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Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering 426
Filippo Cavallo
Vincenzo Marletta
Andrea Monteriù
Pietro Siciliano
Editors
Ambient
Assisted
Living
Italian Forum 2016
Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering
Volume 426
Board of Series editors

Leopoldo Angrisani, Napoli, Italy
Marco Arteaga, Coyoacán, México
Samarjit Chakraborty, München, Germany
Jiming Chen, Hangzhou, P.R. China
Tan Kay Chen, Singapore, Singapore
Rüdiger Dillmann, Karlsruhe, Germany
Haibin Duan, Beijing, China
Gianluigi Ferrari, Parma, Italy
Manuel Ferre, Madrid, Spain
Sandra Hirche, München, Germany
Faryar Jabbari, Irvine, USA
Janusz Kacprzyk, Warsaw, Poland
Alaa Khamis, New Cairo City, Egypt
Torsten Kroeger, Stanford, USA
Tan Cher Ming, Singapore, Singapore
Wolfgang Minker, Ulm, Germany
Pradeep Misra, Dayton, USA
Sebastian Möller, Berlin, Germany
Subhas Mukhopadyay, Palmerston, New Zealand
Cun-Zheng Ning, Tempe, USA
Toyoaki Nishida, Sakyo-ku, Japan
Bijaya Ketan Panigrahi, New Delhi, India
Federica Pascucci, Roma, Italy
Tariq Samad, Minneapolis, USA
Gan Woon Seng, Nanyang Avenue, Singapore
Germano Veiga, Porto, Portugal
Haitao Wu, Beijing, China
Junjie James Zhang, Charlotte, USA
About this Series
“Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering (LNEE)” is a book series which reports

the latest research and developments in Electrical Engineering, namely:
• Communication, Networks, and Information Theory
• Computer Engineering
• Signal, Image, Speech and Information Processing
• Circuits and Systems
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LNEE publishes authored monographs and contributed volumes which present
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The audience for the books in LNEE consists of advanced level students,
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like Springer’s other Lecture Notes series, LNEE will be distributed through
Springer’s print and electronic publishing channels.
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/7818

Filippo Cavallo Vincenzo Marletta
•
Andrea Monteriù Pietro Siciliano

•
Editors
Ambient Assisted Living

Italian Forum 2016
123
Editors
Filippo Cavallo Andrea Monteriù
Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna Università Politecnica delle Marche
Pontedera Ancona
Italy Italy
Vincenzo Marletta Pietro Siciliano

DIEEI IMM-CNR
Università degli Studi di Catania Lecce
Catania Italy
Italy
ISSN 1876-1100 ISSN 1876-1119 (electronic)

Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering
ISBN 978-3-319-54282-9 ISBN 978-3-319-54283-6 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-54283-6
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017933676
This book was advertised with a copyright holder in the name of the authors in error, whereas the
publisher holds the copyright.
© Springer International Publishing AG 2017
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part
of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
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The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
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Preface
Active and Assisted Living (AAL) has been recognized for its crucial role in
determining the quality of life in the future of our society. This principle has been
confirmed by such institutions as the European Commission, an organization that
clearly sees AAL as the “fundamental block” in addressing the challenges of
demographic changes, sustaining people in productive and healthy work, keeping
people at home healthy, independent and integrated, and improving the delivery of
care where and when needed. These are very demanding challenges for which AAL
can guarantee products and services that improve the quality of life for people in all
phases of life, combining new technologies and social environments. Recent
advances in a number of research areas have helped the vision of AAL to become a
reality and have allowed integration of new AAL technologies into human lives in a
way that will benefit all.
All these aspects were explored during the Seventh Italian Forum on Active and
Assisted Living (ForItAAL), in June 2016, Pisa, Italy. It is one of the most
important annual showcase events for researchers, professionals, developers, policy
makers, producers, service providers, carriers, and end user organizations working
in the different fields of AAL, who want to present and disseminate their results,
skills, prototypes, products, and services.
This book presents the refereed proceedings of the Forum and reviews the status
of researches, technologies, and recent achievements on AAL. Different points of
view, from research to practice, cover interdisciplinary topics, combine different
knowledge, expertise, needs, and expectations, and thus offer a unique opportunity
to all those directly or indirectly interested and involved in the field of AAL.
Moreover, the book discusses the promises and possibilities of growth in AAL. It
lays out paths to meet future challenges and will provide crucial guidance in the
development of practical and efficient AAL systems for our current and future society.
Pontedera, Italy Filippo Cavallo

Catania, Italy Vincenzo Marletta
Ancona, Italy Andrea Monteriù
Lecce, Italy Pietro Siciliano
v
Organization Committee
General Chair
Filippo Cavallo, Istituto di BioRobotica—Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna
Honorary Chairs
Pietro Siciliano, IMM—Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche

Paolo Dario, Istituto di BioRobotica—Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna
Scientific Committee
Bruno Andò, DIEEI—Università di Catania

Roberta Bevilacqua (Istituto Nazionale Riposo e Cura Anziani, Ancona)
Manuele Bonaccorsi (Istituto di BioRobotica—Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna)
Niccolò Casiddu (Scuola Politecnica—Università degli Studi di Genova)
Amedeo Cesta (ISTC—Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche)
Paolo Ciampolini (Università di Parma)
Gabriella Cortellessa (ISTC—Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche)
Assunta D’Innocenzo (Abitare Anziani)
Leopoldina Fortunati (Università di Udine)
Michele Germani (DIISM—Università Politecnica delle Marche)
Alessandro Leone (IMM—Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche)
Sauro Longhi (DII—Universita’ Politecnica delle Marche)
Massimiliano Malavasi (Ausilioteca Bologna)
Vincenzo Marletta (DIEEI—Università di Catania)
Andrea Monteriù (DII—Università Politecnica delle Marche)
vii
viii Organization Committee
Massimo Pistoia (E-result srl)

Lorena Rossi (Istituto Nazionale Riposo e Cura Anziani, Ancona)
Lorenzo Scalise (DIISM—Università Politecnica delle Marche)
Organizing Committee
Federica Radici (Istituto di BioRobotica—Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna)

Damiano Giuntini (TechnoDeal srl)
Teresa Pagliai (TechnoDeal srl)
Laura Fiorini (Istituto di BioRobotica—Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna)
Giorgia Acerbi (Istituto di BioRobotica—Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna)
Raffaele Esposito (Istituto di BioRobotica—Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna)
Alessandra Moschetti (Istituto di BioRobotica—Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna)
Raffaele Limosani (Istituto di BioRobotica—Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna)
Grazia Pastucci (Istituto di BioRobotica—Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna)
Contents
Part I Care Models and Algorithms

The Mo.Di.Pro Experimental Project at the Galliera Hospital:
I.C.T., Robots and Care of the Environment for the Rehabilitation
of Patients Before Discharge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Niccolò Casiddu and Claudia Porfirione
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.1 Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2 Materials and Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.1 Accommodation Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.2 Monitoring of Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.3 Ethics: Informed Consent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3 Results and Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.1 Experimentation with Telepresence Robots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Theoretical Model for Remote Heartbeat Detection Using
Radiofrequency Waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......... 19
V. Di Mattia, G. Manfredi, M. Baldini, V. Petrini, L. Scalise,
P. Russo, A. De Leo and G. Cerri
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2 The Electromagnetic Multilayer Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.1 Multilayer Model Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
3 Validation of the Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
4 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
ix
x Contents
A Wearable System for Stress Detection Through Physiological

Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 31
Giorgia Acerbi, Erika Rovini, Stefano Betti, Antonio Tirri,
Judit Flóra Rónai, Antonella Sirianni, Jacopo Agrimi,
Lorenzo Eusebi and Filippo Cavallo
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
1.1 Physiological Signals and Stress Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
1.2 The Aim of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
2.1 Instrumentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.2 Participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
2.3 Experimental Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
2.4 Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.1 Physiological Parameters Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.2 Psychometric Instruments Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.3 Correlation Between Physiological Parameters
and Psychometric Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.4 Data Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
4 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Complete Specifications of ICT Services in an AAL Environment . .... 51
Laura Burzagli, Paolo Baronti, Marco Billi, Pier Luigi Emiliani
and Fabio Gori
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
2 Position of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
3 Design Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
3.1 Cookbook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
3.2 Diary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
3.3 Pantry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.4 Appliances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
4 A Case Study—The Example of a Shopping List
Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
5 Technical Implementation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
6 Future Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
7 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Design of a Community-Supported CapAble Microwave
System for People with Intellectual and Physical Disabilities . . . . . . . . . . 61
Matteo Zallio, Paula Kelly, Modestas Jakuska, Hicham Rifai
and Damon Berry
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Contents xi
2 Cooking Appliances State of Art: Development and Use

of a Microwave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......... 63
2.1 Microwave Usability Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......... 64
3 Research Methodology for a Community-Designed
Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......... 65
3.1 Quality Function Deployment Method
for a User Centred Design Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
3.2 Designing with the “Persona” Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
3.3 Preferences from the Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
4 The CapAble Microwave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
4.1 System Architecture of the CapAble Microwave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
5 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Work of the Home and Social Relationships as a Guide
to Domestic Care for the Elderly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......... 79
Giulia Frezza, Helen Keefe and Marta Bertolaso
1 A Home that Changes Along with a Changing Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
2 The Problem of Social Isolation in Elderly Populations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
3 Technology and Human Technologies for Elderly Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
3.1 TRIL Building Bridges (BB) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
3.2 An Option Often Overlooked and Underrated:
Inter-generational Living . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......... 84
4 Conclusions—Rediscovering the Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......... 85
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......... 86
The Design Contribution for Ambient Assisted Living. . . . . . ......... 87
G. Losco, A. Lupacchini, L. Bradini and D. Paciotti
1 From Design for All to Design for AAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......... 87
2 Generating Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......... 88
3 The Specific Contributions: Product Design Skills . . . . . . . . ......... 88
3.1 User Centred Design (UCD) and Interaction
Design (ID) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
3.2 Technological Implementation Design: Smart Design . . . . . . . . . . . 90
3.3 Morphology and Design: The Role of Shape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
4 Specific Contributions: The ALL Intervention Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
4.1 Objects and Smart Aids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
4.2 Residential Spaces and Intelligent Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
4.3 Movement and Mobility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Adaptive Interface for Smart Home: A New Design Approach . . . . . . . . 107
Francesca Gullà, Silvia Ceccacci, Roberto Menghi, Lorenzo
Cavalieri and Michele Germani
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
2 Research Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
xii Contents
3 The Design Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

4 The Proposed Adaptive System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
4.1 Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
4.2 Application Core . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
4.3 User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
5 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Part II Enabling Technologies and Assistive Solutions

Unobtrusive Technology for In-Home Monitoring: Preliminary
Results on Fall Detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 119
Giovanni Diraco, Alessandro Leone and Pietro Siciliano
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
2.1 System Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
2.2 Algorithmic Framework for Fall Detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
2.3 Experimental Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
4 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
A Neural Network Approach to Human Posture Classification
and Fall Detection Using RGB-D Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 127
Alessandro Manzi, Filippo Cavallo and Paolo Dario
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
2 Related Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
3 System Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
3.1 Dataset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
3.2 NN Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
3.3 Training, Validation and Testing Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
4 Real-Time Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
4.1 Experimental Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
5 Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
6 Fall Detector Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
7 Conclusion and Future Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
A Tilt Compensated Haptic Cane for Obstacle Detection . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Bruno Andò, Salvatore Baglio, Vincenzo Marletta and Angelo Valastro
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
2 The Haptic Cane Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
3 The Detection/Stimulation Paradigm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
4 Results and Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Contents xiii
Improved Solution to Monitor People with Dementia

and Support Care Providers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............. 153
Laura Raffaeli, Carlos Chiatti, Ennio Gambi,
Laura Montanini, Paolo Olivetti, Luca Paciello,
Giorgio Rascioni and Susanna Spinsante
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
2 Related Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
3 System Architecture and Functionalities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
3.1 Data Acquisition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
3.2 Data Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
3.3 Notification Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
3.4 System Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
3.5 Remote Storage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
4 Preliminary Tests and Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
5 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Open Source Technologies as a Support for Community Care . . . . .... 171
Giada Cilloni, Monica Mordonini and Michele Tomaiuolo
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
2 The Need for Holistic Care Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
3 Overview of Software for the Community-Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
4 Identification of Common Use Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
5 A Case Study on an Open-Source Platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
6 Functional Evaluation of the Tested Open Source
Platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 186
7 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 187
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 188
Implementation of a Solution for the Remote Monitoring
of Subjects Affected of Metabolic Diseases: The Metabolink
Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......... 191
Daniele Sancarlo, Grazia D’Onofrio, Arcangela Matera,
Anna Maria Mariani, Domenico Ladisa, Enrico Annese,
Francesco Giuliani, Francesco Ricciardi, Antonio Mangiacotti
and Antonio Greco
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
2.1 Overall View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
4 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
xiv Contents
MuSA: A Smart Wearable Sensor for Active Assisted Living . . . . . .... 197
V. Bianchi, A. Losardo, F. Grossi, C. Guerra, N. Mora,
G. Matrella, I. De Munari and P. Ciampolini
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
2 The HELICOPTER Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
3 The MuSA Wearable Sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
3.1 Physical Activity Estimation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
3.2 User Identification and Localization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
4 Preliminary Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
5 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
How to Help Elderly in Indoor Evacuation Wayfinding: Design
and Test of a Not-Invasive Solution for Reducing Fire Egress
Time in Building Heritage Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Gabriele Bernardini, Enrico Quagliarini, Marco D’Orazio
and Silvia Santarelli
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
2.1 Rules for Wayfinding System Definition on Behavioral Bases . . . . 212
2.2 Evacuation Drills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
3 Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
3.1 Wayfinding System Definition on Behavioral
Bases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
3.2 Evacuation Drills Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
4 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
The A.I.zeta Framework: An Ontological Approach
for AAL Systems Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Guido Matrella, Monica Mordonini, Roberto Zanichelli and Riccardo Zini
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
2 An Ontological Inference Approach to Control an AAL System . . . . . . 226
3 The A.I.zeta Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
4 Interface Between AAL System DB and A.I.zeta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
5 Reconfigurable Mapping Through the Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
6 Interface Between A.I.zeta and OWL-Based Ontology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
7 Ontology Inference Based Design Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
8 The Time Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
9 Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
10 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Contents xv
Human Indoor Localization for AAL Applications:

An RSSI Based Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
L. Ciabattoni, F. Ferracuti, A. Freddi, G. Ippoliti, S. Longhi, A. Monteriù
and L. Pepa
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
2 Experimental Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
3 Experimental Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
4 Indoor Localization Algorithms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
4.1 Min-Max . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
4.2 Trilateration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
4.3 Maximum Likelihood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
5 Experimental Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
6 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
User Indoor Localisation System Enhances Activity Recognition:
A Proof of Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 251
Laura Fiorini, Manuele Bonaccorsi, Stefano Betti, Paolo Dario
and Filippo Cavallo
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
1.1 Related Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
1.2 Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
2.1 Phase I: Experimental Protocol Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
2.2 Phase II: Experimental Setting and Data Acquisition . . . . . . . . . . . 258
2.3 Phase III: Feature Extraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
2.4 Phase IV: Feature Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
2.5 Phase V: Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
4 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
An Innovative Speech-Based Interface to Control AAL and IoT
Solutions to Help People with Speech and Motor Disability . . . . . . .... 269
Massimiliano Malavasi, Enrico Turri, Maria Rosaria Motolese,
Ricard Marxer, Jochen Farwer, Heidi Christensen, Lorenzo Desideri,
Fabio Tamburini and Phil Green
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
1.1 The CloudCAST Project and Environmental Control . . . . . . . . . . . 270
2.1 A Single Multi-standard Access Point. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
2.2 Implementing the Prototype . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
2.3 Integrating IoT Devices and Low Cost ICT Solution . . . . . . . . . . . 273
xvi Contents
3 Results and Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................. 274

