Gig Searle

On some aspects of improving mobile applications for the elderly

Improving the quality of life of elderly people is an emerging issue within our information society for both research and development. This paper addresses some issues on the development of applications for mobile devices, which have been designed to enhance the quality of life of the growing number of elderly people, and how they can be made more acceptable to the target population. We summarize some relevant issues in order to devise a research methodology to cover more than just the technological and physical aspects of user interfacing but also psychological and sociological aspects. One aspect of achieving this aim is to confront designers and developers with those problems that the elderly face daily and which are not easily understood - especially by younger designers and developers. Finally, we present some issues on how to simulate certain physical constraints of elderly by using the AgeSim, which is a simulation suit. However, not only physical but also cognitive impairment cause problems amongst elderly and result in fear, anxiety and consequently in rejection. The main goal of this paper is to raise awareness amongst developers on which problems are to be taken into considerations during design and development of mobile applications for the elderly.

Investigating Usability Metrics for the Design and Development of Applications for the Elderly

Metrics-based benchmarks are crucial for measuring usability, particularly for special end user groups such as older adults. So far, usability metrics that are accessible and useful for software developers are still missing. Although usability standards are continually being developed and adapted to the rapid change in both software and computing hardware, the increasing diversity of elderly populations, both culturally and educationally, requires the development of a specific set of criteria. This paper studies two different aspects of usability for the elderly; passiveand activeinteraction. It explores the limitations of active interaction, its potential causes and results. The long term goal is the development of new methods to counteract potential negative bias with regard to passive interaction. More specifically, we are investigating achievable metrics for the evaluation of passive technology trustworthiness and usability while categorizing them according to applicability for usability testing.

Emotion Detection: Application of the Valence Arousal Space for Rapid Biological Usability Testing to Enhance Universal Access

Emotion is an important mental and physiological state, influencing cognition, perception, learning, communication, decision making, etc. It is considered as a definitive important aspect of user experience (UX), although at least well developed and most of all lacking experimental evidence. This paper deals with an application for emotion detection in usability testing of software. It describes the approach to utilize the valence arousal space for emotion modeling in a formal experiment. Our study revealed correlations between low performance and negative emotional states. Reliable emotion detection in usability tests will help to prevent negative emotions and attitudes in the final products. This can be a great advantage to enhance Universal Access.

Some aspects of the development of low-cost augmented reality learning environments as examples for future interfaces in technology enhanced learning

Augmented Reality (AR) applications are becoming increasingly available for everyday applications. In this paper, we concentrate on how to design and develop applications for educational purposes with the use of the ARToolkit and present an example from the area of human medicine. Since good Usability is essential, especially for non-expert end users, including both children and the elderly, we put particular emphasis on how to ensure good Usability. For both groups of end users, this technology has high potential and can be of great benefit. Within a small scale usability study amongst children, we could gain first experiences in their interaction with such applications. An essential factor is the notion of play, which could be beneficial to transport difficult learning material. On the basis of the gained insight, we provide an outlook for further work and we conclude that elderly could also benefit from this technology.

From extreme programming and usability engineering to extreme usability in software engineering education (XP+UE /spl rarr/ XU)

The success of extreme programming (XP) is based, among other things, on an optimal communication in teams of 6-12 persons, simplicity, frequent releases and a reaction to changing demands. Most of all, the customer is integrated into the development process, with constant feedback. This is very similar to usability engineering (UE) which follows a spiral four phase procedure model (analysis, draft, development, test) and a three step (paper mock-up, prototype, final product) production model. In comparison, these phases are extremely shortened in XP; also the ideal team size in UE user-centered development is 4-6 people, including the end-user. The two development approaches have different goals but, at the same time, employ similar methods to achieve them. It seems obvious that there must be synergy in combining them. The authors present ideas in how to combine them in an even more powerful development method called extreme usability (XU). The most important issue of this paper is that the authors have embedded their ideas into software engineering education.

Informatics as semiotics engineering: lessons learned from design, development and evaluation of ambient assisted living applications for elderly people

Assisted Living Systems with Ambient Intelligence technology raise new challenges to system and software engineering. The development of Assisted Living applications requires domain-oriented interdisciplinary research - it is essential to know both the domain and the context. It is also important that context-descriptive prototypes are: (1) an integrated description that describes system, work processes, context of use; and (2) a formal description. Because (1), designers, including end users, are provided with a means to investigate the system in the context of the envisioned work processes. Because (2), investigations into questions of formalization and automation, not only of the system, but also of the work processes, can be made explicitly and become subject for discussions and further elaboration. Adapted engineering approaches are required to cope with the specific characteristics of ambient intelligent systems. Elderly are the most demanding stakeholders for IT-development - even highly sophisticated systems will not be accepted when they do not address the real needs of the elderly and are not easily accessible and usable. Communication processes are essential in that respect. The evolution and, in particular, the spread of unambiguous symbols were an necessary postulate for the transfer of information, as for example in sign language, speech, writing, etc. In this paper, we report on our experiences in design, development and evaluation of computer applications in the area of ambient assisted living for elderly people, where, to our experiences, engineers highly underestimate the power of appropriate knowledge on semiotics and we demonstrate how we can emphasize universal access by thinking of informatics as semiotics engineering.

Perceived usefulness among elderly people: Experiences and lessons learned during the evaluation of a wrist device

In this paper, we present and discuss the evaluation of end user acceptance of a wrist device, designed to monitor vital signs and to detect adverse situations, such as falls, unconsciousness etc. and, if necessary, to alert emergency services to the wearers need. The goals of all concerned must be taken into account if the technological advances are to be of benefit to those for whom they are being designed. After the technical assessment was made, a further study of the end users views was aimed to show the acceptance levels of elderly end users to the idea of personal monitoring, its perceived usefulness in their every day lives, and their judgment of the design. This was made in the form of a questionnaire divided into five main areas: usefulness, attractiveness, usability, comfort and acceptance, and each end user was interviewed regarding their goals. Each of the interviewees regarded their own continuing independence as a primary goal; however their views as to the possibility of achieving this goal by the use of advanced technology differed. This work was completed as part of the EMERGE project, aimed at the support of elderly people in everyday life using innovative monitoring and assistance systems, with the use of ambient and unobtrusive sensors in order to increase their safety, thereby promoting a longer period of independence, a step made necessary by the demographic increase in the elderly population in Europe.

An Answer to “Who Needs a Stylus?” on Handwriting Recognition on Mobile Devices

”Who needs a stylus?” asked the late Steve Jobs during his introduction of the iPhone. Interestingly, just at this time, Apple had made a patent application in handwriting and input recognition via pen, and Google and Nokia followed. So, “who needs a stylus then?” According to our experience in projects with mobile devices in the “real-world” we noticed that handwriting is still an issue, e.g. in the medical domain. Medical professionals are very accustomed to use a pen, whereas touch devices are rather used by non-medical professionals and definitely preferred by elderly people. During our projects on mobile devices, we noticed that both handwriting and touch has certain advantages and disadvantages, but that both are of equal importance. So to concretely answer “Who needs a stylus?” we can answer: Medical professionals for example. And this is definitely a large group of users.