The Alterperimentale transfer initiative of the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg and the KHSB Berlin, as well as the PROWOB project, visited the AAL Laboratory in Görlitz on October 21, 2025. The meeting served as a forum for exchange in the field of age-appropriate technical innovations and participatory research.
![[Translate to Englisch:] Person sitzt auf Badewannenlift](/fileadmin/_processed_/8/5/csm_IMG_20251021_153131604_HDR_5ce4b69946.jpg)
![[Translate to English:] Person sitting on mobile bathtub lift](/fileadmin/_processed_/d/d/csm_IMG_20251021_153117645_HDR_01e87906fd.jpg "[Photo: Katharina Schneider (KHSB)")
The AAL-Laboratory is a close partner of the Alterperimentale's Görlitz practical research center, which is currently under construction and will use participatory methods to investigate the needs and interests of older people in the context of technology and digitization. The aim of this collaboration is to develop practical offerings that improve the quality of life of older people and strengthen their participation in the digital society.
Under the direction of Maria Fabisch, the AAL Laboratory is currently supporting the ProWob project at the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg with its expertise on the use of assistive technologies in the home environment. The PROWOB project focuses on the development and implementation of training courses for housing consultants to qualify them in matters of technical housing adaptation and the use of digital assistance systems. In this way, the cooperation contributes to transferring knowledge from research into practical counseling for older people.
During the visit, the guests from Cottbus and Berlin gained an insight into the technical equipment and ongoing research activities of the AAL Laboratory. The focus was on questions concerning the potential of technology for older people in their own homes and how older people can be actively involved in development processes – an approach that is central to both the PROWOB project and the work of Alterperimentale.
The visit provided an opportunity to explore synergies between the projects, particularly with regard to establishing the Görlitz practical research center as a hub for participatory technology research.
The visit to the AAL Laboratory marked another step toward a networked research and practical landscape in Lusatia that pursues innovative, people-centered approaches to aging well in a digital world.
