A wide range of technologies is already available for supporting independent life of elderly people and people with disabilities. However, turning technology potentialities into actual services involves many further aspects, mostly related to caregiving policies and financial sustainability. In this paper, the experience carried out in the Parma Province (Italy), is illustrated. The project is aimed at identifying affordable technologies suitable for contrasting (elderly) depopulation of rural and mountain areas and at fostering their exploitation within the existing framework of social and health services. The technical approach inherently relies on distributed intelligence and hierarchical networking: different assistive domains, customarily considered independent, are merged within the very same infrastructure. Environmental safety, personal monitoring, support in daily living activities, remote monitoring and telerescue functionalities are encompassed by the CARDEA AAL system. Interoperability issues are tackled by exploiting internet protocols (IP) communication standards even at the field level (i.e., home devices) and by implementing device-abstraction strategies. Each home device (environmental or personal sensor, user interface, control panels, etc.) is identified by an IP address and by a set of abstract "features" defining its status. The home infrastructure accounts for safety (fire, smoke, gas, flood sensors,.), security (perimetral switches, PIR detectors,.), automation (lights, heating, motorized windows, doors, gas or water flow valves.), personal monitoring (fall detector, health monitor,.), communication (touch-panels, remote controls, modems,.) which can be arbitrarily combined together. Within the system, the CARDEA-MUSA wearable platform is capable of fall detection, indoor localization and vital sign monitoring (heart and breath rates). Virtually any kind of cause-effect relationship among such devices can be implemented by means of a programmable rule-based supervisor. Adopting IP standards (given their massive diffusion) allows for keeping networking costs at a minimum and makes the system inherently keen on implementing web-based services. A suite of tools (CARDEAweb) has been developed and allows a remote caregiver, by means of a web browser on a PC or a smartphone, to access all the functionalities available within the home: activate home appliances, adjust temperature or lights, check for door and windows closure, receive alarms and check for the status of personal/health monitoring devices by means of a unified user interface. Video monitoring is also embedded, if required. Activity logging is provided, enabling history tracking and behavioral analysis. Secure communication and user authentication procedures are implemented. A scalable approach is pursued, making the tool suitable for single homes as well as for large residential complexes. CARDEA, CARDEAweb and CARDEA-MUSA technologies have been deployed at many sites in the Parma region, providing a networked "living lab" environment, suitable for evaluating effectiveness of AAL solutions in supporting existing social and health services.
