Preface

Active and Assisted Living (AAL) has been recognized for its crucial role in determining the quality of life in the future of our society. This principle has been confirmed by such institutions as the European Commission, an organization that clearly sees AAL as the "fundamental block" in addressing the challenges of demographic changes, sustaining people in productive and healthy work, keeping people at home healthy, independent, and integrated, and improving the delivery of care where and when needed. These are very demanding challenges for which AAL can guarantee products and services that improve the quality of life for people in all phases of life, combining new technologies and social environments. Recent advances in a number of research areas have helped the vision of AAL to become a reality and have allowed integration of new AAL technologies into human lives in a way that will benefit all. All these aspects were explored during the Ninth Italian Forum on Active and Assisted Living (ForItAAL), in July 2018, Lecce, Italy. It is one of the most important annual events for researchers, professionals, developers, policy-makers, producers, service providers, carriers, and end-user organizations working in the different fields of AAL, who present and disseminate results, skills, prototypes, products, and services. The book presents the refereed proceedings of the Forum and reviews the status of researches, technologies, and recent achievements on AAL. Different points of view, from research to practice, cover interdisciplinary topics, combine different knowledge, expertise, needs, and expectations, and thus offer a unique opportunity to all those directly or indirectly interested and involved in the field of AAL. The book discusses the promises and possibilities of growth in AAL. It lays out paths to meet future challenges and will provide crucial guidance in the development of practical and efficient AAL systems for our current and future society.