Summary of the dissertation

Society is continuing to age worldwide, which is reflected, for example, in the fact that the proportion of people over the age of 65 is estimated to exceed 1.5 billion by 2050. This will result in an overload of existing medical and nursing staff, as more and more people will have to be cared for by a proportionally shrinking number of professionals. In this way, appropriate and dignified care in old age is becoming an increasing challenge.

This dissertation therefore investigated an assistance system to accompany cooking processes, which turns everyday kitchen utensils into intelligent objects by means of a sensor network. Users receive feedback as to whether they are cooking the recipe correctly and are supported if a cooking step is forgotten. For people with mild cognitive impairments in particular, such a system can promote their independence, help them to live in their preferred environment for longer and ultimately relieve the burden on care professionals.