Demographic forecasts fo r the next few decades indicate that the numbers of over 65s are set to double throughout the developed and developing nations, peaking at around 40% of their populations, as their birthrates continue to fall substantially. As the aging population become larger, the birthrate fall and the workforce shrinks, the growing need for care services will have to be met by a greater reliance on assistive technologies to mitigate the effect of scarce physical health and social care services, coupled with greater reliance on information and communications technologies to support informed self help.