Emerging Technologies News Portugal in the Ambient Assisted Living Association set up in Brussels Portugal in the Ambient Assisted Living Association set up in Brussels
- 18/09/2007
The Ambient Assisted Living Association was set up in Brussels on 19th September 2007 to manage European R&D projects in the area of intelligent ambient assisted living based on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), which shall be co-funded under the European Union’s Research Framework Programme.
Portugal is represented in the new association by Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC), which joins as one of the founding members. The association includes founding members from the following countries: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Hungary, Ireland, Israel; Italy; Portugal and Sweden. Norway, Poland, the United Kingdom and Switzerland plan to join the association at a later date.
The new association’s first General Meeting will take place on 19th and 20th September 2007, beginning immediately after the association is formally set up.
In this way, a new support line is opened for research in this important area for ICT applications.
Of further note, as part of the preparations of the Fraunhofer-Portugal Programme, and as part of the Partnerships for the Future initiative, the first Fraunhofer institute outside Germany will be set up in Porto, specialising precisely in the Technologies Applications, Content and Services for Ambient Assisted Living field.
This Fraunhofer Gesellshaft Centre/Institute in Portugal will pay special attention to developing technology, content and services for less qualified citizens, the elderly and citizens with special needs who normally do not follow the development of new technologies and the demands of the emerging Information and Knowledge Society, as well as developing intelligent environments in large public spaces.