Blog

Do you want the chance to present your work to colleagues and investors at the AAL Forum? Submit your idea for a poster by August 15th if you want to take this opportunity to present at one of the biggest forums of its kind. The poster session at the AAL Forum 2017 will provide an opportunity to present your latest results, ongoing research projects and innovative work in progress. Posters give authors and participants the chance to connect with each other and to engage in discussions about their work. They are also a fantastic way to present complex research concepts in a more accessible and easily digestible format. Practical information All posters must be submitted electronically, and must be submitted by...Read More

Does the Robot Care? Perspectives on the Acceptance of Social Robots in Healthcare   There are several examples of innovative robots in care. However, their actual use in the domains medical care and care for the elderly is scarce. Is this still due to technological problems – or do humans simply prefer care from fellow humans? What if these care robots were social robots, able to recognise a patient’s emotions, responding properly to a depressed or cheerful patient? And is such a response be ethically desirable – or is it unethical to make a machine simulate human understanding? In order to answer this questions, this workshop will be divided into 3 main folds: discussion on best practices for social robotics,...Read More

EXTENDED DEADLINE: MAY 1, 2017 The AAL Forum is the yearly event of the AAL Programme. Active participation and interaction between the forum attendees is key in the 2017 AAL Forum program. In 2017 we aim to create an interactive and inspiring event, building on the creativity and the commitment of the AAL community. In this AAL Forum, we want to explore the gaps that need to be bridged to the deliverable of AAL technological solutions to the ageing well in Europe. This Forum is following the involvement of each attendee, with a call for action: “What can YOU do?” The event will give a special emphasis on showcasing AAL technologies and solutions pre-market and on the market and on the...Read More

THE BEAUTIFUL PORTUGUESE CITY OF COIMBRA TO HOST OUR ANNUAL EVENT Coimbra, 2-4 October 2017  The AAL Forum is the place to be for the European community dealing with technology and active ageing. It brings together all the stakeholders in Active and Assisted Living domain, and this year will take place in Coimbra, in the Centro Region of Portugal. This 2017 event aims at bringing together all the stakeholders of the active assisted domain in Europe in order to investigate how to bring closer demand and offer. The AAL Forum is an annual showcase and the largest event in the Active and Assisted Living field, which aims to bring together policy makers, ICT developers, manufacturers, healthcare professionals, commissioners, companies, venture companies, technologists, academics,...Read More

Technologies to live more independent and active lives for longer   The AAL Forum 2016 was a huge success, with 39 exhibitors, 39 matchmaking meetings, 30 interactive sessions, 6 tracks and more than 450 delegates all gathering in St Gallen, Switzerland, to consider how to get ICT solutions that help older people live more connected, healthy lives at home for longer to market. Innovations ready for breakthrough was the mantra at the annual AAL Forum 2016, which took place in St Gallen, Switzerland at the end of last month, with more than 450 researchers, technologists, start-up companies, investors, policy makers, health professionals, care associations and, of course, older people, gathering to discuss ICT and healthy ageing.   The AAL Programme...Read More

An idea that took root in a nursing home in Belgium and developed into a smart system that allows the housebound to cycle the world has just won the very first AAL Smart Ageing Challenge Prize – and a cheque for €50,000. Jan and Roel Smolders of Activ84Health Explorer picked up the major European award at a glittering ceremony held at the AAL Forum 2016 in St Gallen, Switzerland, a long way from Witte Meren, the nursing home Jan runs in Belgium and where the idea was born. They are now looking to take the product into nursing homes around Europe. The idea emerged when Jan was looking for a way to keep his residents physically active in a safe,...Read More

    The AAL’s Hackathon for Ageing Well has been taking place over the past two days, with several groups coming together and working late into the night to develop ideas, prototypes and products that meet some of the the many and varied challenges faced by the older person in today’s society. The winning idea will be announced at the AAL Forum on Wednesday, but we spoke to Hackathon organiser Oleg Lavrovski at the event itself about hackathons, ageing well and some of the ideas he has seen over the event so far.