With the final approval, the Government of Catalonia gave the green light to the project “Active and healthy aging. From theory to practice”.
The IRD project will provide robotic-based solutions to ensure independent and active living at home for the elder and dependent people.
The Institute of Robotics for Dependency will continue to develop the necessary technology for the creation of a fleet of robots through the “AtHomeBot” project, for personalized support to dependent and elderly people at home, promoting an active ageing and independent living.
The project will generate an innovation with a high impact and scalability potential in multiple territories and economic sectors.
Last April, the Generalitat de Catalunya published the definitive approval of the project “Active and healthy ageing. From theory to practice”, granting a subsidy from the budget of the local administration. It will allow the project to be developed as part of the Garraf’s regional strategy to promote healthy and active ageing and improve the quality of life of the elder.
The funding allows the continuation of the previous “Active and healthy ageing and dependency”, presented in the former call for Territorial Specialization and Competitiveness Projects (PECT) and will be developed in conjunction with the Vilanova y la Geltrú, Sant Pere de Ribes, Sitges, Cubelles, Canyelles and Olivella City Councils, Neàpolis, the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, the Ave Maria Foundation, the Alt Penedès – Garraf Healthcare Consortium and with the coordination of the Garraf County Council.
The project will generate an innovation with a high impact and scalability potential in multiple territories and economic sectors. The quality of life of the elder and dependent people who live alone will be improved thanks to new services and support the project provides. Service providers will be able to attend people in a more efficient way and expand their services.
The IRD project also provides synergies with other support platforms for the elderly, such as the NeverAlone by the Ave María Foundation, which will have a new robotic, intuitive and proactive user interface, as well as an additional source of information on the wellbeing of the beneficiary. Also, it is noteworthy the possible creation of a start-up for commercialization and front and backend activities, which will be a source of new qualified jobs in the region and talent attraction pole.
The total budget for the Garraf PECT II actions is €1,201,171.80. A 50% grant has been allocated from the budget of the Generalitat de Catalunya for the development of the actions that include the local or remote diagnosis of residents by Alt Penedès – Garraf Healthcare Consortium, the improvement and development of Never Alone for home care by the Ave María Foundation, the creation of a technological lab applied to active ageing and dependency by Neàpolis and the “Ageing” mobile application by UPC.
