DESIGN OF AN ASSISTED UNIT FOR SIMULATING INDEPENDENT LIVING ACTIVITIES

In a context characterized both by a progressively ageing population and an increasing use of assistive devices and home automation, the AUSILIA (Assisted Unit for Simulating Independent LIving Activities) project is an important resource for the territory of the Autonomous Province of Trento (Italy), aimed to support elderly and people with disabilities. This project is the result of a multidisciplinary and combined effort by many partners, whose purpose is to realize an assisted unit for testing independent living activities inside the Villa Rosa Rehabilitation Hospital in Pergine Valsugana. The aim is to develop a user-centred design of barrier free and assistive home environments. The unit consists of a smart apartment and a gymnasium for testing different anthropometric, typological and technological solutions in order to foster an independent living. The paper focuses on methods and criteria applied to design the smart apartment and the gymnasium’s test stations simulating the different Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). This project will allow the researchers to study the adaptation and configuration of home environments (i.e. bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, living room, corridor, etc.) to the real needs of the different users in order to improve the quality of their life at home.