Current clinical longitudinal research on aging relies on data acquired during a relatively brief “episode” such as a telephone call, clinic or home visit; or indirectly via questionnaires and surveys about a discrete event such as a fall or faint, or a slowly evolving or subacute syndrome such as memory loss or depression. Inaccuracies potentially introduced by these methods, along with the overall inherent intra-individual temporal variability of data captured infrequently and intermittently, render such methods less than ideal. A way to improve this state of the art is to bring the locus of assessment into the home or community providing a means of recording continuously, in real-time, events as they occur and where they occur. Ideally this is done with a minimum of intrusion or “in the background” of daily activity. Recent advances in ubiquitous or ambient computing and sensor network methodologies along with other convergent technologies and methods such as the techniques of ecological momentary assessment, telemedicine and activity monitoring provide background for achieving these goals. The benefits of this primarily home-based approach to assessment range from significant increases in the efficiency of clinical trials, to enabling unprecedented ecologically valid research leading to improved estimates of functional cognition, activity and behavior. These new data and the discoveries they enable may ultimately provide the basis for developing more effective health promoting environments and care for seniors who become ill. This presentation will review the background supporting the evolution toward more continuous community and home-based assessment using ambient technologies. Examples of the promise of this approach will be presented as well as the challenges toward adoption of these methodologies on a wide scale within the research community.