REACH2020 · Project

Smart Furniture and Sensors That Keep Elderly Active and Out of Long-Term Care

healthTestedTRL 5

reach2020.eu

Imagine your grandparent's armchair, bed, or table could quietly track how active they are each day — and gently nudge them to move more, eat better, or do exercises before small problems become big ones. That's what REACH built: smart furniture pieces packed with sensors that monitor daily habits and offer personalized activity suggestions. It plugs into Philips' health platform so doctors and caregivers can see the data too. The goal is simple — help older people stay independent longer and avoid expensive nursing home admissions.

By the numbers

350%

Expected rise in EU health expenditure by 2050

180%

Expected EU economic expansion by 2050

EUR 4,588,315

EU funding for development

Consortium partners

Countries involved

Total project deliverables

44%

Industry partner ratio in consortium

The business problem

What needed solving

Long-term care costs are spiraling — EU health spending is projected to rise by 350% by 2050 while the economy grows only 180%. Care facilities need ways to keep elderly residents active and independent longer, reducing expensive admissions and intensive care needs. Current monitoring solutions are either too intrusive for daily use or too disconnected from actionable interventions.

The solution

What was built

REACH developed smart furniture units called Personalised Interior Intelligent Units (PI²Us) — compact, preconfigurable pieces embedded with sensors that monitor elderly daily habits and deliver activity interventions. A final mock-up version integrated with Philips HealthSuite Digital Platform was demonstrated, combining wearable sensors, embedded room sensors, and physical/virtual activity modules into a deployable system.

Audience

Who needs this

Senior living and assisted living facility operatorsFurniture manufacturers entering the health-tech marketHealth and long-term care insurance companiesHome care service providersMunicipal social services and public health departments

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Senior Living & Assisted Living Facilities

enterprise

Target: Operators of assisted living residences and senior care homes

If you are a senior living operator dealing with rising care costs and staff shortages — this project developed smart furniture units (PI²Us) with embedded sensors that monitor residents' daily activity and trigger personalized interventions. The system was tested in a naturalistic care environment and integrates with Philips HealthSuite Digital Platform. With EU health expenditure expected to rise by 350% by 2050 versus only 180% economic growth, prevention technology like this directly addresses your cost pressure.

Smart Home & IoT Furniture Manufacturing

mid-size

Target: Furniture manufacturers exploring connected health products

If you are a furniture manufacturer looking to enter the growing health-tech market — REACH developed Personalised Interior Intelligent Units (PI²Us), compact smart furniture with embedded sensors that are preconfigurable and easily deployable. The consortium of 18 partners across 6 countries validated the concept through mock-up integration. This gives you a blueprint for a new product line that combines furniture design with health monitoring technology.

Health Insurance & Long-Term Care Insurance

enterprise

Target: Health insurers and LTC insurance providers

If you are a health insurer facing growing long-term care claims — REACH built a prevention system that monitors elderly people's daily habits through wearable and embedded sensors and intervenes before function loss leads to expensive care admissions. The project consortium included 8 industry partners and was funded with EUR 4,588,315. Prevention-based approaches like this can reduce doctor visits and LTC admissions, directly cutting your claims costs.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to implement this system in a care facility?

The project does not publish per-unit pricing or licensing costs. The EU invested EUR 4,588,315 across 18 partners over 4 years to develop the technology. Commercial pricing would need to be negotiated directly with the consortium or individual technology partners.

Can this scale to hundreds of rooms or facilities?

The system was designed around compact, preconfigurable and easily deployable smart furniture units (PI²Us). It integrates with Philips HealthSuite Digital Platform (HSDP), which is an enterprise-grade cloud platform. Based on available project data, the architecture supports scalability, but full-scale commercial deployment has not been documented.

Who owns the intellectual property and how can I license it?

IP is distributed across the 18-partner consortium led by Technische Universitaet Muenchen (Germany). Philips contributed their HealthSuite Digital Platform. Licensing terms would need to be discussed with the coordinator and relevant partners who developed specific components.

Has this been tested with real elderly users?

Yes. The project planned full deployment in a naturalistic use-case environment in Lyngby (Denmark). A final mock-up version of the REACH system was produced as a demonstrated deliverable, integrating multiple system components. Based on available project data, this represents real-environment validation rather than just lab testing.

Does this work with existing care facility IT systems?

REACH was specifically designed as an open solution compatible with existing sensing systems and technologies. It demonstrated cross-compatibility by integrating with Philips HealthSuite Digital Platform (HSDP), which supports third-party services. This suggests reasonable integration capability with existing infrastructure.

What regulations does this comply with?

The project was funded under Horizon 2020 topic PHC-21-2015 (personal health systems). Based on available project data, specific regulatory certifications (medical device, GDPR compliance) are not detailed in the objective. Any commercial deployment would require CE marking and health data regulation compliance.

Consortium

Who built it

The REACH2020 consortium is notably strong for commercialization with 18 partners across 6 countries (Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Poland). With 8 industry partners making up 44% of the consortium and 3 SMEs, this is not a purely academic exercise. The project is led by Technische Universitaet Muenchen, a top German technical university, and notably integrates with Philips' commercial HealthSuite Digital Platform — signaling that at least one major corporation saw enough value to contribute real technology. The mix of 5 universities and 1 research organization provides scientific depth, while the 4 "other" partners likely include care facilities and end-user organizations needed for real-world validation.

TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET MUENCHENCoordinator · DE
SCHON KLINIK BAD AIBLING SE & CO KGparticipant · DE
KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITETparticipant · DK
BIOZOON GMBHparticipant · DE
DIN DEUTSCHES INSTITUT FUER NORMUNG EVparticipant · DE
ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FEDERALE DE LAUSANNEparticipant · CH
LES HOPITAUX UNIVERSITAIRES DE GENEVEparticipant · CH
DANMARKS TEKNISKE UNIVERSITETparticipant · DK
PHILIPS ELECTRONICS NEDERLAND BVparticipant · NL
TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITEIT EINDHOVENparticipant · NL

How to reach the team

Technische Universitaet Muenchen (Germany) — contact through SciTransfer for a warm introduction to the project coordinator

Order a report on this consortium See TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET MUENCHEN profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore licensing REACH technology for your care facilities or product line? SciTransfer can connect you directly with the right consortium partners and provide a detailed technology brief.

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