3.1 A Completely Hands-Free Home Control
Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
3.2 The CloudCAST Based Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
4 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Fall Risk Evaluation by Electromyography Solutions . . ............. 279
Gabriele Rescio, Alessandro Leone, Andrea Caroppo
and Pietro Siciliano
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
2.1 Hardware Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
2.2 Software Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
3 Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
4 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Semantic Knowledge Management and Integration Services
for AAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 287
Gianfranco E. Modoni, Mario Veniero and Marco Sacco
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 288
2 The Vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 289
3 The Integration Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 290
3.1 Supporting the Signaling Capabilities Through
the Information Dispatching Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
3.2 The Data Persistence Through the Semantic Repository . . . . . . . . . 296
4 The Conducted Experiments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
5 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Part III Experiments, Evaluation and Lessons Learnt

ASTRO: Autism Support Therapy by RObot Interaction . . . ......... 303
Massimo Pistoia, Marco Pistoia and Paolo Casacci
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
3 Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
4 Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Contents xvii
MARIO Project: A Multicenter Survey About Companion

Robot Acceptability in Caregivers of Patients with Dementia . . . . . . . . . 311
Daniele Sancarlo, Grazia D’Onofrio, James Oscar, Francesco Ricciardi,
Dympna Casey, Keith Murphy, Francesco Giuliani and Antonio Greco
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
3 Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
3.1 Acceptability and Functionality of Caring
Service Robot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
3.2 Support Devices and Impact of Caring Service Robot . . . . . . . . . . 316
3.3 Effects of Sex and Age of the Caregivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
3.4 Effects of Educational Level and Caregiving
Types of the Caregivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
4 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
5 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Appendix 1: Mario Questionnaire on the Use of Companion Robotics . . . . . 327
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Enhancing the Interactive Services of a Telepresence Robot
for AAL: Developments and a Psycho-physiological Assessment . . . . . . . 337
Gabriella Cortellessa, Francesca Fracasso, Alessandra Sorrentino,
Andrea Orlandini, Giulio Bernardi, Luca Coraci, Riccardo De Benedictis
and Amedeo Cesta
1 Motivation and Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
1.1 The GIRAFFPLUS Telecare System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
1.2 User Needs from Fielded Deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
2 Technological Improvements of the Robotic Platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
2.1 @Home Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
2.2 Multimodal Communication Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
3 User Evaluation and HRI Experiments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
3.1 Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
3.2 Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
4 Discussions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
Evaluating SpeakyAcutattile: A System Based on Spoken
Language for Ambient Assisted Living . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 359
F. Fracasso, G. Cortellessa, A. Cesta, F. Giacomelli and N. Manes
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
2 The SpeakyAcutattile Platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
3 Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
3.1 Participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
3.2 Materials and Metrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
3.3 Experimental Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
xviii Contents
3.4 Statistical Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369

4.1 Overall Satisfaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370
4.2 Single Module Satisfaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
5 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
Quantify Yourself: Are Older Adults Ready? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
Paolo Massa, Adele Mazzali, Jessica Zampini and Massimo Zancanaro
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
2 Related Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
3 Interview Study of Health Tracking in Older Adults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
4 Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
4.1 Two Types of Indicators: Health and Wellness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
4.2 Measurement and Tracking: Two Different Sub-phases . . . . . . . . . 383
4.3 Tools for Measuring and Tracking: Artefacts and Mind . . . . . . . . . 384
4.4 Sharing: Of Artefacts, Not of Tracked Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
4.5 Perception of Active Involvement During Measurement and
Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
4.6 Barriers to Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
5 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
Telemedicine for Dementia-Affected Patients: The AAL-ACCESS
Project Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 391
Gianfranco Raimondi, Paolo Casacci, Giuseppe Sancesario,
Beatrice Scordamaglia, Gaia Melchiorri and Massimo Pistoia
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
3 Clinical Aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396
4 Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400
5 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
Further Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
Part I
Care Models and Algorithms
The Mo.Di.Pro Experimental Project
at the Galliera Hospital: I.C.T., Robots
and Care of the Environment
for the Rehabilitation of Patients
Before Discharge
Niccolò Casiddu and Claudia Porfirione
Abstract The project Mo.Di.Pro, which stands for “Assisted Discharge modal” is
a pilot study to test and validate an innovative form of hospitalisation which pro-
vides domestic assistance following treatment in the acute stage, during which, for a
vast number of patients (mainly elderly) their discharge is delayed due to reasons
independent from purely sanitary needs. The model proposes a domestic environ-
ment with sanitary assistance and monitoring with a discreet staff presence, in order
to gradually prepare patients to return to their household after being discharged.
This goal was pursued by designing and realising hi-tech, semi-hospital accom-
modation prototypes with domestic characteristics. They integrate the domestic
environment with current technology in monitoring, telepresence, and teleassis-
tance, thus reducing the need for continuous assistance from the medical staff. This
contributed to increased safety and autonomy for patients.
Keywords Protected discharge Telemedicine Rehabilitation Tech support
1 Introduction
The study involves the collaboration between the Hospital Board of Galliera and the
University of Genoa, (DSA—Architectural Science Department, DIBRIS—
Department of Computer Science, Bioengineering, Robotics and Systems
Engineering) for the construction of a shelter facility of domiciliary nature adjacent
N. Casiddu (&) C. Porfirione

Architectural Science Department—Design Area, University of Genoa,
Stradone S. Agostino 37, 16123 Genoa, Italy
e-mail: casiddu@arch.unige.it
C. Porfirione
e-mail: claudia.porfirione@arch.unige
© Springer International Publishing AG 2017 3

F. Cavallo et al. (eds.), Ambient Assisted Living, Lecture Notes
in Electrical Engineering 426, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-54283-6_1
4 N. Casiddu and C. Porfirione
to the hospital allowing scheduled visits by doctors and immediate intervention in

health emergencies, at a lower cost to the current hospital costs (approx.
1000 €/day) and to assist the return to a home environment more gradually and
effectively.
Accordingly the study activity has concerned, first of all, the design and con-
struction of prototype semi-hospital housing of domiciliary nature and with
high-tech equipment and subsequently the design of interface systems for the
monitoring and control of activities during the model testing.
1.1 Objectives
The aim of the study, which started in January 2015, is to develop a model of
“protected discharge” in premises with high technological and architectural content
for elderly patients, clinically dischargeable but not able to return home, for social
care issues. It is an experimental pilot study, coordinated by Dr. Gian Andrea
Rollandi (Scientific Coordinator, E.O. Ospedali Galliera).
The experimental activity includes the involvement of 30 subjects chosen among
patients in hospital discharge, discharged and sent for monitoring in the area of
temporary in-hospital residence for a period of approximately 5–2 days.
The primary objective of the study is to evaluate the feasibility in terms of
protected discharge, with the help of appropriate monitoring of the main
vital/clinical signs using the automated system, in the context of specifically ded-
icated discharge premises of domiciliary type. Accordingly, the primary endpoint is
represented by the hospitalisation days of patients enrolled in an experimental
model. The achievement of this objective will be identified by the number of
hospitalisation days.
The secondary objectives, since this is a pilot study, are varied and include a
series of evaluations, with exploratory intent, which will be used to better define the
objectives of any subsequent stage of experimentation. They are mainly identified
in assessing the hospitalisation costs, life quality for patients and their caregivers,
the degree of cognitive and physical frailty, assistive devices and remote
connection.
2 Materials and Methods
Recent data show that a predictable percentage of around 8% of patients admitted to

hospitals prolongs stay in hospital despite being clinically dischargeable and with
no need to carry out diagnosis and/or in-hospital therapy [1]. This involves, on the
one hand, an unsuitable occupation of hospital beds with an increase in the number
of hospitalisation days and hospital health expenditure and, on the other hand,
hardship for patients with increased risk of creating conditions of disability and
The Mo.Di.Pro Experimental Project … 5
iatrogenic diseases by “prolonged hospitalisation”, well documented mainly in

