Assistive Technology to Support the Mobility of Senior Citizens: Overcoming Mobility Barriers and Establishing Mobility Chains by Social Collaboration

Maintaining mobility despite the bodily, mental, or monetary challenges which often come along with advanced age is a relevant aspect of the quality of live. The collaborative research project EMN-Moves provides assistive technology for initiating and coordinating mobility support in residential districts. Mobility support is seen as a social task involving the interplay of housing societies, social organisations and residents of different age groups—with and without special needs. The project focuses on two aspects: (1) a Geo-Wiki for documenting temporary mobility barriers and for generating proposals for alternative routes, (2) a matchmaking service for bringing together (elderly) people who need support with volunteers. © 2013, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.