Simon Himmel

Perceptions of Personal Privacy in Smart Home Technologies: Do User Assessments Vary Depending on the Research Method?

Nowadays all Western societies are confronted with the challenges resulting from demographic change, which are partially manageable by technical innovations, ranging from sophisticated single devices up to Ambient Assisted Living. However, exceeding the threshold to peoples homes evokes diverse privacy concerns. In this paper, aspects of personal privacy are exposed and validated by three different research methods: focus groups, questionnaire, and an experimental study. The results of the perceived relevance of privacy across the three methodologies showed a decrease of the attributed importance from the focus group to the hands-on experimental study and an increase of the variability of the data. In order to gain genuine exhaustive information about the users perceptions of aspects of new technologies it is therefore insufficient to rely on one single research method. Instead, a multi-method research approach is postulated.

Smart Home Medical Technologies: Users’ Requirements for Conditional Acceptance

Abstract One mega challenge for the next decades is the aging of populations in western societies. Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) Technologies provide solutions for these challenges of demographic change. Elderly people living independently in their homes can be monitored for health reasons with integrated information and communication technologies (ICT) to get help in case of emergencies. From the user-centered approach, acceptance of these solutions is crucial. In his work, we focus on the effects of 5 domestic spaces and 3 integrated ICT on acceptance and the influence of user factors. We consider two samples from 2010 (n = 100) and 2015 (n = 148). Results show that visual monitoring is accepted least, positioning best. The role of private and public rooms has a strong influence on acceptance. Also, the type of technology as well as the interaction of technology and room have a strong impact, whereas user factors play only a minor role for AAL acceptance.

Helpful but Spooky? Acceptance of AAL-systems Contrasting User Groups with Focus on Disabilities and Care Needs

Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) technologies present one approach facing the challenges of recent and rising care needs due to demographic changes in western societies. Beside the technological implementation, the focus on user acceptance of all stakeholders plays a major role for a successful rollout. As most research deals with age-related issues, this paper emphasizes especially on the sector of disabled persons. In a qualitative interview pre-study (n=9) and a validating questionnaire study (n=279) the perceived benefits and barriers of AAL technologies were contrasted in four user groups: healthy “not-experienced” people, disabled, their relatives, and professional care givers. Results indicate that disabled and care-needy people show a higher acceptance and intention to use an AAL system than “not-experienced” people or care givers and that the motives for use and non-use differ strongly with regard to user diversity as well. The results show the importance to integrate diverse user groups (age, disabilities) into the design and evaluation process of AAL technologies.

Older Users’ Wish List for Technology Attributes

Facing the increasing user diversity and broad diffusion of technology in work-related and private contexts, the sensible tailoring of technology functionalities, attributes, and interfaces - with reference to the requirements and needs of users - is a key prerequisite of a successful rollout and broad acceptance of technologies. However, user diversity and the specific using contexts of technologies have not been sufficiently researched yet. In this study, we examine the wish list regarding attributes for different technologies in a wide age range. Using qualitative and quantitative methodologies, we explored the different specifications for household and medical devices and assessed which attributes users expect for each of the two different technology types. Exploring user diversity, we analyzed effects of age, gender, and health status on the perception of technology requirements. Results show that not only user diversity but also the specific technology type present as critical factors in the definition of proper attributes of technology. The findings may be useful for human-centered product development.

Privacy, Data Security, and the Acceptance of AAL-Systems – A User-Specific Perspective

Rising care needs, higher proportions of older, diseased, or disabled people, and an increasing deficiency of qualified care staff due to demographic changes are major challenges in western societies. Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) technologies represent one approach to face these challenges. Besides technological developments and implementations, focusing on user acceptance (including diverse stakeholder perspectives) is important for a successful rollout. As the most previous studies focus on age-related issues, this paper emphasizes especially on people with care needs due to a disability. In particular the acceptance of an AAL system is investigated considering the trade-off between perceived benefits (e.g., increasing autonomy) and perceived barriers (e.g., invasion in privacy, to “abandon” data security). Using a quantitative online questionnaire, decisive use conditions are identified, and the trade-offs and AAL-acceptance are evaluated comparing four user groups: “healthy people” without experiences with disabilities, disabled people, family members, and professional care givers. Results indicate that experience with disabilities influence the acceptance and relevant use conditions of AAL systems as well as the trade-offs between benefits and barriers. The results demonstrate the relevance to include diverse user groups (age, diseases, disabilities) and their specific needs and wishes into the design and evaluation process of AAL technologies.

