Ambient Assisted Living MSc by Research

Overview
This postgraduate research degree provides the opportunity for students who wish to undertake an Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) research project on any one of a wide range of interdisciplinary disciplines, under the supervision of our team of experts.

Why study the MSc Ambient Assisted Living by Research at Middlesex University?
AAL is one of the major emerging technology markets of the moment, offering the potential to enable and empower citizens in their daily lives using state-of-the-art technologies. Known as 'assistive technologies' in some areas, AAL facilitates everyday activities for people who require care and support, augmenting their quality of life and assisting their independence.

This Master's of Science by Research in Ambient Assisted Living will allow students to understand how this technology works, how data is processed to inform individuals and how these systems can be integrated into society to improve life in general.

Thanks to advances in medicine and improved knowledge of the links between lifestyle and health, a large proportion of the world is living longer. Diseases like Alzheimer's naturally increase proportionally with life expectancy and this has huge implications for those affected, their family, the healthcare sector and society in general. Those using wheelchairs or with conditions such as Parkinson's, autism and Down's syndrome can also benefit from AAL, as these novel technologies can be used to support independence inside and outside the home, when travelling or at work – stimulating socialisation and promoting more positive lifestyles.

One of the most compelling case for AAL is the use of smart homes to support independent living for people of older age, but many other applications exist or are in development. AAL systems provide Intelligent Environments which gather data from individuals through sensors (for example, in a smart phone). This data is then analysed to provide advice, reminders and information which provide support in various circumstances of the users' daily life.

Billions of euros have been invested in the technologies through the European Union's Framework Programmes since 2007, such as the three-year Poseidon project currently supported by Middlesex University. These projects are bringing a proliferation of new systems, requiring a combination of new equipment, software, interfaces, and services.

Possible Projects:

• The architecture of a space as an enabler for AAL
• Inclusive design
• Context-aware reasoning for intelligent environments
• Software engineering of AAL systems
• Adaptive AAL systems
• System personalisation
• Measuring effectiveness of AAL systems
• Companion robots
• Reliable AAL services
• Security issues
• Ethics in AAL systems,
• New areas of application for AAL systems (offices, shopping, leisure, education, etc.)