more compromised and older subjects [2, 3].
The reasons for the continued stay in hospital may include [4, 5]:
1. degree of disability and frailty of the patient with heavy care burden once
returned to his/her domestic environment (distance from the hospital, assistance
availability, etc.);
2. prolonged waiting for activation of home care processes;
3. prolonged waiting for supplying aids/devices at home;
4. unwillingness on the part of family members/caregivers to receive the patient at
home;
5. bed unavailability in protected residential structures (RSA) or rehabilitation
facilities.
The conditions of the study result from the analysis of the times and course of
hospitalisation: the average time of hospitalisation of patients with non-surgical
pathologies is slightly longer (at the Galliera hospital, the average is 15 days) and
while, normally, most of the diagnoses and the most important therapies are con-
ducted in the first week of admission, usually, in the last days before the discharge,
the medical assistance to patients decreases to almost zero.
In this respect one of the most important elements to consider is the time gap
between the time a patient is deemed clinically dischargeable and the time this
patient is actually discharged. This time gap is due mainly to social welfare
problems related to the difficulties for families to receive a member who is less
self-sufficient and in need of more care and time of insertion in the RSA (nursing
residence) in several respects (rehabilitation, clinical stabilisation, relief and more).
On this basis a shelter structure, adjacent to the hospital, is planned to be built, so
that scheduled visits and immediate action of doctors is easily enabled in the event
of a health emergency, provided with all the architectural and premise features to be
perceived as a receptive domestic/lodging facility that enables a significant
reduction in the daily management cost (the current average cost of hospitalisation
is nearly 1000 €/day).
The stay is planned in larger rooms, with home like furnishings and with a
different discipline from the perspective of the relatives’ access, in order to “ac-
company” more gradually and effectively both patients and relatives back to their
home environment.
The goal of the experiment aims at identifying design (architectural and tech-
nological) solutions, to assist the rehabilitation of hospitalised patients before their
final discharge [6].
So the choice has been made to experiment with new project proposals and to
generate an “ecosystem” with materials, furniture, accessories and technology
platforms already available in the market, implementing the functions for achieving
predetermined objectives: for example to monitor the domestic space, to facilitate
opportunities for communication and user participation in every aspect of daily life,
etc.
2.1 Accommodation Design
The objective of the first testing phase aims at creating and studying the func-
tionality of (architectural and technological) design solutions, to enhance autonomy,
independence and mobility of the dischargeable patient [7]. The study is based on
the principle that, going through a transition period in an environment of mainly
domestic reception features, these persons can regain the ability to live actively and
independently at home.
Architectural (distribution, material, structural and formal) choices in the study
are conceived according to criteria designed to guarantee maximum safety, comfort
and ease of use (for guests, their families and professionals) and to optimise the
procedure and timing for operation and maintenance of the premises in relation to
the expected hygiene standards. The project aims at verifying solutions for those
needs [8].
New project proposals will be experimented and a “domestic ecosystem” will be
generated with materials, furniture, accessories and technology platforms already
available on the market, implementing functions for achieving present objectives:
for example, to monitor domestic space, to facilitate opportunities for user com-
munication and participation in every aspect of daily life, etc.
Starting from the identification of needs and the users’ needs, the work aims to
identify solutions and products that allow the integration of architectural environ-
ment with systems of monitoring, control and assistance (with particular attention to
the protection of privacy), involving different technological areas such as:
telecommunications, computer science, microsystems, robotics, new materials,
according to the AAL (Ambient Assisted Living) approach [9].
The study applied to the project was conducted on two interdependent levels:
• Definition of finishing materials, furnishings and accessories, colour harmonies,
textures, etc. designed according to ergonomics, usability, accessibility and
security (passive technological design);
• Choice of technologies, devices and systems that are integrated into the
domestic ecosystem, both in current use and to be developed specifically to
provide environmental control and personal monitoring and offer assistance,
care and companionship (active technological design).
The integration of “passive” solutions (e.g. resilient floor surfaces, to reduce
damage in the event of a fall or impact, shape and arrangement of furnishings,
position of control devices etc.) and “active” hi-tech systems (integrated sensor
panels for the control of posture and warning in the event of recognition of a fall)
makes it possible to implement smart environments, which are still designed to be
perceived as domestic and in which the comfort and safety of the guest and family
members is guaranteed and at the same time monitoring and care facility is opti-
mised [10].
2.1.1 Bedroom
The spaces intended for curative periods and at night, being of a private nature, are
defined by the use of cool colours, designed to separate clearly the public spaces
from the private ones [11, 12]. Colour has been used as signage and orientation to
accentuate the differentiation between the different spaces of the accommodation
and the transition from one to another [13]. The light fixtures are predominantly
composed of domestic purpose lights (such as floor lamps and lampshades over
nightstands). In particular, the lighting during the night, for the safety of our guests,
is guaranteed by a LED step light for orientation, automatically operated by getting
out of bed.
The furnishings have light wood finishes, more similar to the home than the
hospital environment [14]. The bed nets are of orthopaedic type with variable
inclination (Fig. 1).
2.1.2 Bathroom
In toilets, scaled so they are easily adaptable to the use of a wheel chair, the
installation is expected of acrylic stone shower trays flush with the sanitary floor
and equipped with full access, while maintaining the typical characteristics of the
home environment. Specific measures have been developed to prevent the risk of
falling due to tripping or slipping and of impact or injury (Fig. 2).
Fig. 1 Single room

Fig. 2 Single bathroom
2.1.3 Corridor
In the corridor (partially adjacent to the living room), as throughout the accom-
modation, the floors were completely coated in 2 mm thick PVC with a wood
effect, with hot-welded joints, to ensure perfect homogeneity of the environments
and also their cleanliness [15] (Fig. 3).
2.1.4 Living Area
Warm colours characterise the bright living room [16]. The kitchenette is equipped
with refrigerator, electric hob with induction heating for heating food, microwave
oven, sink with mixer tap and mobile storage facilities with easy handling (e.g.,
handles easily reached and recognisable by colour and shape) [17]. Fittings and
components are safe, pleasant and characterised by a high level of performance
(i.e., without materials which are excessively cold to the touch). A “Design for All”
principles-based design has guaranteed the best approach possible to all worktops
[18].
The lights, kitchen ceiling light points, the floor of the living room and the light
fixtures on the ceiling of the corridor are linked to the presence detection system
(Figs. 4 and 5).
Fig. 3 The wide corridor from the entrance leads to the living area
Fig. 4 Kitchen
Fig. 5 Living area
2.1.5 Gym
Dominated by the colour yellow, it has retained the lighting from the ceiling [19].
Usable for rehabilitation activities under the guidance of the responsible staff
member, it has a space dedicated to the technical IT compartment.
2.2 Monitoring of Parameters
During the stay in the semi-hospital residence certain data will be monitored which
is collected using worn devices and properly coordinated environmental devices.
The intention is to monitor a series of vital signs using non-invasive wearable
devices that give the subject enrolled complete freedom of movement and that
perform analyses on the data captured (through the implementation of mathematical
methods and statistical analyses) [20].
In particular, we intend to observe the following vital signs: temperature, blood
pressure, heart rate and oxygen saturation, breathing rate and body weight.
In addition to monitoring vital parameters, there will also be monitoring of the
following laboratory parameters when necessary: glycaemia, INR, cholesterol.
The analysis of sleep and movement, the risk of falling (fluctuations and swings,
as well as changing the centre of gravity) and ADL (Activity of Daily Living) are
Fig. 6 Some of the monitoring equipment supplied to the facility
monitored. Sleep quality, understood as the number of nocturnal awakenings, is

