Nowadays, the integration of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies within a user-centric smart home environment seeks to enhance the autonomy, safety, and well-being of individuals with disabilities while concurrently supporting the efforts of their professional caregivers. The present study delineates co-designed activities undertaken to develop and preliminarily evaluate an IoT-based smart apartment. An initial focus group identified user needs, expectations, and preferences concerning smart technologies aimed at enhancing autonomy and safety, thereby informing the selection of smart devices. A subsequent focus group appraised the impact of an integrated IoT system installed within the apartment on daily life, specifically examining the experiences and challenges faced by two residents with mental disabilities and their caregivers. Key findings emphasize that the IoT-enabled environment significantly contributed to bolstering the inhabitants’ sense of independence and security through such technologies as fall detectors, automated reminders, and emergency communication systems. Caregivers conveyed the importance of swift communication with the residents of the apartment, streamlined support processes, and a diminished workload facilitated by accessible, centralized monitoring. Concerns regarding information overload and potential violations of privacy surfaced. These findings support future advancements in Ambient Assisted Living technologies, with safety, autonomy, and co-design regarded as fundamental to the development of inclusive, technology-driven residential care solutions.

The increasing adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies in workplace environments has transformed occupational safety, efficiency, and operational continuity. However, while existing research has primarily examined isolated IoT components, fewer studies have investigated the impact of a fully integrated IoT system that combines automated environmental monitoring, smart control interfaces, and predictive analytics. The present research evaluates a comprehensive IoT-based system designed to enhance workplace resilience, focusing on employees' acceptance, perceived safety, and overall usage experience. We assessed workers' subjective perceptions and direct interactions with an IoT-integrated system deployed in a real-world occupational setting. Findings indicate a significant increase in acceptance and perceived safety after system utilization. Usability metrics further reveal that efficiency and interaction performance may improve over time, supporting the role of intuitive system design and adaptive learning in long-term IoT adoption. The study also highlights future research directions, emphasizing the need for longitudinal investigations, AI-driven predictive analytics, and ethical considerations in IoT workplace deployment. These findings reinforce the transformative potential of integrated IoT eco-systems in shaping resilient, adaptive, and user-centered workplaces.

In the evolving landscape of retail environments after the Pandemic, the present study investigates the acceptance and safety perceptions of anti-COVID19 Internet of Things (IoT) technologies among workers and customers within a retail setting. As businesses navigate the complexities of ensuring public health and maintaining economic viability, integrating advanced smart solutions has become critical in safeguarding public health and enhancing customers' and staff confidence. The research centers on analyzing how workers and customers perceive IoT technologies deployed in a retail context. Several factors that influence acceptance were explored, such as perceived usefulness and ease of use and the role of perceived safety in shaping engagement with and trust in these advanced antiCOVID systems. Findings indicate a positive reception towards IoT devices, with participants acknowledging their potential to significantly enhance in-store safety protocols in terms of a high level of acceptance and perceived safety related to these cutting-edge tools. The study contributes to the broader discourse on creating pandemic-resilient retail living andworking environments and provides pragmatic insights for stakeholders aiming to leverage IoT technologies to navigate public health crises effectively.

COVID-19 had substantial effects on the IoT community which designs systems for safety: the urge to face masks worn by everyone, the analysis of crowds to avoid the spread of the disease, and the sanitization of public environments has led to exceptional research acceleration and fast engineering of the related solutions. Now that the pandemic is losing power, some applications are becoming less important, while others are proving to be useful regardless of the criticality of COVID-19. The Safe Place project is a prime example of this situation (DATE23 MPP category: final stage). Safe Place is an Italian 3M euro regional industrial/academic project, financed by European funds, created to ensure a multidisciplinary choral reaction to COVID-19 in critical environments such as rest homes and public places. Safe Place consortium was able to understand what is no longer useful in this post-pandemic period, and what instead is potentially attractive for the market. For example, the detection of face masks has little importance, while sanitization does have much. This paper shares such analysis, which emerged through a co-design process of three public Safe Place project demonstrators, involving heterogeneous figures spanning from scientists to lawyers.

Technologies must be conceived as a valid support for every final user. The DOMHO project applies the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm to Ambient Assisted Living. The present work describes the design and development, based on a participatory design approach, of a smart apartment for ambient assisted co-housing for people affected by motor and cognitive impairments. This smart environment featured intelligent lighting, environmental sensors, and automation, manageable through a user interface, for mobile devices, and voice commands. The intelligent apartment will allow testing of the fully integrated DOMHO system in a real-world context. The objective is to assess its ability in promoting independence, autonomy, social interaction, and therefore the overall well-being of people with disabilities.

