No futuro, espera-se que residências se tornem Ambientes Inteligentes capazes de assistir as pessoas que nelas habitam. Sistemas desenvolvidos para esses Ambientes de Vivência Assistida poderiam manipular o dinamismo existente dentro das residências. Estas normalmente são organizadas de acordo com o perfil do usuário, sendo que objetos, ao longo do tempo, são atualizados ou alterados em relação à localização, principalmente equipamentos eletrônicos. O perfil do usuário também pode se alterar ao longo do tempo. Por exemplo, diferentes doenças podem envolver o usuário e fazer com que a relação dele com os objetos da residência se alterem, sendo que, quando esta relação é alterada devido a problemas cognitivos (como esquecimentos), às vezes, o próprio usuário pode se colocar em situações indesejadas. Este trabalho propõe uma abordagem para apoiar sistemas para Ambientes de Vivência Assistida (casas inteligentes) a identificar e prever situações que coloquem em risco a saúde dos usuários, tornando esses sistemas capazes de reagir frente a uma situação em curso, bem como se antecipar a uma situação de uma forma proativa, tentando eliminar ou suavizar seu impacto. Tal abordagem considera que, ao longo do tempo, o perfil do usuário pode mudar, sendo que diferentes situações podem surgir, as quais podem não terem sido previstas inicialmente na concepção do sistema. Nesse sentido, uma capacidade para a extensibilidade dos sistemas é inserida para identificação, predição e tomada de decisão para agir frente a essas novas situações. A abordagem é verificada através de experimentos empíricos, em um estudo de caso desenvolvido. As situações são simuladas e, posteriormente, detectadas pelo sistema para a escolha das ações mais apropriadas a serem executadas, resultando na utilização de funcionalidades dos dispositivos da residência, assim buscando agir frente à situação de interesse (i.e., indesejada). Nesse estudo de caso, novas situações indesejadas são injetadas no ambiente de vivência do usuário e a característica extensível são aplicadas, fazendo com que o sistema evolua para atuar frente a essas novas situações. / In the future, it is expected that the houses become intelligence environment able of assist the people who inhabit it. Systems developed for theses environments of assisted living could manipulate the dynamism existent inside of houses. These are usually organized according to the user profile, and over the time objects are updated or changed of location, mainly appliances. The user profile may change over time, for instance different diseases can involve the user and making the user’s relationship with household objects change over the time, and when that relation is changed due to cognitive impairments (forgetfulness), sometimes the user can place himself in unwanted situations. To this end, this thesis developed an approach to aid the systems for Ambient Assisted Living (smart houses) to identify and predict situations that endanger the user’s health in their living environment, thus becomes these systems able of react to a current situation, as well as to anticipate a situation in a proactive way, thus trying to eliminate or manipulate its impact. This approach takes into account that over the time the user’s profile can change, and different situations can arise, which maybe not have been initially planned in a first phase of development of the systems, therefore an extensible capability is applied to identify, predict and make decision for act against these new situations. This approach is verified by the developed case study, and situations are simulated for the system detect and choose the most appropriated actions. This approach is verified by the developed case study, and situations are simulated and subsequently detected by the system for choosing the most appropriate actions to be performed, resulting in the consumer of functionalities of the house devices, thus seeking to act against the unwanted situation.

Master of Science / Department of Hotel, Restaurant, Institution Management and Dietetics / Carol W. Shanklin / The purposes of this study were to explore factors associated with residents’ dining experience in assisted living facilities and to investigate the influence that these factors had on perceived quality and residents’ satisfaction with their dining experience. Food quality, service quality, mealtime customization, and dining room environment were the four constructs explored. Focus groups were conducted with residents of three assisted living facilities to determine attributes of the constructs that were important to them. A total of 22 residents participated in the three focus groups. A questionnaire developed by Huang was revised to include measurement items identified in the focus groups. The questionnaire was distributed to residents of 16 randomly selected assisted living facilities within a 110 mile radius of the research institution. Of the 492 residents in 16 facilities, 246 completed the questionnaire for a response rate of 50%. Residents evaluated the attributes on a 5-point likert scale (1-strongly disagree; 5-strongly agree). Service quality (4.03) and dining room environment (3.97) attributes were rated significantly higher than food quality (3.64) and customization attributes (3.42). Resident satisfaction also was evaluated on a 5-point scale (1-very dissatisfied; 5-very satisfied). Residents were satisfied with the overall dining experience (3.94) and the overall facility (3.97). Residents were less satisfied with food served (3.67) or the amount of choices they had at meals (3.58). Residents were satisfied with services (3.95) and the dining room atmosphere (3.98). Satisfaction with services and the dining room atmosphere were significantly higher than food served and amount of choices at mealtimes. Residents’ perceptions of food quality, service quality, level of customization, and dining room environment had a positive influence on their satisfaction with the overall dining experience. Residents’ perceptions of food quality had a positive influence on satisfaction with the food served, service quality impacted satisfaction with services, level of customization effected satisfaction with the amount of choices, and dining room environment influenced satisfaction with the dining room atmosphere. Administrators, foodservice directors, and dietitians employed in assisted living facilities can use the results to improve the dining experience for residents and ultimately improve residents’ quality of life.

