On behalf of the Association for the Advancement of Assistive Technology in Europe we are proud to publish the proceedings of the 11^th bi-annual AAATE conference. With the 11^th conference once again being held in the Netherlands, this traveling conference returns to its first venue in Maastricht. Since 1990, the conference has been organized in Sweden, Greece, Portugal, Germany, Slovenia, Ireland, France, Spain and Italy. The proceedings of the 11^th conference add to the sharing and dissemination of research based knowledge on the development and application of Assistive Technology in general, and more specifically in Europe.

The Association for the Advancement of Assistive Technology in Europe (http://www.aaate.net) is the interdisciplinary pan-European association devoted to all aspects of Assistive Technology: use, research, development, manufacture, supply, service, delivery and the development of policy. Its mission is to stimulate the advancement of Assistive Technology for the benefit of people with disabilities, including the elderly, through the following main areas of action:

• the raising of awareness of assistive technology

• the promotion of research and development of assistive technology

• the facilitation of an exchange of knowledge within the field

• the dissemination of information regarding assistive technology and related issues.

Assistive Technology encompasses a whole range of technological applications. Traditional Assistive Technology devices have remained an important topic throughout past AAATE conferences. AT devices are becoming increasingly relevant in society, due to the demographic changes in many European countries. In future, those with disabilities and older citizens will want to remain living independently in their own homes, but human care support is becoming more costly and difficult to find. Traditional assistive technology devices will continue to be important in supporting this independent living, but assistive environments are increasingly providing a powerful support solution. Advances in technology also pave the way for technological innovations such as robotics and ICT sensor applications.

As the number of users increase, the potential of accessible consumer products also increases. However, to make this potential a reality, design for all and accessibility principles must be implemented.

A final area of applied technology that is becoming ever more interrelated with Assistive Technology is Care Technology. Technological care support is traditionally intended to support care staff, but is gradually also becoming more important for informal care givers and clients. Applications such as monitoring systems and tele-care are expanding and clients are more and more involved as the users of such systems.

The content of these proceedings reflects the range of current technologies. Chapter 1 provides examples of research and development of care systems intended to support people in their daily life. Perspectives on a range of traditional Assistive Technology issues are presented in chapters 2 to 7. Chapter 8 focuses on design for all and accessibility. Chapter 9 approaches the development and use of technology in general from a user perspective. Chapter 10 investigates the circumstances and approaches taken to make Assistive Technology available to individual users.

We hope this substantial volume will support the further advancement of Assistive Technology for the citizens of our countries and we would like to take this opportunity to thank all the contributing authors for sharing their excellent work with us.

Gert Jan Gelderblom

Thijs Soede