Information Technology Reference
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sensing, reasoning, acting, interaction and communication - (Chapter 5). The final
chapter will present a way to set up an AAL system (Chapter 6).
1.2. Roadmapping Process
A selected methodology and a well organized process of technological roadmapping
are fundamental to develop a valuable guide lines for identifying critical technologies,
technology gaps and ways to leverage R&D investments.
AAL is a broad domain, potentially crossing each aspect and environment of
everyday life. Until today, no common view exists of what Ambient Assisted Living is,
but specific technologies and application domains have been thoroughly described
during the last ten years, and many technology and research roadmaps have been
developed that partially overlap with AAL as well. For this reason, the first necessary
step of the AALIANCE road mapping work was to define the general AAL domain,
identifying what falls in the main focus of AAL (i.e. applications and systems, in
relationship with a small set of large application domains) and what is relevant for
AAL, but needs to be left out of the main focus (i.e. enabling technologies, in most
cases already examined and included in other roadmaps by other groups).
All partners contributed to this step, by identifying relevant state-of-the-art surveys,
existing technological and research roadmaps, market analyses in the field of AAL and,
more generally, of ICT applications and systems for quality of life.
Single scenarios were hierarchically decomposed, in order to identify single
behaviours (i.e. specifications of the AAL system reaction to a specific event or pattern
of events), and functions.
The tree-like decomposition of scenarios in behaviours and functions was a
process that presented a high risk of combinatorial explosion (and a subsequent
impossibility to manage its complexity), unless it was subject to one or more “filtering”
operations, aimed at clustering and merging items whenever possible, and at pruning
less relevant ones.
Starting from a comparative analysis of some of the most relevant technological
roadmaps published during the last ten years, the AALIANCE Consortium defined a
methodological approach for roadmap in the field of Ambient Assisted Living, based
on four main phases:
1.
Setting the scene (Figure 1)
•
Identification of AAL application domains and technology axis.
•
State of the Art overview per domain and technology axis.
2.
1
st
level analysis (Figure 1)
•
Plotting visionary scenarios.
•
Pruning.
Identification of the necessary enabling technologies.
•
