The SmartHabits: An Intelligent Privacy-Aware Home Care Assistance System

Abstract

Many researchers and product developers are striving toward achieving ICT-enabled independence of older adults by setting up Enhanced Living Environments (ELEs). Technological solutions, which are often based on the Internet of Things (IoT), show great potential in providing support for Active Aging. To enhance the quality of life for older adults and overcome challenges in enabling individuals to achieve their full potential in terms of physical, social, and mental well-being, numerous proof-of-concept systems have been built. These systems, often labeled as Ambient Assisted Living (AAL), vary greatly in targeting different user needs. This paper presents our contribution using SmartHabits, which is an intelligent privacy-aware home care assistance system. The novel system comprising smart home-based and cloud-based parts uses machine-learning technology to provide peace of mind to informal caregivers caring for persons living alone. It does so by learning the user’s typical daily activity patterns and automatically issuing warnings if an unusual situation is detected. The system was designed and implemented from scratch, building upon existing practices from IoT reference architecture and microservices. The system was deployed in several homes of real users for six months, and we will be sharing our findings in this paper.