Trigger-action programming for context-aware elderly support in practice

Abstract

Remote monitoring services should be strongly personalised to the specific needs, preferences, abilities and motivations of elderly, a population segment whose characteristics can largely vary and even dynamically evolve over time for the same individual, depending on changing needs and usage contexts. We present a demo showing how a platform supporting End User Development (EUD) of context-dependent applications has been customized for remotely assisting elderly people at home. The user-editable personalisation features are specified by using trigger-action rules. The platform has been integrated with various sensors and appliances, and an application for remotely monitoring older adults at home. The resulting environment supports the possibility of creating trigger-action rules that can actually be executed when relevant sensors indicate that specific events or conditions occurred.