Project: Intelligent Care Guidance and Learning Services Platform for Informal Carers of the Elderly

Acronym	iCarer (Reference Number: aal-2012-5-239)
Duration	01/07/2013 - 01/10/2016
Project Topic	The global trend towards population ageing means that an increasingly high number of elderly dependants will need to receive home care in the coming decades. Thus, new models of home care for the elderly must be deployed in which informal carers play a crucial role. However, informal caregiving can be a stressful and demanding activity, and informal carers often end up requiring support themselves. iCarer proposes and implements a cloud-based platform designed to assist informal carers of elderly people with mild-to-severe cognitive impairment in their Activities of Daily Care. The platform uses non-intrusive sensors and webbased technologies to track behavioural patterns of informal carers and infer their psychological state. This information will be used to provide guidance and support to reduce their burden and stress. An eLearning network is also provided to train informal carers and enable them to connect with each other and share contents and experiences, thus providing a better quality-of-care. Additionally, iCarer will back informal carers when they are not at home, providing basic guidance and orientation to the older adult. Finally, coordination between formal an informal carers will be supported by the platform; enabling them to better manage their time and resources. The consortium includes several companies, research centres and end-user organizations with wide experience in home care services for the elderly. The iCarer platform will be thoroughly validated through pilot tests conducted in Spain, the UK and Slovenia. The iCarer business model addresses informal carers and care recipients as the main target groups. Service providers and care organisations will also be targeted as key customers. The service will be available directly to end-users, as well as through public health services, care insurances and Group Clients (such as housing companies or insurances). Moreover, iCarer will generate additional income via third-party service providers.
Network	AAL
Call	Call 5 – Daily Life Activities

Project partner

Number	Name	Role	Country
	Blackpool Vitaline		United Kingdom
	Federation of Pensioners' Organization of Slovenia		Slovenia
	ICA Informática y Comunicaciones Avanzadas SL		Spain
	Nottingham City Council		United Kingdom
	Nottingham Trent University		United Kingdom
	Pyxima		Belgium
	S3 Group		Ireland
	Spanish National Institute of Health		Spain
	Tunstall UK		United Kingdom
	Universidad Politécnica de Madrid		Spain