The construction sector faces new challenges in order to provide smart, energy efficient and sustainable lighting environments for infrastructure, cities, buildings and the industry, in order to follow the 2050 low-carbon economy roadmap of the European Commission. In parallel, the Environmentally Conscious Smart Lighting (ECOSLIGHT) project aims to design training programs in lighting that will actively enhance employability and improve career prospects of lighting-related professionals, while also help businesses to find the right competences they need to increase their competitiveness. In this paper, by analysing critically the 438 collected answers though on-line ECOSLIGHT original developed questionnaire, we were able to understand clearly what are the needs of the sector for well-trained lighting professionals and indent the training needs for future lighting professionals who want find jobs in the sector. Further, we could establish standard “job-profiles” for two of the most popular need lighting professionals: lighting designers and lighting system engineers.

Due to better living conditions and progress in medicine older adults today are the main group of population in terms of growing speed. Furthermore, together with disabled people, they represent the most frail category of individuals. Indeed, they are likely to present different constellations of impairments (both at physical and cognitive level). Older adults and individuals with disabilities strongly benefit from being properly assisted or from prolonging their individual autonomy. Such interventions can be implemented levering on the IoT technologies. The present paper describes a project that aims at providing older and disabled people with smart buildings that will be equipped with IoT technologies, e.g., environmental and wearable sensors. The identification of such technologies will be based on co-design activities that will focus on their accessibility and usability. Concurrent laboratory tests will be carried out to assess the best methodologies of wireless communication between the smart devices. These ambient-assisted living tools will be installed in two real-world scenarios, i.e., a nursing home and a co-housing solution. Such tools will facilitate older and disabled people in carrying out daily activities, ensuring their safety and privacy protection. The outcomes of the project will provide pivotal information on how to improve human living in different environmental contexts.

Although impressive results have been published for GaN-based transistors in a large frequency range reliability demonstration is becoming an important subject of concern. In this article the conditions of a long term DC life test is presented and a detailed description of pre- and post-test characterization by means of Low Frequency Noise measurements (LFN) is discussed. The transistor parameters (IDSS, Ron, Vp) and the drain noise spectra presented an evolution strictly related to the biasing point during the stress. This demonstrates that LFN measurement is a useful tool to investigate degradation in GaN HEMTs.

Impressive results have been published for GaN-based transistors for large frequency range. Therefore, both single chip and complete amplification system reliability demonstration is becoming an important subject of concern. In this paper a 3000 hour DC life test is described and the last results derived from the data treatment of this test are presented. The transistor parameters show an evolution strictly related to the biasing point. The High Forward Gate Current test does not present any particular degradation of the transistor characteristics. The most important degradation is observed on the drain saturation current during the High Temperature Operating test. The effect of hot-carriers seems to be the main cause for device degradation.

A long-term 3000-hour test under on-state conditions (V DS =25V, 6W/mm constant dissipated power) and off-state conditions (V DS =46V, V GS =-6V) on GaN/AlGaN/GaN HEMTs is presented. Trapping presence and hot-electrons effect are characterized by means of low-frequency techniques (low-frequency noise measurements, transconductance frequency dispersion, gate-lag). The on-state stress shows the most important degradation. Since our measurements point out to the creation of traps in the gate-to-drain surface region during the stress, this degradation is ascribed to the effect of hot-electrons

The reliability of Mo-based Schottky contact for an AlGaN/GaN HEMT after a thermal storage test is reported. Electrical and chemical analyses demonstrate the stability of Mo/Au gate for a GaN HEMT after a 2000 h ageing test at temperatures up to 340 degrees C.

III-N HEMT is one of the most promising transistor for the next generation of RF power devices. Despite the impressive results on power density obtained using discrete devices and total output power for GaN-based amplifier announced in 2003, reliability demonstration is the key issue before devices can be fielded in practical applications. In this article test procedures and samples are described and the last results concerning storage and DC life tests are presented. Schottky barrier degradation was observed as a key factor for the metallurgical tests. DC life-tests showed a slow and steady drain current drop followed by stabilization as a function of time. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The stability of metal layers on semiconductors is a key issue for the device electrical performances. Therefore, the reliability of SiC/Ti/Pt/Au system was investigated using storage steady-stress testing, AES (Auger Electron Spectrometry), and SIMS (Secondary Ions Mass Spectrometry) analysis. The study was conducted on different patterns for gate and interconnection structure to underline the different reliability problems. Auger and SIMS analysis showed important modifications in the three-metal structure without reactions with the SiC substrate. The resistance degradation was assigned to interdiffusion phenomena. It was analyzed with a diffusion-controlled model. Activation energies and mean time to failure (MTF) were calculated for a failure criterion defined as a 10% increase of the resistance. Finally, the different rules of the metallization degradation in MESFET behaviours for interconnections and gate were discussed.