monitored as an indicator of the overall health of the patient (Fig. 6).
The intention is to monitor the amount of time the patient spends sitting, the time
and speed of walking and physical activity: this monitoring activity (motion
analysis) both includes the use of wearable sensors and is deployed in the
environment.
Using wearable inertial sensors it is possible to estimate the number of steps
taken and track/trace the person’s posture, while through two cameras, properly
positioned, it is possible to obtain synchronised video streams and spatial and
temporal information on users (e.g. spatio-temporal sequences of activities: statis-
tics on time spent at a given point, statistics on how often the patient moves around
the room and what are the points where he most commonly goes, information
related to time slots).
It is also expected that, inside the rooms, monitoring will be performed through
wearable devices, positioning systems and RFID tags. To give some examples:
1. force sensors that detect the status (free/occupied) of chairs, armchairs, sofas,
beds;
2. sensors to detect the presence of persons in the apartment;
3. tags placed on key items that will recognise a specific type of activity through
interaction with them.
In addition to the proposed set-ups, it is intended to also to offer the testing and
subsequent marketing of devices currently in the engineering phase (Fig. 7).
Fig. 7 List of parameters to be observed and the relevant devices available on the market
2.3 Ethics: Informed Consent
The study protocol is in compliance with the principles established by the 18th
World Medical Assembly in Helsinki, 1964 and subsequent amendments/additions
as well as Good Clinical Practice.
The nature of the study, its purpose, the procedures, the expected duration and
the potential risks and benefits should be explained to each patient. Each patient
must be informed that the participation in the study is voluntary and that he/she may
withdraw at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect its subsequent clinical
treatment or relationship with the doctor.
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him, evidently intending to try and pacify him, but the old fellow
persisted in screaming and threatening. Again I put my hand in my
pocket, with as good a result as before.
The Khalifa and the Sheikh awaited me in their dwelling, and after
a little conversation with them, and a stroll in their company through
the lanes, and to visit some of the dwellings, I ordered the horses to
be saddled.
As I set foot in the stirrup, the Khalifa came forward with a
mouflon horn, which he begged me to accept. It was the same that I
had seen in the mosque. My guide had evidently told tales out of
school.
A HALT IN THE DESERT—TENT OF A TRIBAL CHIEF.
When we had descended into the valley I turned and looked up.
Near the Khalifa’s house stood some white burnous-clad figures. I
waved a farewell, and saw a couple of arms flourished in reply.
So, by the same path, we rode back to Tatuin. The goats on the
mountains were now grazing amongst the rocks.
My horse was fidgety, and the flies worrying him made him
constantly toss his head. I was careless, and he struck me a blow on
the right hand, causing it to swell, and compelling me to carry it in a
sling; and thus I had to ride for several days.
After riding hard for full five hours, we reached Tatuin a little
before sunset. Lieutenant Adam had arrived there with his company,
and a great surprise also awaited me.
CHAPTER XV
The Tuareg
I dismounted at the office of the Intelligence Department. In the

archway a number of burnous-clad men waited to be admitted into
the office, where the interpreter, M. Grosset-Grange, and Lieutenant
Donau were at work.
My eyes roved over the crowd of waiting men, who hailed from far
and near. They were fine types, all wrapped in white or grey cloaks.
Then I started, for on the stone bench sat—yes, by Jove!—two
stalwart figures, with black kerchiefs wound round about their faces,
so that only their fine eyes were visible, most of the nose and a little
of the forehead being covered. Their light brown complexions
surprised me.
Below their white garments appeared bare legs and sandalled
feet, and, if I am not mistaken, they wore light blue trousers. A tuft of
black hair protruded above the dark head-covering. They were
evidently Tuareg.
Lieutenant Donau came out to receive me. Pointing to the two
men, I ejaculated, “Tuareg?”
“Yes, certainly,” he said with a smile.
I seated myself on a bench opposite to them, while Donau fetched
the interpreter, so that between them they might interrogate the
Tuareg. At first I could not realise that I indeed sat peacefully face to
face with the dreaded sons of the desert, and that I should have the
luck to take home for our National Museum their costume and
equipment. It seemed too good to be true.
A TUAREG.
“Do you think I shall be able to buy their clothes?” I asked the
interpreter.
“It will be very difficult to manage,” he replied. “The Tuareg are
suspicious, and will not understand that anyone would sooner buy
their old rags than fine clothes, such as you wear. Besides, similar
costumes are not to be had here, and they will not like to return
home in ordinary Arab dress.”
“Very well, tell them I am a stranger from a distant country, who
has come here to see whether my people may not be of the same
origin as theirs. Tell them I should be glad if I could take their
costume with me to show to my countrymen. I will pay for them more
than their value, or, if they will not take money for them, I will
undertake to send them corn by caravan from Gabés, for I know that
they have been unable to buy any here.”
The interpreter then began the lengthy and tough transaction.
It then transpired that one of the two, Akhemed-uld-Bai, spoke
Arabic, but not so his compatriot, Mohammed-ben-Mohammed. The
conversation therefore took time.
First I addressed the interpreter in French, he then translated
what I had said into Arabic for Akhemed, who again repeated it in the
Berber language to Mohammed.
After the matter had been thoroughly discussed by the pair, the
reply was returned in the same way.
They informed us that they belonged to the “Foghass” section of
the Azgu tribe of Tuareg. But though the name of Akhemed-uld-Bai
had the true Tuareg ring, as much could hardly be said for his
companion’s patronymic. Their proper home was on the farther side
of Rhadamés.
When they learnt that I was anxious to become the possessor of
their property, both of them stared at me long and fixedly, after which
they consulted together for a while. Then Akhemed began to divest
himself of his white “Tuat” burnous, for which we bargained. As I
gave him what he asked, his other garments soon followed, and bit
by bit he stripped himself, until he was actually clothed in nothing but
a scanty shirt, or under-tunic, and the black veil, of which the lower
part concealed his mouth.
A Tuareg never exposes his mouth before others so long as he
can avoid doing so; it would be a breach of propriety.
But in the presence of foreigners they had evidently less regard
for decorum than they would have had before their own people. Now
and then Akhemed, as he talked, dragged the kerchief away from
the lower part of his face, and I saw the handsome well-formed
beardless mouth and white teeth. Whether he were shaved I know
not; but it is said that the Tuareg do not care for beards, and
therefore shave.
When he rose to take off his clothes, his fine muscular form
towered above all those present; a truly herculean specimen, he was
some six feet high, sparely but splendidly built.
His costume was as follows:—
A shirt-like under-tunic (akhebaïl), above it a grey patterned tunic
with short white sleeves that came from the Sudan (taiden).
Trousers, which were wide at the top and narrow below; they
reached half-way down the calf (kortebba).
Sandals (ghetimèn) of tooled leather, with crossed latchets that
passed between the toes and fastened round the ankle.
A long, narrow black veil, used to enwrap the head. This veil is
furnished in two places with a broad flap; one serves to cover the
forehead, the other the lower part of the face. The crown of the head
is left bare, and shows above the veil a black tuft of hair (tadilmus).
Outside the veil a long piece of white material is rolled turban-wise,
but so arranged that the veil shows both above and beneath it (ash
shash).
Over this dress is worn an ordinary light wrap, a “haik” from Tuat
(kheiki).
The costume was completed by three square amulet cases (tira)
made of tin, and apparently fashioned out of old sardine boxes. They
hung by leathern strings on the man’s breast and outside his clothes.
Supposing that these cases contained inscriptions in the Berber
language, I was very anxious to get possession of them. But all my
endeavours in this respect were unsuccessful. Akhemed would not
part with them. He declared that to him they were worth more than
the value of a camel. He had bought them from a Marabout, they
protected him from danger and misfortune, and since he had
possessed them no ill had befallen him.
“Then sell me the cord and the cases and keep your amulet.”
For a high price he agreed to this, but I could not get permission
to see the contents. Next morning he brought and handed over to
me an unsoldered case.
When there was no more to be bought from this man, I turned to
his companion.
His costume differed little from the other, so I did not trouble about
it, but on the wrist of his left hand was an embroidered leather ring,
and the same hand grasped the hilt of a dagger (tilek).
The Tuareg always carry one of these in the left sleeve, so
disposed that the point is turned up the sleeve, whilst the sheath lies
along under the forearm, and is secured by a sewn band which is
slipped over the wrist. The handle of the dagger is cross-shaped and
bound with brass wire. The dagger is therefore, very evidently and
literally, handy.
I bought it and a large leather bag (agherid), made apparently of
antelope or gazelle hide. Through holes on the edges of the bag
were drawn leather thongs, which again were made fast with a very
peculiar iron lock. This is the only lockfast receptacle owned by the
Tuareg, for they rarely possess even a chest (senduk), as do the
Arabs.
Of other weapons they had none, though the Tuareg generally
carry spears, but rarely swords, bows and arrows, or shields.
Next I bought one of their light smart saddles for riding the
dromedary (mehari). The saddle has a broad cantle at the back, and
that in front, though narrower, is also high and terminates in a cross.
The cross is often found in Tuareg ornaments, and, as I show by
an illustration in my book called Algiers and the Sahara, is supposed
to be a relic of the time when this people were Christians and
inhabited the more northern regions whence they were driven by the
Arabs.
All the wearing apparel that I purchased was, according to the
vendors’ account, manufactured by Tuareg or brought from the
Sudan.
The price of each article was named in piastres, and the
interpreter having added up the total, I paid in francs, without the
Tuareg overlooking the account, their trust in the interpreter being so
entire. A sign of their confidence in the French.
M. Grosset-Grange told me that these two Tuareg examined all
that was novel to them just like children. That when they entered his
room they at first stood dumfoundered, then touched and examined
everything. The system by which the window was closed and bolted
was carefully investigated, and pleased them much. The handle of
the bolt chanced to be decorated with the representation of a man’s
head, and the Tuareg naïvely asked, “Is that your father?”
Commandant Billet told me many amusing anecdotes of these
children of nature, who are so sober and abstemious in their daily
life, and who can subsist for days in the desert almost without food.
Once a “Targui” (the singular of Tuareg) happened to come to him
at one of the stations. “Are you hungry?” asked the commandant.
Yes, it was long since he had tasted food; so an enormous
quantity was set before him, enough to have satisfied six or seven
ordinary folk. When he had consumed all this he went to see a
captain, by whom he was as generously treated. One might have
supposed that he would then be satisfied; but no, half an hour later
the insatiable son of the desert called on a third official, and again
complained bitterly of hunger, and was fed with a couple of dishes of
“kus-kus.”
It is inconceivable how any one man could swallow so much food,
but probably it had never before fallen to his lot to fully satisfy his
appetite.
Apparently the Tuareg are at present anxious to keep on friendly
terms with the French. On several occasions small caravans have
travelled as far as the southern stations of Tunisia, most of them
certainly with a view to trade, mais enfin, it is always a move in the
right direction, which, prudently encouraged, may lead farther.
It would be to the signal advantage of the French that the old
caravan road to the Sahara should be reopened, so that traffic from
Rhadamés could proceed direct to Gabés or other towns of Tunisia,
instead of, as now, viâ Tripoli. The chief impediment at present lies in
the fact that the caravans, not being permitted to carry slaves, are
not profitable. The baskets, leather goods, weapons, etc., which the
last caravans brought with them—though in small quantities—were
disposed of with difficulty in Tatuin and Medinin, which will not tend
to induce them to make another trial.
No; that traffic through the Sahara may be remunerative, slavery
is essential. In fact, so long as slavery continues to flourish in Tripoli,
so long will the stream of trade flow that way.
A TUAREG.
Neither does slavery appear so terrible at close quarters as it

