SMILE · Project

AI-Powered Smart Home System That Helps Elderly People Live Independently Longer

healthTestedTRL 6

Imagine your elderly parent living alone — you worry about falls, missed medication, or growing isolation. SMILE built an AI assistant that lives inside the home, learns daily routines, spots early warning signs of health decline, and even chats with the person to keep them socially connected. Think of it as a caring digital companion that alerts family or caregivers when something seems off, tested with real people dealing with dementia, lung disease, and post-surgery recovery across Europe and Canada.

By the numbers

EUR 3,990,792

EU funding for development and testing

consortium partners across the project

countries where solutions were tested

Centres of Excellence launched as reference sites

TRL6

maturity level of Digital Care Facilitator and Conversational Agent

SMEs in the consortium

total project deliverables produced

The business problem

What needed solving

Europe's ageing population is overwhelming care systems. Residential care is expensive (often EUR 3,000-5,000/month per person), yet most older people want to stay home. Care providers and housing operators lack affordable, scalable digital tools that actually detect health decline early enough to prevent costly hospital admissions — especially for people with dementia or chronic conditions like COPD.

The solution

What was built

A Digital Care Facilitator (AI system at TRL6) that monitors daily living patterns and predicts health changes, a Conversational Agent (TRL6) that engages elderly users in social interaction, personal mHealth apps and eHealth monitoring devices (TRL5-8), a reusable SMILE catalogue and platform, and Four Centres of Excellence established as reference sites across partner countries.

Audience

Who needs this

Senior living and assisted living facility operatorsHome care service providers and agenciesHealth insurance companies seeking preventive care solutionsSmart home technology integrators targeting the elderly care marketMunicipal and regional health authorities managing ageing populations

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Senior Living & Assisted Living

mid-size

Target: Senior housing operators and retirement community managers

If you are a senior living operator struggling with rising staffing costs and resident safety concerns — this project developed an AI-based Digital Care Facilitator (TRL6) that monitors daily routines inside apartments and alerts staff to early signs of health decline. Tested with real residents including those with severe dementia and COPD across 4 Centres of Excellence in 6 countries, it can reduce emergency incidents while letting residents maintain independence.

Home Healthcare Services

any

Target: Home care agencies and telehealth providers

If you are a home care provider trying to scale services without proportionally increasing staff — this project built a Conversational Agent (TRL6) and personal mHealth apps (TRL5-8) that serve as a daily digital companion for elderly clients at home. The system tracks health changes and social engagement, flagging only cases that need human attention. Validated with 14 consortium partners including 6 SMEs, the platform is designed for replicability and scalability.

Health Insurance & Managed Care

enterprise

Target: Health insurers and managed care organizations investing in preventive care

If you are a health insurer looking for proven preventive care technologies to reduce claims from elderly policyholders — this EUR 3,990,792 EU-funded project demonstrated smart living environment solutions for three high-cost patient groups: severe dementia, COPD, and post-surgery recovery. The SMILE catalogue and platform packages these solutions for adoption, with 4 Centres of Excellence serving as live reference sites.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to implement this system?

The project does not publish per-unit pricing. The total EU investment was EUR 3,990,792 across 14 partners over nearly 4 years, covering R&D, testing, and centre establishment. Commercial licensing or deployment costs would need to be discussed directly with the consortium — likely significantly lower than the research investment for a production deployment.

Can this scale beyond pilot sites?

Scalability was an explicit project objective. The consortium built 4 Centres of Excellence as reference sites and created a reusable SMILE catalogue and platform specifically designed for replication. The system was tested across 6 countries (Canada, Denmark, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, UK), demonstrating cross-border applicability.

What is the IP situation — can we license this technology?

As an EU-funded RIA project, IP typically stays with the partners who created it. The consortium includes 6 SMEs and 5 industry partners who likely hold commercialization rights to specific components. The Digital Care Facilitator, Conversational Agent, and mHealth apps may have separate IP holders. Contact the coordinator (Sykehuset Innlandet HF, Norway) for licensing discussions.

What patient groups has this been validated with?

The system was specifically tested with three high-cost, high-need groups: older people with severe dementia, patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and people in care transitions during post-surgery recovery. These represent some of the most challenging and expensive elderly care scenarios.

How mature is the technology — is it ready to deploy?

The AI-based Digital Care Facilitator and Conversational Agent reached TRL6 (technology demonstrated in relevant environment). The mHealth apps and eHealth monitors range from TRL5 to TRL8. This means the core AI components need further engineering for commercial deployment, while some device components are closer to market-ready.

Can this integrate with existing care management systems?

The project developed a platform and catalogue approach designed for ecosystem integration. With 14 partners including hospitals, tech companies, and research institutions contributing to 16 deliverables, the architecture was built for interoperability. Specific integration capabilities would need to be discussed with the technical partners.

Consortium

Who built it

The 14-partner consortium is well-balanced for a health technology project, with 5 industry players and 6 SMEs (36% industry ratio) alongside hospitals, universities, and research institutes. The coordinator is Sykehuset Innlandet HF, a Norwegian hospital trust — meaning the project was led by actual healthcare practitioners, not just technologists. The 6-country spread (Canada, Denmark, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, UK) provides diverse healthcare system validation, which strengthens the case for cross-market deployment. The strong SME presence suggests commercialization intent, and the mix of clinical and technical partners means the solutions were built with real care workflows in mind.

SYKEHUSET INNLANDET HFCoordinator · NO
MCMASTER UNIVERSITYparticipant · CA
NORWAY HEALTH TECHparticipant · NO
STICHTING SMART HOMESparticipant · NL
KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITETparticipant · DK
TELLU ASparticipant · NO
SINTEF ASparticipant · NO
STICHTING HEALTH CLUSTERNETparticipant · NL
REGION SJAELLANDparticipant · DK
STICHTING TANTELOUISEparticipant · NL

How to reach the team

Sykehuset Innlandet HF (Norway) — a hospital trust that coordinated the project. Reach out to their innovation or research department for licensing and partnership discussions.

Order a report on this consortium See SYKEHUSET INNLANDET HF profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore how SMILE's AI-based elderly care technology could fit your business? SciTransfer can arrange a direct introduction to the right consortium partner for your specific use case — whether that's the AI platform, the mHealth apps, or the full smart living environment package.

Order a report on this topic More in Health & Biomedical