Supporting independent living of older adults

The society is rapidly aging and elderly need to live independently until an old age. The National Foundation for Elderly aims to improve the quality of life and independence of older adults, and decrease their vulnerability. This way, older adults should be able to live their life the way they would like to.

To do so, the National Foundation for Elderly is researching different possibilities to support the elderly. The Pharaon* project offers innovative solutions to address issues, like mobility and loneliness, by using different technologies. This doesn’t need to be complicated; older adults and their environment should be able to use these technologies easily.

The main goal of Pharaon

Various disciplines (in Europe) are using different kinds of technology to improve smart and active living. Technologies are focussed on older adults themselves, as well on their social network. For example, to stay in touch with loved ones or to assist with daily care.

However, existing technologies are rarely connected and have a limited scope. This causes a fragmented market. The overall objective of Pharaon is to combine technologies and services, and to create an open, easy to use, and customizable platform.

To create such a platform, technologies need to be gathered and tested. The National Foundation for Elderly represents older adults in the Netherlands during this process.

*Pharaon: Pilots for Healthy and Active Aging.

Project website: https://www.pharaon.eu

Running: January 2020 – December 2024

Partners: In the Netherlands: University of Twente, Roessingh Research and Development, AdSysCo, Maastricht Instruments. In total, 41 partners from 12 European countries are involved in Pharaon. Pilots are taking place in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain (2 sites), Portugal and Slovenia.

Funding: Horizon2020 (European Union)