ACTIVITIES :: eTen :: Projects :: Projects of the Month :: Attentianet

November 2007 Project of the Month: Attentianet

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Attentianet: Advanced TeleassisTance convErgent NeTwork for chronIc diseAse patieNts and Elders

Current tele-assistance solutions for keeping the elderly living at home are based on rather simple communication technologies; regular phone line and a bracelet button system to send an alarm to the tele-assistance service provider. They do not use the great advantage represented by current communication technologies to provide enhanced services to the end users, such as face-to-face visual communication and permanent ‘on-line’ reachability.

Attentianet introduces mobile communications and broadband to create advanced tools to enhance the social care support, thereby allowing the elderly to stay at home longer than today, improving their socialisation and their feeling of security.

"I have the service and I am glad to have it. The social carers who attend our calls are angels". (user)

"You feel more in company, because if you are not in the mood to talk with anyone, you just sit [in front of the TV] with them and you start chatting." (user)

"It represents a huge break-through to palliate the loneliness feeling of the elderly." (social carer)

Objectives of the project

Deployment of an enhanced tele-assistance service. Improvement of security and reduction of feeling of loneliness, better support for independent living and extension of the service to other segments (not only the elderly population).
Introduction of new technologies (e-inclusion). Break the digital divide with a service approach for new technologies introduction. The assistance centre has a key role to play in the usage of and support for new technologies.
Create a platform for extended services. Once broadband and mobility are introduced with the support of an assistance centre, the introduction of new services has to be seen as an evolutionary approach.

Services

Thanks to fixed-mobile convergence of networks, technologies and devices, the advanced video assistance solution provides users coverage at home and outside.

Mobile assistance. Mobile assistance allows emergency calls and location tracking in any place with GSM coverage. The video assistance centre can keep contact with the users and offer them immediate assistance in case of emergency. With the permission of the users, the solution also makes it possible to set up a user movement area in order to send an alarm to the video assistance centre or to relatives when the user leaves the predefined area.
Video telephony communications between individuals and the Video Assistance Centre (VAC), which acts as an attendance centre providing social assistance to the users. So, in the home environment and with basic equipment (TV) connected via ADSL to the video assistance centre, video conference enables users not only to consult and ask for further explanations about their social assistance service but also to be visually monitored about their physical state. Additionally, the service offers the added value of keeping company to people living alone. Users can easily get personal attendance in any issue, including access to social resources and first medical aid in emergency situations.

Achievements

The project has allowed to refine the technical solution with:
- Selection of the right terminals.
- Definition of the installation and maintenance processes.
- New features added to the solution to allow remote maintenance and automatic device reset in case of problems.
The business model has been completed defining the roles, responsibilities and money flow for the different actors. The market analysis is complete and the marketing strategy has been defined.
End users. Most of the evolutions carried out in the technical solution and in the different processes and procedures for service deployment have been based on the feedback collected from end users during the market validation in Spain and in Belgium.

With these achievements Attentianet project has ended with a final service solution that is fully ready for commercial deployment.

Expected benefits by the end of the project

The expected benefits are the availability of a business model, a service and a platform that allow the service commercialization beyond the project end. The business model, service and technical platform have been defined and fine-tuned during the market validation process and the consortium is now ready for real service deployment.

Partners

Alcatel-Lucent: Global solution provider with two companies (Spain and Belgium) participation
ONO: Broadband service provider in Spain
Orange Spain: Mobile service provider in Spain
CHC: Tele-assistance service provider in Spain
Sabia: Tele-assistance centre technology provider
i2cat: Technology Centre
LCM and CM Oostend: Tele-assistance service provider in Belgium
Androme: Video technology provider in Belgium
Belgacom: Broadband and mobile service provider in Belgium
More information about the partners at: http://www.attentianet.eu/partners.html

Reference data (project website, contract type, start and end date)

Project website: http://www.attentianet.eu
Contract type: eTen Market Validation
Project Duration: 01/01/2006 – 30/06/2007
Project Co-ordinator: José Luis Jorge Marrasé
Tel.: +34 93 495 23 45
E-mail: jose.l.Jorge@alcatel-lucent.es