Older adults typically prefer living at their homes as long as possible. However, they often need to be institutionalized due to the age related problems. Homecare can benefit today from a range of existing technologies including smartphones, sensors, etc., however, their effectiveness is limited by the sense of fear and uncomfortableness that many older adults feel. Most current technologies, in fact, are often not designed for older adults, least of all for users with memory impairments. The derivative limitations become a major barrier, severely limiting use of technological assistance in a home environment. CAPTAIN proposes a “transparent” technology designed to turn the home of the older adult into a ubiquitous assistant specifically designed to compensate for their physical and memory impairments during their daily living. To do so, it leverages on a few state of the art technologies, as follows: “Projected augmented reality” to project, through use of micro-projectors, contextualised (directly on walls, floor, tables, etc.) information and instructions on top of the real environment. Real-time 3D sensing technologies to comprehend the “indoor space” (nature and position of objects and actions of the persons) and to allow transforming it into a ubiquitous tangible interface. 3D sensing, together with speech analysis, will allow device-free comprehension of the environment and of the behaviour of the adults (including its changes). Non-invasive physiological and emotional data analysis from facial micro-expressions and human body pose thanks to scalable, robust, and accurate deep learning and artificial intelligence. The coach will leverage on a motivational engine to promote correct nutrition, physical activity, cognitive and physical training, risk avoidance, and social participation. To achieve this CAPTAIN will foster a truly user-centered co-design philosophy -based on constant involvement of older adult in the design, development, and testing stages.

Smart Health is EU Strategic Value Chain that contributes to growth, jobs and competitiveness. Health Data is the main enabler for the value chain, but it also depends on cutting edge technologies - AI, cloud computing, IoT, to integrate the dispersed knowledge and support innovative healthcare solutions and services. EC sets the creation of a European Health Data Space as a main priority, to promote better exchange and access to health data. On a regional level, the RIS3 strategies of the involved widening countries - Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Cyprus emphasize the need for based on Big Data, AI and IoT digitalized healthcare, to enable personalized medicine, informed decisions, and improved disease prediction. RIS3 strategies also outline the need for more funding for R&I, policy coherence and development of territorially join innovation strategies. A cross country coordinated approach is needed to align the separate endeavours towards an Excellent South-East Europe Smart Health Innovation Ecosystem enabled by a Regional Smart Health Data Space. VELES raises the level of innovation excellence in the South-East EU through creating a sustainable place-based innovation ecosystem, enabled by Regional Smart Health Data Space, including novel transformational framework, R&I and investment strategy and action plan for research, development and adoption of innovative and secure digital solutions that underpin the delivery of sustainable healthcare services. The Regional Smart Health Data Space will be demonstrated through the design of 4 interrelated pilots on Cancer treatment (Greece); Personalised/precision medicine of Alzheimer (Bulgaria); Cerebral tumours (Romania) and Dementia (Cyprus). The aim of VELES is to foster health data sharing regional and national strategies, to secure improved clinical practice, to preserve patient’s privacy and to empower citizens’ smart healthcare through access to innovative, cyber secure and data driven digital health services.

The main objective of the Project is to create a GATEKEEPER, that connects healthcare providers, businesses, entrepreneurs, elderly citizens and the communities they live in, in order to originate an open, trust-based arena for matching ideas, technologies, user needs and processes, aimed at ensuring healthier independent lives for the ageing populations. By 2022, GATEKEEPER will be embodied in an open source, European, standard-based, interoperable and secure framework available to all developers, for creating combined digital solutions for personalised early detection and interventions that (i) harness the next generation of healthcare and wellness innovations; (ii) cover the whole care continuum for elderly citizens, including primary, secondary and tertiary prevention, chronic diseases and co-morbidities; (iii) straightforwardly fit “by design” with European regulations, on data protection, consumer protection and patient protection (iv) are subjected to trustable certification processes; (iv) support value generation through the deployment of advanced business models based on the VBHC paradigm. GATEKEEPER will demonstrate its value by scaling up, during a 42-months work plan, towards the deployment of solutions that will involve ca 40.000 elderly citizens, supply and demand side (authorities, institutions, companies, associations, academies) in 8 regional communities, from 7 EU member states.