Science and Information Conference 2014 August 27-29, 2014 | London, UK 1 | Page www.conference.thesai.org Sustainable E 2 Mobility Services for Elderly People - Platform System Architecture Djamel Khadraoui, Hedi Ayed & Damien Nicolas CRP Henri TUDOR, Luxembourg 29, Avenue John F. Kennedy L-1855 Luxembourg Djamel.Khadraoui@tudor.lu Abstract—This paper is about the development of an online web platform that allows the elderly to plan their trips according to their individual constraints and preferences, as well as a complementary mobile application to provide assistance while on the move. Already tested by seniors on three group trips in different locations around Europe, the platform will soon be made available for wider use. This work has been developed under the AAL/JP project called STIMULATE (http://stimulate- aal.eu) funded by the European Union as well as by the FNR (Fonds National de Luxembourg). Keywords—Senior’s mobility; Travel support; Resource recommender; Health related user profiling; WEB Platform; Software Architecture; On the Move; Algorith I. INTRODUCTION Mobility is a key issue in the context of an ageing population. Elderly people enjoy taking trips, but owing to a certain loss of independence and apprehension in the use of new technologies, they feel less confident when travelling. Modern and accessible ICT [6] allows new bespoke, ad hoc mobility and travel services to be developed for the specific profiles and needs of the elderly. STIMULATE proposes customised travel offers based on the needs and constraints of individual users [2]. ICT services specifically targeting the travel needs of older people are currently primarily limited to web applications offering travel information and in some cases to offering fixed travel package. Most of the customised travel arrangements for seniors are still handled through physical agencies. With the advent of the information society and significant penetration of internet use by older people between 55 and 75, there is now an opportunity to provide “tailored”, “à la carte” and “assisted” travel services for seniors through a range of advanced and complementary information technologies. The use of innovative ICT will enable senior citizens to plan their trips “à la carte”, to personalise their assistance needs, to optimise their travel routes based on their profile and assistance requirements, to be provided with a full range of on-the-move support and assistance services ranging from real-time itineraries optimisation, daily organisation of the travel agendas, GPS- based cultural, travel and shopping information to health follow-up and local medical assistance when needed. All these innovative ICT services will foster greater mobility through adapted, personalised and safer travel for senior citizens [5]. The STIMULATE online platform will allow the elderly to plan their trips in an intuitive manner adapted to their needs and criteria. At the time of planning a journey, a list of offers is put forward, meeting individual requirements and constraints that are managed through a personal user profile. The most suitable activities appear towards the top of the list, while those less suitable appear lower down. II. USER REQUIREMENTS/SECNARIO DERIVED FUNCTIONALITIES Two main types of users were identified in the context of the STIMULATE project: the end- and professional user, each with their own set of expectation and requirements to the STIMULATE platform. The holiday and tourism market for elderly people is growing and in parallel, the use of communication tools such as tablets is becoming more widespread [3] [4]. STIMULATE will enable seniors to specify their assistance needs, to extensively plan a trip, to optimise their means of transport and itineraries, to access advice, to be provided with personal assistance while on the move, and to obtain local shopping recommendations and assistance. A. Stimulate End User This user can be characterized by being older and slightly to heavy impaired [5]. The emphasis on the health characteristics of the end-user is quintessential in differentiating STIMULATE to other Travel and planning services. While targeting this specific user group, the consortium realizes that ‘old age’, ‘impairments’ and other classifications should be avoided as much as possible in communicating with target group. Although there is a need for travel- services, activities and accommodations specifically targeted at the slightly impaired, overemphasizing this characteristic may not yield any benefit for end- and professional users. As such, the scenarios written out and the user studies conducted all point in the same direction: provide elderly and impaired users with the same opportunities, functionalities and interfaces the travel market already provides, while giving the specific user group additional features, information and service levels to facilitate a better fit between user-needs and offerings. The scenario’s described the stages of orientation on a daytrip or a larger holiday: orientating, browsing, selecting, reviewing and contacting the provider on more details. These