Craig Whittet

TeleWEAR: engaging users and suppliers of telecare in product design

Telecare is the remote or enhanced delivery of care services to people in their own home or community setting using ICT. Telecare is expected to play an important role in addressing some of the challenges of an ageing population. However, products are often unsatisfactory and a major contributing factor is that suppliers do not typically involve users in design processes. This paper describes a participatory design project involving 25 designers, 6 service users, 11 potential future service users and 2 telecare suppliers: six concept designs were created for a wearable alarm button in two half-day workshops. Our main contribution is to present the design features considered most important to users, which can be incorporated into future product designs and inform other wearable alarm systems for older people. As a result of the project, a leading supplier has invited users to participate in their research and development activities for the first time.

A practical review of energy saving technology for ageing populations

Fuel poverty is a critical issue for a globally ageing population. Longer heating/cooling requirements combine with declining incomes to create a problem in need of urgent attention. One solution is to deploy technology to help elderly users feel informed about their energy use, and empowered to take steps to make it more cost effective and efficient. This study subjects a broad cross section of energy monitoring and home automation products to a formal ergonomic analysis. A high level task analysis was used to guide a product walk through, and a toolkit approach was used thereafter to drive out further insights. The findings reveal a number of serious usability issues which prevent these products from successfully accessing an important target demographic and associated energy saving and fuel poverty outcomes. Design principles and examples are distilled from the research to enable practitioners to translate the underlying research into high quality design-engineering solutions.

Exploring the Potential of Home Energy Monitors for Transactive Energy Supply Arrangements

There has been considerable investment in micro energy generation from both domestic consumers and small-scale providers. However, current metering arrangements and home energy monitoring products are too basic to enable real-time billing and remuneration, limiting the effectiveness of this investment. This paper describes the exploration of home energy monitors as a technical enabler to unlock the local trading potential of the investment in micro energy generation, and the human factors involved in interacting with these products that might pose obstacles to successful uptake. First, a human factors analysis of eight home energy monitors was conducted, which identified a number of usability issues. Next, a range of design concepts were developed to address the key usability problems identified, incorporate the forward-looking facility for alternative energy supply models, and stimulate further investment in energy prosumption. This study contributes an understanding of the potential of home energy monitors for transactive energy supply arrangements.

BodyGuard: A Case Study of Telecare Product Innovation and Development

Telecare is personal and environmental sensors that support people to remain safe and independent in their own home for longer. Telecare plays an important role in addressing the challenges of an ageing population. However, many people do not wear the most common form provided, the community alarm, for reasons that include the way that it looks. In the UK, a contributing factor to this problem is that manufacturers cater to telecare service providers (e.g. local authorities) and as a result, service users are not involved in design processes. This paper describes a redesign of the community alarm by a leading manufacturer, involving participatory design activities with users and the wider public, and design internships. The main innovation of the new community alarm, called BodyGuard, is that it connects with the users smartphone to enable it to work outside the home. We report insights and lessons learned during the innovation process, within the context of social care reforms giving people more control and choice over the services that they receive.