EXECUTIVE SUMMARY


is also involving many small companies, which is so important in this space. “The thing that really counts, of course, is


that these AAL solutions do actually make it to the market, so it was very pleasing to see, new innovations that are very close to the market and some products already available on the market. What is also encouraging is that around 40 per cent of the companies involved in AAL appear to be able to attract capital for product marketing and scaling up after the project has ended. “In a nutshell, then, AAL delivers, but there


are still great challenges. AAL solutions, for example, still run into problems due to the differences between the health systems and the social care systems as well as the fragmentation of the European and global market place.” Of course the fragmentation of markets


from country to country and on the European and global scale is a familiar problem, and there were many discussions over the course of the Forum about how best to tackle this problem in the health and ageing space. One of the biggest concerns, however, seemed to be whether AAL itself could provide a solution, or at least add to the solution, or whether this is something that should be left to the market, which would, through economic necessity, force change. Paul Timmers believes that it is a simple case


of ensuring products developed in one country for the local market can be seen to be working, and the message is made clear that they can work in any market. That is the challenge. “If people see that there are interesting solutions, ready made and on the market in one country


“In a nutshell, then, AAL delivers,


but there are still great challenges”


and that they can be easily applied in other countries, then they will buy,” he said although he conceded that this will not apply to all AAL solutions, where local and regional regulations and standards may determine whether they can cross borders and markets. “Self-contained solutions that can be seen


to work and are easy to adopt in a variety of settings can work in a fragmented market,” he says. “But there are other products and solutions, often dependent on standards and interoperability, that are more complicated. Economies of scale are needed to make them commercially viable. “We have seen over the past 10 years that


many industry and public sector stakeholders have been working on issues of standards and interoperability in this field while those working in the AAL sector have been trying to find their own standards, which has been slowing things down,” he continues. “But what could be the game changer here is


“Self-contained solutions that are easy to adopt


in a variety of settings can work


in a fragmented market”


that we have large scale technologies like the Internet of Things coming into the market that already have their own standards and so AAL products being developed using this technology will benefit from this by being able to operate in any market or country by adopting these generic standards. “Meanwhile, the EC has done explicit bridging between the Internet of Things field and active ageing at home field for Horizon 2020, which will also help AAL.” This isn’t the only work the EC is doing


across all programmes that will benefit AAL over the coming years. The Silver Economy Strategy, focused on age-friendly homes and independent living, and the Digital Single Market which seeks to bring down the barriers to a single market in Europe, are two initiatives


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