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Yes / Human activity recognition from sensor readings have proved to be an effective approach in pervasive computing for smart healthcare. Recent approaches to ambient assisted living (AAL) within a home or community setting offers people the prospect of more individually-focused care and improved quality of living. However, most of the available AAL systems are often limited by computational cost. In this paper, a simple, novel non-wearable human activity classification framework using the multivariate Gaussian is proposed. The classification framework augments prior information from the passive RFID tags to obtain more detailed activity profiling. The proposed algorithm based on multivariate Gaussian via maximum likelihood estimation is used to learn the features of the human activity model. Twelve sequential and concurrent experimental evaluations are conducted in a mock apartment environment. The sampled activities are predicted using a new dataset of the same activity and high prediction accuracy is established. The proposed framework suits well for the single and multi-dwelling environment and offers pervasive sensing environment for both patients and carers. / Tertiary Education Trust Fund of Federal Government of Nigeria and by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement H2020-MSCA-ITN-2016 SECRET-722424

As the average age of life expectancy continues to rise, so too has the number of elderly individuals seeking long-term care. Performing daily tasks becomes a struggle while those affected by Alzheimer's disease and dementia risk their safety by living alone. Aged individuals lacking the means or faculties to live independently often seek assisted living and memory care facilities as the most viable options for the growing elderly population. Typical facilities are compact and sterile where residents are under watchful supervision to perform basic daily activities. As a result, aged individuals spend every day inside the facility with a structured, monotonous routine. A repetitive lifestyle within the same surroundings and with little autonomy can lead to feelings of isolation, depression, and disengagement from the same facility designed to care for the elderly population. My thesis aims to create an assisted living and memory care village, rather than a facility, that calls upon the comforts of home in a neighborhood setting. Within the village, residents are free to engage, explore, and take part in activities as self-sufficient human beings. Located in Frederick, Maryland, my objective is to design a small-town community that enables both on and off-site engagement. I analyzed architectural design methods that mitigate the struggles of daily activities while maintaining privacy and independence, and also researched a largely overlooked aspect of assisted living facilities: site development. This enabled me to curate a space where residents are free to explore and take part in various activities throughout the site. A monotonous routine leads to a stagnant mind. My thesis aims to create a space where exploration and independence are not only permitted but encouraged. Rather than aging in place, the goal is to live in place while the mind and body are in motion, making new memories and discoveries every day. / Master of Architecture / My aunt faced the challenge of her elderly mother experiencing white coat hypertension: an increase in blood pressure due to anxiety and stress during doctor visits. But it made a remarkable difference after she switched to a specialized geriatric office that emphasized a welcoming, homelike design. The warm ambiance, comforting decor, and personalized care reduced her anxiety, alleviating her white coat hypertension and resulting in regular blood pressure readings. This experience inspired me to emphasize the importance of geriatric-friendly design in assisted living and memory care facilities. In response to this issue, my thesis proposes the creation of an assisted living and memory care village instead of a traditional facility. The village aims to provide a homelike setting where residents can experience a sense of comfort and freedom. I have analyzed architectural design methods that address the struggles of daily activities while maintaining privacy and independence. Additionally, I have explored the often overlooked aspect of site development in assisted living facilities to curate the space thoughtfully where residents are encouraged to explore and engage in various activities throughout the village and evoke feelings of home, community, and comfort.