SOL-TECH - Human-centered solar smart technology design for healthy aging

The technological objective of SOL-TECH is to co-design and develop solar-powered smart tags and sensors that can be integrated into home environments to prevent and monitor falling, hence supporting the independent living of the aging population and improving the quality of life, while powered by clean energy harnessed from indoor lights? says project coordinator Associate Professor Paola Vivo. SOL-TECH technology leverages perovskite solar cells (PSCs), as they are among the most promising hybrid solar cell technologies to date. This new collaborative project aims at advancing stability and sustainability issues of flexible PSC, thus bringing current PSCs research at TAU to higher maturity level while increasing its social impact by supporting healthy aging and sustainable living. Together with older people and their carers the project will study the use, needs, home quality, fall risks, technology opportunities, and barriers in the home environment through ethnographic observation and in-depth interviews and architectural mapping. Solutions will be co-developed and prototyped with participants in co-design workshops and their home environments and usability, suitability, and acceptance of the prototypes as well as their in-situ performance will be studied in different home environments. There will be an exhibition of the developed products and findings to maximize societal impact.