Ambient assisted living and European funds: a bibliometric approach

Purpose The authors analyse the impact of European funding research programmes on the topic of Ambient Assisted Living by considering its status, future context, and the implications for prospective knowledge management. Design/methodology/approach The authors apply our variation of classical Systematic Literature Review – Systematic Literature Network Analysis, which also includes bibliographic networks – to identify the readership cliques of the associated technological publication outputs. Findings The authors’ main conclusion suggests that there was an increase in scientific production on AAL fields just after the start of the two EU funding programmes (2008 and 2014). Three main research directions were identified: activity and vital sign recognition, human-computer interaction and technology acceptance. Originality/value To date, previous reviews on Ambient Assisted Livig focus on specific aspects, such as the study of technology. The present review provides a complete overview of Ambient Assisted living technology and it grasps how the European funds have impacted on the development of this technology.