Chair's Welcome

Recent studies have predicted future imbalances in demographics that will affect most societies in the next 20 years. The House of Lords, DTI Globalwatch and Foresight have all published reports in the past four years, and recent government concerns about pensions continue to reflect these broader issues. Health care and assistance particularly in domestic situations is of growing importance and there is a clear need to explore technological solutions for support. The aim of the seminar is to review the most important challenges and recent developments in providing support as understood by experts in the field. The engineering community is best placed to ensure that human interactions are addressed and that technology provides genuine solutions to the problems. There is likely to be an emphasis on identifying where technological input is appropriate and potentially beneficial by creating a platform that can help both groups understand the issues better.