Dawn of a sunrise industry
Dawn of a sunrise industry
How can Ambient Assisted Living help us should we ever come to be dependent on care? At the first Franco-German AAL Days, technicians, care experts, philosophers and the patrons of the event came together for the first time to discuss common questions that will affect all of us sooner or later.
Dawn of a sunrise industry
Solutions for an ageing society
We are all getting older: more than 22 million men and women in Germany alone are likely to reach retirement age by 2030, this represents around one third more than today. The number of older people and therefore as a consequence those who often require care as well is also rising in many other regions of the world. Most of these people want to live the last third of their lives at home in familiar surroundings. According to surveys, half of the over-65s would gladly use reminder functions or alarm systems if needed – i.e. technologies that also enable people in need of care to live independently.
Figures illustrate the social and economic potential that already exists for Ambient Assisted Living (AAL). These figures also illustrate how crucial it will be to precisely understand user needs and market specifics.
As initiator of the first Franco-German AAL Days on 28th and 29th September 2015, Hager Group made an important contribution. Politicians, business representatives, healthcare professionals, property experts and journalists from Germany and France came to the newly opened Hager Forum in Obernai. In addition to Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the Prime Minister of the Saarland, the event’s patrons include Laurence Rossignol, France’s Secretary of State for Family, Children, Seniors and Autonomy, Philippe Richert, President of the Alsace Regional Council and Jean-Pierre Masseret, President of the Regional Council of Lorraine. Approximately 120 participants took the opportunity to talk either in workshops, as speakers or when networking before and after the discussions.
Especially when it comes to AAL, the innovativeness of engineers can be judged by how pronounced their gift is to listen to other experts: men and women, for instance, who care for and manage seniors every day or property developers who can assess what modifications are possible and affordable in an apartment. “People are always the focus of our interests,” said Daniel Hager, CEO of Hager Group, in his opening address. “Technology comes afterwards.” Products and solutions that endure can only arise when all parties involved meet on an equal footing, “…successful assistive technologies help individuals without stigmatising them.”
Fast help when needed
AAL is increasingly finding its way into people’s homes when combined with services. It focuses on convenient support and quick assistance in emergency situations. Another field is networking with household services to be used individually, such as a companion when going to the doctor, doing the shopping or housework.
Digitisation and networking will play a major role in moving ahead – sensors can monitor heart defects. For example, measurements can be taken for breathing rate, blood pressure and heart sounds and then passed on to the treating physician. Other forms of assistance protect against forgetfulness. Should the oven be left on? Should the washing up water keep running? Many of the 1.2 million people with dementia in Germany could avoid moving to a nursing home thanks to such solutions.
A third field is multimedia applications against social isolation. Screen telephony gives a colourful insight into lives of the grandchildren. A virtual butler opens the door to the outside world: he knows the local events programme and public transport timetables, can also order food or flowers and manage appointments with neighbours.
Differences between France and Germany
AAL Days showed that while people from Germany and France have similar needs in many areas of life, small differences have to be taken into account in the way AAL solutions are designed – especially in terms of financial strength and affinity for technology.
For example, French seniors have a slightly higher income on average than their peers across the Rhine, while German workers retire later. In France, only 48 percent of 55 to 64-year olds are still professionally active, in Germany it is 55 percent. There are also differences in social security: while every person in Germany with health insurance also has nursing care insurance, in France there is no classical nursing care insurance, but rather a nursing care allowance funded by a general solidarity tax, pension funds and local councils. Also, assistive technologies in France are not funded centrally via health insurance funds – as is the case in Germany – but rather at a local level, which makes the market highly varied.
Beyond economic aspects, surprisingly cultural differences also play an important role in the assessment of the AAL market. Asked about their opinion of technical assistive solutions, a clear majority of German seniors expressed reserve. Whenever possible they prefer human assistance to technology. Meanwhile, their French peers were not effusive in surveys, and were considerably more open to technology. This affinity for technology was also seen in the choice of control devices: while German seniors prefer to use smartphones and tablets, the French are willing to go a step further and use integrated sensors, intelligent everyday objects and video communications in their daily lives.
“Demographic change is one of the greatest social challenges of our time,” said Daniel Hager. “With the Franco-German AAL Days we want to share knowledge of how dignified ageing can be today and in the future. AAL Days are not a sales event, rather they offer all the actors on the market the opportunity to present their experiences and to take home fresh knowledge and new contacts.