A data quality model for AAL systems

Abstract

Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) aims to improve the quality of life of people, supporting them in their daily activities by the use of information technologies. The AAL systems are preferably focused on vulnerable groups (e.g., elderly people, people with special needs, children, patients with chronic diseases) to increase their independence in their natural living environment. These systems work in real time and their correct operation depends on the inferred knowledge of the data collected from sensors or other sources, thus the assurance of the quality of data is a priority aspect, especially in those systems that can put in risk the life of people. Currently, the research in this line is limited, there are not data quality models with a complete set of attributes and metrics adjusted to the AAL domain. This work proposes a data quality model for AAL systems conformed by the following characteristics: accuracy, completeness, currentness, confidentiality, accessibility, understandability and compliance; and their corresponding metrics. Finally, the application of the model to an intelligent pillbox, showed that it is a complete and valuable tool to evaluate the degree to which the quality of data is reached and preserved by an AAL system.