Information and Communication Technologies for Social Good and Healthcare

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is dedicated to the selected papers from EAI GOODTECHS 2021, which will be held in Aveiro, Portugal, between 14 and 17 September 2021.

Social goods are products and services that can be provided through private enterprises, government institutions, or non-profit institutions. They benefit people with special needs, including older adults, those participating in sports, and young people. Social goods are related to healthcare, safety, sports, environment, democracy, computer science, and human rights.

Sensors may be included in the development of solutions for social good that promote the support of different physical activities, by measuring parameters such as air quality or temperature. The current pandemic associated with the dispersion of coronavirus around the world highlights the critical role of sensors that can support the control and treatment of different diseases. The use of computer science technologies will support multiple cross-domain fields. Mobile devices include different types of sensors. These sensorial units include accelerometers, magnetometers, gyroscopes, microphones, and Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers. These sensors can be used to create numerous solutions to promote social good. Additionally, smart environments include multiple types of sensors, such as door sensors, contact sensors, motion sensors, and light sensors. The sensors can promote the recognition of different parameters. Furthermore, mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, and smart watches are widely used. Mobile devices have different capabilities for the improvement of social good solutions. The accuracy and statistical analysis of these systems are essential for their acceptance.

Human–computer interaction and social networks help in the creation of diverse solutions and opportunities for different types of people. Different environments can use various technologies and architectures. Low-cost sensors (electroencephalography, electrocardiography, electromyography, etc.) can be used for the monitoring of different kinds of people,.

Sensorial systems promote the creation of medical solutions that support the preliminary diagnosis of various diseases. Furthermore, the Internet of Things, smart cities, distributed sensing, and fog computing are representative examples of new information and communication technologies (ICT) paradigms that aim to describe a dynamic and globally cooperative infrastructure built upon objects’ intelligence and self-configuring capabilities. These connected objects are finding their way into our pockets, vehicles, urban areas, and infrastructure.

The use of mobile devices is growing in different daily activities, and their use started in young people. Still, older adults are now using these types of devices. Technological tools are widely improving, and they include different sensors, which can acquire different physical and physiological data. The development of these systems is involved in the development of ICT technologies for well-being. Besides, e-Health and m-Health solutions may not act only in the treatment and monitoring stages of different diseases.

Moreover, this technology can have a preventive role, promoting healthy lifestyles and active coaching to avoid unhealthy habits. There are various solutions currently under development related to this field. Moreover, these solutions can improve our quality of life and be used in the design and development of novel technologies for social help. This is a multidisciplinary and extensive subject for public health and well-being. Moreover, Internet of Things applications provide a continuous stream of data collected in real-time. The data collected can be combined with machine learning methods to predict unexpected events in the context of a smart city. These cyber-physical systems are intelligent objects that can be the basis for developing enhanced technologies for social good.

In the GOODTECHS conference, we are hence interested in experiences with the design, implementation, deployment, operation, and evaluation of smart objects and technologies for social good. We are not considering only the so-called First World as the scenario for this evolution. We also refer to those areas where ICT is currently less widespread, hoping that it may represent a societal development opportunity rather than a source for further divide. The European Alliance endorses the event for innovation, a leading community-based organization devoted to the advancement of change in the field of ICT.

Dr. Ivan Miguel Serrano Pires
Guest Editor

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