Positive technology for elderly well-being: A review

Description

In the last decades, given the necessity of assisting fragile citizens, of which elderly represent a signifi-cant portion, a considerable research effort has been devoted to the use of information and communica-tion technologies (ICT) in daily living to promote activity, social connections, and independence. Withsimilar purposes, in recent years psychologists proposed the novel paradigm ofPositive Psychology(PP), the scientific study of positive human functioning and flourishing on multiple levels. The jointeffort between ICT and PP has led to the definition of the emerging field ofPositive Technology(PT),with the aim of developing technology consciously designed to foster well-being in individuals andgroups. In this paper we review PT focusing on frameworks involving computer vision and machinelearning for promoting cognitive, physical, emotional and social elderly well-being. Our discussionhighlights a significant gap between theoretical needs and technological systems availability, suggest-ing future lines of research.

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