does when read of in heartrending romances in the style of Uncle
Tom’s Cabin. The truth is, that slaves are well treated everywhere in
the East, so well that even if given their freedom, as they were by
decree in Tunisia, they, as a rule, remain in their master’s house.
The transport across the desert is, indeed, full of horrors, but
when once arrived at their destination the slaves do not suffer from
want—quite otherwise.
Amongst the caravans that came to Tatuin in 1893 was one in
charge of two nephews of Aissa, the Tuareg Sheikh who rules over
the tribe of “Imaughasat.”[4]
The elder of these, named Uan Titi, brought a letter to the officer
in command of the military station at Tatuin, in which he reclaimed
several camels and a negress robbed from the Tuareg by the tribe of
Uderma.
As it was politic to show a friendly disposition, the camels were
forthcoming at once, though they were probably bought; but it was
otherwise with regard to the negress, who was a cause of great
perplexity.
According to law, every slave is free who sets foot on territory
under French control, consequently nothing could be done.
That the Tuareg were afraid of again coming to blows with the
tribe of Uderma, is evident from the fact that the Tuareg Sheikh had
written to the Khalifa of Duirat to beg him to take care that the
emissaries went no farther north than Tatuin, and had also taken the
precaution of ascertaining whether absolute peace prevailed in
Uderma.
Uan Titi spoke of the latest French explorers, Foureau and Méry,
who travelled last winter in the Sahara. He had conducted the first
named, who, however, had not reached Rhadamés. Méry had spent
some time with the Azgu tribe from whom the Imaughasat had then
separated themselves. They now camp together and are fairly united
under their Sheikh Aissa, but they still have some “duars” near
“Rhat.”
According to Uan Titi’s account, the highroads in the Sahara pass
Fezzan, Rhadamés, and Tuat. That by Rhadamés may be
considered the most important.
The Tuareg, amongst whom perfect peace reigns at present,
come to Rhadamés from the southern regions to escort the caravans
and to supply camels for hire.
It is rare, however, for them to go farther than Tripoli or than
Southern Tunisia.
The Turks in Tripoli refuse, of course, to acknowledge French rule
in Tunisia; and as the people of Rhadamés are mainly Berbers under
Turkish administration, these do all in their power to destroy the little
trade there is with the French territories of Duirat, Tatuin, Medinin,
and beyond them to Gabés.
For the moment the Tuareg place no obstacles in the way of
persons who venture to travel from the Duirat mountains through the
desert to Rhadamés; so the route is open, but no one who is
supposed to have the slightest relations with the French is allowed to
enter the oasis.
The traveller who desires to visit this town, which in the time of the
Romans had constant intercourse with the coast, must start from
Tripoli; if he has letters of recommendation from the authorities there,
he is sure to be admitted; the journey on camel back is wearisome
and even distressing through the heat and lack of water, but of
danger there is none—for the present—the Tuareg not being
camped by the roads in any appreciable numbers.
The French authorities have done all they could to establish
peaceful relations with Rhadamés and to explore the southern
frontier. Officers have reconnoitered the country from the southern
mountains to far into the desert. Commandant Billet in person has
ridden through the mountains as far as the Tunisian frontier. On one
of these expeditions he visited the ruins of a very ancient village in
the mountains, known as “Ksar Uni,” which lies eighty miles south of
Tatuin.
An interpreter who spoke Arabic like a native, and who was,
further, a Mohammedan, was sent to the desert not long since to
endeavour to penetrate as far as Rhadamés. His mission failed
entirely. He was robbed, imprisoned in Rhadamés, and sent to
Tripoli, from whence, after much difficult negotiation, his release was
obtained.
West of the Matmata mountains and south of the belt of shotts is
a steppe where are found a number of small wells, but south again
of this and as far as Rhadamés is an almost waterless desert, barren
and waste and very dangerous to cross. A few earlier travellers may
possibly have passed through it, but in March and February of this
year the desert was traversed by two French officers, under such
marvellous conditions that I cannot refrain from giving an account of
their journey, exactly as I heard it related by Major Gausset in
Gabés.
Lieutenant Dumas of the Spahis (now captain of the 6th
Chasseurs at Oran), and Lieutenant Cazemajou of the Engineers,
both courageous and determined men, who feared neither exposure
to the elements nor the sufferings of hunger and thirst, determined
on trying to make their way secretly from Nafta, by the shott and
through the desert, to Rhadamés. Well aware that a request for
permission to travel during the difficulties in connection with the
frontier would be refused by their superiors, they only asked for
leave to take a trip to Algiers. This was granted without suspicion
being aroused, and, accompanied by a guide, they disappeared in
the desert, both in Arab dress and mounted on camels.
After a dangerous and fatiguing ride they drew near to Rhadamés,
and were already rejoicing over the happy termination of their
journey; but no sooner had they reached the gates than they were
driven off like dogs, their lives were menaced, and they were
compelled to retreat.
Their coming had been announced by some Marabout whose
kubba they had passed shortly before arriving at the town.
There was nothing to be done but to return as quickly as possible,
which they did; but as they thought it possible that they might be
pursued and attacked on their homeward way, they took another
route, where water was very scarce, and with which none of them
were acquainted.
After incredible exertions and having suffered much from hunger
and thirst—they were reduced at the last to a little chocolate with
which to allay the pangs of hunger—they succeeded in reaching
home.
Their journey was, of course, to a great extent a failure, but they
had reconnoitered an unknown country and proved themselves to be
a couple of exceptionally energetic, brave men. They resumed their
duty in silence, but a rumour of their exploit leaked out and reached
the ear of the General. He demanded an explanation, with the result
that they received a slight official reprimand—soon shaken off.
Since Duveyrier undertook his memorable journey, of which the
brilliant results are related in his book, Les Touaregs du Nord, no
one probably has dedicated himself so entirely to a desert life as
Cornitz, a young Swiss, of whom the officers in the south spoke in
the highest terms.
This man, who appears to be a thinker and philosopher of no
mean order, came for the first time to Southern Tunisia some years
ago, in order to study the mode of life and opinions of the Bedouins.
He was so charmed with their nomad existence that he returned
every year for three years. He dressed as they did, and lived
amongst them in the desert, and, under equal conditions, shared in
the joys and sorrows of their tent life, their hunts and their boundless
horizon. But the time came when even this did not satisfy him, so he
purchased palm trees, a house and a herd, and settled down in the
town of Duz to the west of the Matmata and south of the shotts.
To enable him to take long journeys to the south, he bought two
“mehari” (chameaux coureurs) and practised the difficult art of riding
them. After eight days’ hard exertion he could ride as well as any
“Targui.”
He then travelled with his flocks, or alone, in the south as far as
Rhadamés, but neither was he able to gain admittance to that town.
While on this journey he completed the French map.
Each year, after a visit home, he returned. The last time, in May
1893, that he travelled home he passed through Gabés, where he
was struck down with fever and was very ill. The French officers
begged him to go into the military hospital, but he declined their
offers and started for the north. During my stay in the south I was
told that he had written to one of the Khalifas that he would soon
return to visit his herds, left in charge of an Arab, and to again
resume his life in the desert.
“Il est un peu original, mais très intelligent,” the officers at Gabés
said of him.
In truth, there are many who are attracted by the free life that is
led under tents, where no one need fear troubling his neighbour,
since space is unlimited.
If one place is unpleasing, you move to another—laying your tents
on camels and vaulting into the saddle, you drive your flocks and
herds onwards, ever onwards, for the horizon has no limit.
Whilst dwelling on the men who rove in the alluring, mysterious
desert, which has engulfed so many in its deadly embrace, my
thoughts turn to an evening at Gabés, when, after my return from the
south I sat in the guest-room of the “Hotel de l’Oasis” and refreshed
myself after my exhausting ride.
The landlord, M. Saissy, a man of about fifty, was setting in order
the tables, after the guests, who were mostly officers, had left. I was
the only one who remained and trifled with a cigar and a glass of
beer to pass away the time before retiring to bed.
I was absorbed in thought and long remained so—so long,
indeed, that M. Saissy probably concluded it was time to turn in, for
he approached me and began a conversation by way of rousing me
from my reverie, with, “Have you had a pleasant journey, sir?”
I replied in the affirmative, and gave him a sketch of my travels
and described the Matmata mountains—not a little vain, I confess, of
my expedition. “Have you ever been there?” I asked in conclusion.
“No, I have not,” he replied. “I came here some years ago with the
regiment which I followed as sutler, and, as the officers could not find
a place where they could dine, they proposed that I should cater for
them. This my wife and I agreed to do. By degrees we organised this
hotel, but to make it pay we have to be careful, and we cannot leave
it; since our arrival at Gabés I have positively only been twice
absent.”
Good heavens! thought I, how dull never to have a change and
look about one a bit; but I said, “You ought some day to go south; it
would interest you, for instance, to meet the Tuareg of the west at
Tatuin. I had the luck to be there just when two arrived, whose
equipments I bought.”
“Ah, those may be the same that I once saw.”
“Indeed, and when?”
“Ah, yes—it was a long time ago; I was quite young then, and the
love of travel drew me away from home. I do not remember how it
came about, but eventually I started with two companions to shoot
ostriches in the Sahara—in those days it was not so difficult to
penetrate there. We hunted with the Tuareg.”
“Did you venture far?”
“Yes, I do not exactly know how far, but certainly to the other side
of Tuat. The natives were a peaceful people, and we were never at
enmity with them. Our hunting was successful, and we made money
for our employer.
“Once I was on the point of going there again with Dr. Nachtigall,
but something intervened, and to my bitter regret I could not leave—
for I have always had a longing for that sort of life. It was very
different from slaving as we do now, my wife and I; for it is not easy
to please everyone—no, indeed! But to return to those days. You
see, I have been acquainted with many of the well-known travellers.
Most of them behave badly—for they do not respect the natives.
Some rely on force—which is a mistake—it is always best to be
unarmed. If ever I should venture there again, I would take a stick in
my hand and naught else.
“Miss Tinné I knew well. She would not listen to good advice and
was murdered. Good heavens! she needed only to ask the chief of
the Tuareg for a safe conduct and all would have been well, but she
would not wait till the matter could be arranged, believing that she
could safely penetrate farther with the protection she had.
“No—believe me; it is easy enough to push one’s way forward,
but one must avoid offending the natives.
“There was another traveller who deserved to have been slain
also—but escaped. He simply stole cattle when he required them.”
We conversed long, and I gathered much information with many
interesting details, as old recollections were recounted by him as
they came back to his mind.
Saissy’s wife joined us, and we sat together and discussed a
glass of wine. Saissy promised me then to note down his
recollections, which are to be forwarded to me, and I hope to be able
to publish them later; for the present I confine myself to what I have
already mentioned.
On my referring to the great desire I had to visit Rhadamés some
future year—“Take me with you,” burst from M. Saissy. “I am in
earnest; pay me only sufficient to enable my wife to live in comfort in
my absence, and I will accompany you. You may be assured that I
should be of use to you.”
“From Tripoli?” I asked.
“Of course from Tripoli.”
“Nous verrons, M. Saissy.” And so we went to bed.
When I left, a couple of days later, Saissy came to me and gave
me his portrait, saying—
“You will let me know when you have come to a decision.”
CHAPTER XVI
Back to Tunis
In the course of the night a telegram arrived, ordering Dr. Cultin to

