06 Jul Smart furniture plays an important role in promoting active and healthy aging

The doctoral thesis of our Pharaon researcher Francisco Melero entitled “ICT solutions for active and healthy aging at home, in the workplace and in society” has been successfully defended on 2 June and received an “Outstanding Cum Laude”.
The thesis was supported by more than half a dozen scientific articles in impact journals and supervised by Pharaon partner Dr. María Victoria Bueno Delgado, UPCT and Dr Josefina Garrido Lova , director of R&D at CETEM.
The thesis focuses on intelligent furniture, remote healthcare, telemedicine, e-health solutions, etc. with social impact, especially for older adults.
Melero writes in his thesis that: “The industries of the habitat sector, in general, and furniture, in particular, are continuously innovating towards the design and development of solutions that help active and healthy aging of society, at home and in the work environment”. He argues that in a rapidly aging European society, it is increasingly necessary to apply ICT solutions and digital tools that improve the quality of life, independence, and general health of the older population.
In relation to intelligent furniture or smart furniture, Francisco Melero has highlighted their properties in terms of functionality and the use of active and connected digital elements. In addition, furniture must be considered as an entity integrated into the concept of smart cities or quality of life.
The objective, according to Melero , is “to propose effective responses that support aging at work and e-health solutions that allow the older population to live independently for longer, through digital solutions capable of addressing the challenges of services and ehealth in rural areas, such as a telecare system based on proactive care, active aging, prevention and the needs of users and their environments”.
In his thesis he writes that “domotics or home automation, together with medical telecare services, are part of the AAL market. Within this concept, intelligent and multifunctional furniture plays an important role in promoting health and well-being, managing physical and mental health, as well as other deterioration caused by aging”. Also, it helps to reduce the impact of those physical and cognitive barriers that prevent workers from continuing to be active and productive in their workplace during the last years of their working life.
This article was translated from Spanish and slightly adapted from UPCT