Themes identified and lessons learned through the development of intelligent environments that support healthy well-being

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Boger, Jennifer^{; ; ;} | Arcelus, Amaya^; | Mihailidis, Alex^{; ;}

Affiliations: Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Toronto, 500 University Ave., Toronto, ON, Canada | Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, 550 University Ave., Toronto, ON, Canada | Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, 164 College St., Toronto, ON, Canada

Note: [] Corresponding author. E-mail: jen.boger@utoronto.ca.

Note: [] Equal contributor.

Note: [] Equal contributor.

Abstract: The dynamic, adaptive, and autonomous nature of intelligent environments makes them ideal for supporting people's health and well-being. The Intelligent Assistive Technology and Systems Lab (IATSL) and their collaborators are a team of engineers, computer scientists, and rehabilitation specialists who have been working with end users to develop devices and systems for supporting people in home and institutional environments for over a decade. This paper presents key themes for supporting the development of health-centric intelligent environments and systems. Examples of the themes are illustrated through several case studies of real-world applications developed through IATSL's research. The paper concludes by high-lighting some areas that need to be considered by the field as intelligent environments move out of the research lab and into people's homes.

Keywords: Intelligent environments, ambient assisted living, healthy well-being, zero-effort technology, aging-in-place

DOI: 10.3233/AIS-140254

Journal: Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Smart Environments, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 215-235, 2014