Supporting context-aware applications for eldercare

Extended life expectancy and a decrease in fertility rates are dramatically increasing the number of seniors who will eventually need professional care assistance. Although there is no clear technical solution to this problem, recent advances in ubiquitous computing offer opportunities to assist elders in their residence, thus reducing the need for professional assistance in special facilities. There have been several studies, but current solutions tend to address specific issues and cannot be easily extended, updated, and customized to meet the complex and evolving requirements of eldercare assistance. This study aims to bridge this gap, and this pa- per presents a context-management framework, called awareness for pervasive environments (APE), that provides easily customizable support for the development of ubiquitous eldercare services and applications.