presenting a preventative and supportive approach to ageing at home. The goal is to produce an inexpensive, preventative, non-stigmatizing, and intuitive solution that can provide older adults with a sense of independence and security.

AAL4All is a project funded by the European Horizon 2020 programme.