Evaluation of an integrated intermodal travel service

Combining heterogeneous mobility services during one single trip, intermodal traveling is hindered by barriers on different levels. Especially, by incorporating (electric) sharing services, e.g., car-or bikesharing, complex travel chains might occur. To provide flexible intermodal mobility to users, integration has to be realized in various areas: Beyond the provision of comprehensive travel information, it is possible to integrate even further on the business model level. Within a large field test of a comprehensive travel information system, called Mobility Broker, perceptions towards an integrated offering of heterogeneous mobility services are examined. Hereby, different services are not only integrated concerning travel information, but also in the area of distribution. Results indicate that the solution has the potential to deliver extensive flexibility for mobility users and to lower barriers towards alternative mobility modes. Nevertheless, transparent implementation is required and capacity issues could form an obstructive bottleneck. Furthermore, data security and privacy issues could be barriers for widespread acceptance of bundled tariffs.

Chances for Urban Electromobility : Field Test of Intermodal Travel System and Effect on Usage Intention

With growing cities, challenges of climate change, and ambitions for energy transition, innovations in urban mobility are inevitable. On the one hand, fossil-fueled vehicles are polluting the cities and could be substituted with electric cars. On the other hand, the sheer number of vehicles has to decrease and public transport needs to be enhanced. A possible solution addressing all challenges in one fully integrated concept is “Mobility Broker”, which combines electric car and bike sharing with public transport in one intermodal traveling system. However, adoption and changes in mobility behavior are crucial for implementing new concepts. In this research, a prototype evaluation by 10 participants using the system for 2 months is presented. The usability of the system as well as the change in attitudes and usage intention before and after the hands-on experience is analyzed. The overall evaluation for intermodal traveling was positive but usability and a reliable infrastructure are crucial factors for usage adoption.

The Youth of Today Designing the Smart City of Tomorrow

Sustainable energy supply, mobility concepts, a healthy city climate – the next generations will face vital urban challenges. The views of the citizens of tomorrow, today’s youth, are therefore especially important when designing concepts for future urban areas that incorporate those demands. We therefore explored young pupils’ attitude to these three research areas in an empirical approach. 21 students (17-24 years) participated in a workshop. First, they answered a questionnaire on their attitudes towards technology and urban environment. Afterwards, they were divided into focus groups in which they discussed and developed solutions to the three key challenges for future cities. Besides innovative ideas of how younger persons wish to live in urban environments, results reveal a rather uninformed and naive view on the complex situation. Overall, we conclude that urban challenges should be integrated into the school education to provide a deeper understanding of the complex interaction of energy, mobility and user requirements.

You Can(’t) Teach an Old Dog New Tricks: Analyzing the Learnability of Manufacturing Software Systems in Older Users

Modern manufacturing processes are based on complex computer-aided planning processes, which are provided by CAM (computer-aided manufacturing)-software systems. Due to increased functional capabilities of CAM software, the complexity of these systems and the demands on CAM users are rising. Facing the demographic change (cognitively aging users, retiring of experienced CAM experts who are succeeded by inexperienced users), not only general learnability issues but also user-specific requirements are becoming increasingly important. An online-survey focusing on the learnability of CAM-software, and existing learning environments and strategies in manufacturing practice was conducted (n = 76) and effects of age and CAM expertise were analyzed. Implications for CAM skill acquisition among users of different age and expertise groups were derived.

Caregivers' Perspectives on Ambient Assisted Living Technologies in Professional Care Contexts.

An increasing proportion of older people in need of care presents one of the major challenges within demographic change. The development of Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) technologies is one option to face the challenges of rising care needs. Beyond technical and economic aspects, the acceptance of diverse stakeholders plays a major role for a successful implementation and rollout of those technologies. In particular, it is questionable whether and to which extent the use of assisting technologies is accepted in professional care contexts, in particular with respect to gathering and storage of data. Thus, the current study aimed for an investigation of professional caregivers’ perspectives on the acceptance of AAL technologies in professional care contexts. In a scenario-based online questionnaire, n = 287 professional caregivers evaluated perceived benefits, barriers, and acceptance of AAL technologies. Also, they indicated which data can be gathered and which specific technologies should be used to gather data. Further, data access and data storage were also under study. The results showed a reserved and critical attitude of professional caregivers towards using AAL technologies in their everyday working life and allow to analyze trade-offs between permitted gathered data and specific requested technologies in depth.