return with me next day to Medinin, as his colleague had been
suddenly seized with fever and was very ill.
We were a little late in starting, and the sun was scorching hot.
Followed by our two Spahis and a led horse, which bore my
purchases from the Tuareg, we hurried homewards.
After a halt near Bir el Ahmer, where we breakfasted, and where a
fresh horse awaited me, our progress was rapid.
But it was after nightfall when we reached Medinin. Outside the
camp we met the lieutenant of the Spahis, who said that the doctor
was worse, and was about to be sent in a carriage to Gabés.
Dr. Cultin hurried away to his sick comrade, and I dismounted at
the quarters of the commandant, who came galloping in to receive
me, and invited me to a splendid dinner with some of the officers.
I need scarcely mention that I expressed my thanks in the
warmest terms for the brilliant reception I had received, and for my
memorable trip to the southernmost military stations.
I was offered a horse for an expedition to Zarsis and the island of
Jerba, but had to decline with many thanks, as my time was limited.
After a comfortable breakfast with the infantry officers, I bade my
friends farewell before the commandant’s house, and, waving my hat
in a final salute, rode off to Gabés.
Commandant Billet accompanied me nearly as far as Metamer,
where we parted.
“Should you ever go to Rhadamés by way of Tripoli and return by
this route, you would be heartily welcome, and this would certainly
be your best way home,” said the commandant.
I replied that should the journey ever be attempted by me,
Medinin would have a great attraction for me, and thanked him
heartily for all his kindness.
Then I rode with my Spahi towards the camp at Metamer, where
the lieutenant on guard came out and invited me in.
After a short halt, I continued in a north-westerly direction along
the foot of the mountain of the signal station, and thence by a hilly
country north; the Matmata mountains lying to the west of us, and
the plain to the east.
On both the plain and the hills I saw ruined Roman remains. We
also passed a spot where a few soldiers were encamped for the
purpose of digging a well, and as we ascended a hill saw a vehicle
come swinging towards us. Before it rode a red Spahi, behind it
another. The carriage was a heavy box on four wheels, and had an
awning over it; it was drawn by four mules, and two soldiers acted as
postillions. From within peeped a woman’s face. It was a captain’s
wife who had taken advantage of the opportunity of going viâ
Medinin to visit her husband at Zarsis—the carriage being on its way
to fetch the sick doctor.
It was nearly sunset, and I urged on my horse to avoid arriving
late at the little caravansarai where we were to spend the night.
Soon it became so dark that the horses stumbled on the rough
road, and we had to slacken to a walk. For a long time we saw
nothing but each other’s dim figures and heard only the tramp of our
horses.
At last, at the village of Aram, lights shone and dogs barked as we
passed amongst its palms.
After riding in the still night about an hour longer, we again heard
dogs barking and saw lights. We were then near the oasis of Marath,
where, having ridden fully twenty miles, we were to rest some hours
and start again at sunrise for Gabés.
In the caravansarai—which resembled that of Bir el Ahmer—a
Spahi from Gabés awaited me with a fresh horse.
The lights in the house streamed from the rooms into the
courtyard. Within were some soldiers, who had bivouacked round
about a candle placed on the floor. They came out, received our
horses and conducted me to an officer’s room. Four bare walls;
raised on masonry was a sloping plank-bed which extended along
the inner wall; besides this there was a table and a bench.
A native, who was in charge of the place, I sent to the oasis to buy
me some candles. The soldiers eagerly offered to lend me, till his
return, their little taper stuck in a bottle.
The Spahis then laid the table, and I dined, after first dividing with
them and the soldiers the eatables with which I had been so
sumptuously provided, for no one knows better than I do how a small
extra ration tends to put a soldier into good-humour. I have not
forgotten the old days in South Oran when I was myself a mere
private.
The Spahis and the four soldiers drew up in line at the table, and I
began the distribution—bread and dates to the Mohammedans, and
wine to the soldiers, which I poured into the tin mugs they held out to
me, and to whom I gave also bread and meat.
“Right about face, march!” I gave the order involuntarily, and the
troop at once vanished through the door.
Soon the sound of gay voices singing reached my ear from the
adjoining room.
When I had finished my repast I lit a cigarette and took a turn
through the courtyard to have a look at the horses, which still stood
saddled and had not yet been either fed or watered, they were so
overheated from their journey.
Having given orders that they were to be unsaddled, fed, and
watered, I returned, and, lying on the bed, listened to the singing.
I had rested but a short while when a smart soldier entered, and,
with his hand to his cap, asked if he and his comrades might enliven
the evening for me, as if so, they would come in.
I agreed willingly; so they came in, each carrying his mug, and sat
on the ground facing me.
After I had questioned them, asking each where he hailed from,
and had talked with them about a soldier’s life in the desert—a life I
also knew something of—I asked them to sing; then the usual
barrack ballads with comic choruses woke the still night. Afterwards I
chatted again a little with them, refilled their mugs which they
emptied, wishing me a happy journey, and then withdrew.
I wrapped myself in my burnous and slept, but was disturbed, first
by the stamping of the horses, and later by the noise of some carts
being yoked in the yard.
Before it was light next morning I was broad awake. The soldiers
made and brought me some coffee that I drank with relish, and it
was just daybreak when, wrapped in my burnous, I got into my
saddle, after having inscribed my name in the register. The soldiers
stood at attention and saluted as I bade them farewell and thanked
them for the songs they sang for me, while they, in return, wished me
a happy journey.
Our road was towards the north through the palm groves of the
lowland, where we now and again crossed the dry beds of torrents
that began in the mountains.
After a couple of hours we traversed the Ketena oasis, leaving
other palm groves on one side.
Here the level of the country rose a little, and far away on the
northern horizon we could see the palm forests that lie south of
Gabés, and now and again caught a glimpse in the east of the sunlit
surface of the Mediterranean.
Presently the temperature became very sultry, and a hot wind
rose, which whirled the sand in our eyes. This was the sirocco.
When we reached the high ground, where stands the Marabout’s
tomb of “Sid Hamed ben-Habib,” and had passed its palms, we saw,
through dust clouds and flying sand, Gabés, looking like a white

