Demographics in Western countries are changing radically. People live longer (though not necessarily healthier) lives; the average age of our population grows higher, while the size of the working population diminishes; and family structures change due to young professionals moving away from their home towns. All these shifts have major consequences for the cost and the organisation of elderly care. Elderly people prefer to live in their own home for as long as possible, but they need a lot of care and help to do so.

The SALIG++ project partners developed a modular, heterogeneous system, consisting of non-instrusive hardware such as a smart TV, wrist-worn smartphone, 3D cameras and embedded sensors, combined with posture recognition software, text-to-speech applications and learning algorithms to detect Activities of Daily Life. The SALIG++ systems supports bidirectional awareness and interaction: the 3D cameras and TV can be used to be virtually ‘present’ in the home of the elderly. This allows family members and caretakers to have close, personal interaction with their parent/client, even at a distance.