Now showing 1 - 10 of 17
  • Publication
    Diversity & interoperability : wireless technologies in ambient assisted living
    Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) demands the seamless integration of a range of technologies such that the particular needs of the elderly may be met. Given the heterogeneity of the elderly population, in their needs and circumstances amongst others, this is a significant challenge. In essence, it demands that a disparate suite of technologies be deployed, integrated, managed and interacted with in a seamless and intuitive fashion. In this paper, how this heterogeneity may be managed is discussed. In particular, the use of ontologies and middleware are proposed as potential solutions to this heterogeneity problem.
      645
  • Publication
    Towards evolutionary ambient assisted living systems
    Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) is advocated as technological solutions that will enable the elderly population maintain their independence for a longer time than would otherwise be the case. Though the facts motivating the need for AAL are indisputable, the inherently heterogeneous nature and requirements of the elderly population raise significant difficulties. One particular challenge is that of designing AAL systems that can evolve to meet the requirements of individuals as their needs and circumstances change. This demands the availability of an adaptive, open, scalable software platform that incorporates a select combination of autonomic and intelligent techniques. Given that the first generation of AAL systems will be deployed in the near future, it is incumbent on designers to factor this need for evolution and adaptivity in their designs and implementations. Thus this paper explores AAL from a number of prospective and considers an agent-based middleware approach to realising an architecture for evolutionary AAL.
    Scopus© Citations 71  5987
  • Publication
    OutCare : supporting dementia patients in outdoor scenarios.
    Ambient Intelligence (AmI) is a profound vision of computing power that is invisibly embedded into the fabric of everyday life. It is accessible through intelligent interfaces which are so natural that they can be used unconsciously. The increasing maturity, performance and miniaturization of processors, networking technologies and wireless sensor networks enable a move towards pervasive computing, ubiquitous connectivity and adaptive software. The Intelligent Agent paradigm has proven itself to be a promising branch of Artificial Intelligence (AI), complementing the pervasive trend of network engineering. One of the possible usages of AmI is Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) which attempts to utilize appropriate technologies to support citizens in living in their preferred environment independently, for a longer period of time than may otherwise be the case. This paper proposes an AAL solution for Alzheimer’s patients based on the intelligent agent platform, exploring the practical delivery of intelligent environments that are sensitive and responsive to the patients, supporting them in performing daily activities and tasks in a natural, unobtrusive way.
    Scopus© Citations 15  1780
  • Publication
    The Ambient Digital Library
    Conventional digital libraries increasingly support remote access from mobile devices. However, the archetypical mobile user differs from the conventional user in a number of aspects; of these the most important is context. Synonymous with mobile computing is the context concept, and factoring the availability of select contextual elements into the design of digital libraries offers significant opportunities for adapting and personalising services for the mobile computing community. This paper proposes the Ambient Digital Library as a construct for integrating digital content, contextual parameters and user models. In this way, a digital library may be made more accessible to a broader category of mobile user.
    Scopus© Citations 3  428
  • Publication
    Managing diversity in practical ambient assisted living ecosystems
    Though the motivation for developing ambient assisted living (AAL) systems is incontestable, significant challenges exist in realizing the ambience that is essential to the success of such systems. By definition, an AAL system must be omnipresent, tracking occupant activities in the home and identifying those situations where assistance is needed or would be welcomed. Embedded sensors offer an attractive mechanism for realizing ambience as their form factor and harnessing of wireless technologies aid in their seamless integration into pre-existing environments. However, the heterogeneity of the end-user population, their disparate needs and the differing environments in which they inhabit, all pose particular problems regarding sensor integration and management.
      475
  • Publication
    Orange alerts : lessons from an outdoor case study.
    Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) is of particular relevance to those who may suffer from Alzheimer’s Disease or dementia, and, of course, their carers. The slow but progressive nature of the disease, together with its neurological nature, ultimately compromises the behavior and function of people who may be essentially healthy from a physical perspective. An illustration of this is the wandering behavior frequently found in people with dementia. In this paper, a novel AAL solution for caregivers, particularly tailored for Alzheimer’s patients who are in the early stage of the disease and exhibit unpredictable wandering behavior, is briefly described. Salient aspects of a user evaluation are presented, and some issues relevant to the practical design of AAL systems in dementia cases are identified.
      622
  • Publication
    Agency, ambience, assistance : a framework for practical AAL
    Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) is a societal imperative in many countries due to their aged demographic profile. Ambient Intelligence (AmI) offers a viable and intuitive framework by which such systems may realised in practice. However, a number of issues must be addressed if AmI is to become sufficiently mature and robust to support AAL. One such issue is the seamless combination of services, based on a diverse range of embedded artifacts, such that AAL systems can be rapidly designed, implemented and deployed. This paper considers, albeit briefly, issues pertaining to the design of an intelligent middleware solution for the provision of AAL services.
    Scopus© Citations 1  672
  • Publication
    Service fusion in mobile contexts
    Service provision for mobile users poses several challenges for those managing enterprise information systems. Some of these are ubiquitous, for example, privacy and security. Others give rise to integration and interoperability issues. The agent paradigm, though offering potential in fixed networked scenarios, has not been seriously considered as a mechanism for incorporating mobile clients, primarily to their computational intractability on mobile devices. However, recent developments in agent and mobile computing technologies – both from a hardware and software perspective, have rendered the mobile phone a viable platform for agents. One implication of this is that agents now offer a viable platform for service delivery to mobile users. This chapter reflects on some of the pertinent issues necessary for this, including Agent Oriented Software Engineering (AOSE). The discussion is illuminated with a systematic description of EasyLife – a framework that harnesses the agent paradigm to construct and deliver services to mobile users.
    Scopus© Citations 1  520
  • Publication
    How Smart Is Your City?
    (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2012-03-30) ;
    The idea of ambient intelligence implies an intrinsic link between individuals and their environment, enabling individuals to access and interact with computing artifacts in ways that are intuitive and do not disrupt everyday activities. Given the many different environments encountered as part of everyday life—within the home (1) as well as beyond it—enabling such interaction is a formidable technological challenge. The reward may be an environment that is safer, uses less energy, and responds to the needs of all individuals (see the figure). Recent advances in embedded systems, robotics, and sensor technology suggest that ambient intelligence may indeed be realized, particularly if crucial privacy and security concerns are addressed.
    Scopus© Citations 107  1897
  • Publication
    Agent migration and communication in WSNs
    Intelligent agents offer a viable paradigm for enabling AmI applications and services. As WSN technologies are anticipated to provide an indispensable component in many application domains, the need for enabling the agent paradigm to encompass such technologies becomes more urgent. The resource-constrained ad-hoc nature of WSNs poses significant challenges to conventional agent frameworks. In particular, the implications for agent functionality and behaviour in a WSN context demand that issues such as unreliable message delivery and limited power resources, amongst others, be considered. In this paper, the practical issues of agent migration and communication are considered in light of WSN constraints. The discussion is illustrated through a description of approaches adopted by Agent Factory Micro Edition (AFME).
    Scopus© Citations 21  1403