BACKGROUND: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong developmental disorder with increasing prevalence rates. People affected by ASD do often need support in various activities of daily living mainly provided by formal or informal caregivers. Assistive technology can help to increase autonomy and safety of people on the autism spectrum and thus decrease the burden of care. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the state of the art of assistive technology (AT) that supports autonomy, self-reliance comfort and wellbeing of people with ASD or aiming to prevent dangerous situations or shutdowns, caused by stressful (environmental) situations. Another aim is to analyze the fields of application and type of the proposed technologies and to explore the evaluations conducted. METHODS: A scoping review was carried out where the databases MEDLINE, IEEE and ACM Digital Library were searched. The identified articles were grouped according to the objective of the technology – the supported area of life that is assisted by the proposed systems. Furthermore, the conducted evaluations of the ATs in the papers were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 40 articles were included in this review with a balanced distribution in the different fields of application (Communication & Social Life; Daily Living Assistants; Safety & Security). Eighteen studies conducted an evaluation of the proposed technology with people with ASD, mainly testing the functionality of the systems. CONCLUSION: The proposed technologies support people in the autism spectrum according to the main outcomes and symptoms of ASD. Further research is needed to determine the usefulness and acceptance of the ATs.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnoses increased over the last decades, as reviews show comparing prevalence rates reported from different studies. Due to different effects of the disorder, personal support is required and provided by formal and/or informal caregivers in various activities of daily living. With the help of a customized smart home and interior design concept the aim is to enable people with ASD to live a more independent and self-reliant life. Following a participatory research approach, the end users are involved in the context of use and requirements definition, concept development, and later also in the implementation, and evaluation process. The solution shall assist end users in performing activities of daily living. The outcome of the work at hand is a set of modular functionalities (sensors, actuators, interior design solutions) to be integrated in a living environment specifically designed for people with ASD.

People on the autism spectrum have a different perception of the environment than neurotypical people and often require support in various activities of daily living. Assistive technology can support those affected, but very few smart-home-like technologies exist. To support people on the autism spectrum in their autonomy and safety and to help caregivers, a smart home and interior design environment was developed. Requirements were gathered by employing a holistic human-centered design approach through interactive workshops and questionnaires to create a useful and user-friendly solution. From this process, requirements for a comprehensive solution (the SENSHOME environment) emerged. These requirements include a set of functionalities tailored to the needs of people on the autism spectrum, such as a crowd warning that informs when many people are in a certain area (for example, the entrance), an automatic light regulation system, or a daily life planner that supports task completion. Furthermore, inclusive furniture elements such as a refuge seat or a table with dividers can support wellbeing, autonomy, and safety. This paper demonstrates a consequent and considerable participatory research approach and the story from the target group and context of use through design requirements to the initial design solution of the SENSHOME environment.

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Die Realisierung von intelligenten Sensorsystemen sowie die weiterführende Integration der entwickelten Konzepte in das tägliche Leben erfordern intensiven Forschungs-und Entwicklungsaufwand. Im folgenden Artikel wird anhand eines konkreten Anwendungsfalls dargestellt, wie die dafür notwendigen Aspekte Interdisziplinarität sowie spezifische grundlagenorientiere Forschung im Rahmen der Forschungsstrategie der Fachhochschule Kärnten gezielt gefördert und umgesetzt werden. Schlüsselwörter: Interdisziplinarität; Telemonitoring; integrierte Systeme; benutzerzentrierte Forschung Development of wireless sensor-systems by synergetic usage of interdisciplinary and fundamental research concepts. The implementation of intelligent sensor networks as well as the subsequent integration of these technologies in everyday life requires intensive research and development. The following report deals with a defined use case explaining the implementation of the coherent aspects of interdisciplinarity and specific fundamental research, following the research strategy of the