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Ambient Assisted Living Italian Forum

2016 1st Edition Filippo Cavallo

Ambient Assisted Living 9 AAL Kongress Frankfurt M

Ambient Assisted Living and Enhanced Living

Ambient Assisted Living and Active Aging 5th

RADIO--Robots in Assisted Living Vangelis Karkaletsis

Fiscal Policies in High Debt Euro-Area Countries 1st

Ambient Intelligence Software and Applications 5th

Computer Assisted and Robotic Endoscopy Third

Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted

Board of Series editors

“Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering (LNEE)” is a book series which reports

More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/7818

Andrea Monteriù Pietro Siciliano

Ambient Assisted Living

Vincenzo Marletta Pietro Siciliano

ISSN 1876-1100 ISSN 1876-1119 (electronic)

Printed on acid-free paper

This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature

Pontedera, Italy Filippo Cavallo

Filippo Cavallo, Istituto di BioRobotica—Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna

Pietro Siciliano, IMM—Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche

Bruno Andò, DIEEI—Università di Catania

Massimo Pistoia (E-result srl)

Federica Radici (Istituto di BioRobotica—Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna)

Part I Care Models and Algorithms

A Wearable System for Stress Detection Through Physiological

2 Cooking Appliances State of Art: Development and Use

3 The Design Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Part II Enabling Technologies and Assistive Solutions

Improved Solution to Monitor People with Dementia

Human Indoor Localization for AAL Applications:

3 Results and Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................. 274

Part III Experiments, Evaluation and Lessons Learnt

MARIO Project: A Multicenter Survey About Companion

3.4 Statistical Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369

Niccolò Casiddu and Claudia Porﬁrione

Keywords Protected discharge Telemedicine Rehabilitation Tech support

N. Casiddu (&) C. Porﬁrione

© Springer International Publishing AG 2017 3

to the hospital allowing scheduled visits by doctors and immediate intervention in

2 Materials and Methods

Recent data show that a predictable percentage of around 8% of patients admitted to

iatrogenic diseases by “prolonged hospitalisation”, well documented mainly in

2.1 Accommodation Design

Fig. 1 Single room

Fig. 2 Single bathroom

2.1.4 Living Area

Fig. 5 Living area

2.2 Monitoring of Parameters

Fig. 6 Some of the monitoring equipment supplied to the facility

monitored. Sleep quality, understood as the number of nocturnal awakenings, is

2.3 Ethics: Informed Consent

A HALT IN THE DESERT—TENT OF A TRIBAL CHIEF.

I dismounted at the office of the Intelligence Department. In the

Neither does slavery appear so terrible at close quarters as it

In the course of the night a telegram arrived, ordering Dr. Cultin to

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