Smart Spaces for Elderly
Improving Quality of life for the elderly through Designing ‘Smart Spaces’ (Research Project)
Overview
The aging population in India has necessitated establishing self-content and self-sufficient communities for the elderly. In this project, lifestyle and activity analysis of the elderly has been carried out. Based on the results of activity analysis, areas that can benefit from the use of technology have been identified. Using technology such as the “Internet of Things” a design concept of an elderly community is proposed. System architecture, GUI’s (Graphical User Interface), information architecture has been worked out for a community space. Safety, care, and all under perpetual communication comfort had been incorporated.
Aim
To design smart spaces to enhance more interaction between the elderly and create a new experience of life by making those spaces technology-enabled and smart, using the Internet of Things (IoT).
My Role
UX Researcher
Qualitative Research, Contextual Interviews, Task creation, Modeling, Usability testing, Finding and analysis
Project duration: 6 Months
The problem
Old people often have limited regenerative abilities and are more prone to disease, syndromes, and sickness than younger adults. For the elderly, basic survival is the most important thing in their life. The Elderly are more sensitive in nature, and they became week and dependent as they grow old. Because of which the elderly requires special attention.
To perform basic survival tasks elderly need physical energy. But as they grow old because of the physical changes their bones get weaker, they start suffering from other health problems. They lose their control of physical tasks and activities which leads to dependencies.
Background Research
Field Study
The field study was carried out in various places to identify the environment in which the elderly like to spend time or they spend most of their time. It also helped to understand the behavior of the elderly. The field study showed that the elderly not only like to sit and chit chat, but they also love spending their time playing games, intellectual talks, theater activities, etc.
Implications for the outdoor environment can have a major impact on health-related behavior in a long-term care setting. Having access to nature and the outdoor is widely considered to be therapeutic for elderly residents in the long term. Different spaces have different connections. For example:
1. Indoor-outdoor connection- How well does the outdoor area connect with the common indoor area and circulation routes.
2. Contact with the world beyond the facility- Able to view o-site features such as landscape areas, roads or human activities.
3. Safety and security- Are the outdoor safe? Design to minimize the risk of falling.
4. Comfort and accessibility- Does the area comfortably supports physical needs?
5. Place for activities- Does the area and safe, comfortable, inviting opportunities for walking or other activities? etc.
Identified Issues with existing places
Elderly phase issues in existing very common spaces like gardens, lawns, community centers, etc. Those spaces were not designed according to elderly needs. The most common issues were:
1. Places were far away from home
2. Not provided enough facilities
3. Improper sitting arrangements
4. Special attention was not given
5. No medical facilities provided
To design a community space specifically for the elderly some spaces were selected to combine their concepts and adapt a new space. For example, playgrounds, high street benches, community halls, etc.
Understanding the user
To understand user’s nature, behavior, and difficulties, unstructured interviews were carried out on 25 elderly users (14 male and 12 female) including ages between 60 to 86. Questions were asked on the basis of the following:
Time - Where they spend most of their time? or where they want to spend their time?
Likes and dislikes - what they like and dislike? and why?
Dependencies - How they are dependent on other people? what help do they ask for?
Family behavior - How their family behaves with them?
Feeling - How they feel? their problems? etc.
Technology - How much technology aware they are? What kind of latest technology they know & preference.
Persona Creation
Identified problems
The Elderly are more sensitive in nature, and they became week and dependent as they grow old. Because of which the elderly require more attention and care than young people. For the elderly, basic survival is the most important thing in their life. Basic survival needs are bathing, grooming, dressing, eating, toileting, health care, etc.
To perform basic survival tasks elderly need physical energy. But as they grow old because of the physical changes, their bones get weak and they start suffering from other health problems. They lose control of physical tasks and activities which leads to dependencies. Difficulty in performing basic tasks increases cognitive load which causes loneliness, fear, and boredom. This leads reduction in quality of life.
Elderly needs
Security needs
Once physical survival is safeguarded the next run up the ladder is security. This is an issue that many adult children of aging parents worry about and often the sources of conflict between the generations. The elderly, especially those who feel vulnerable due to injury or illness, desire a sense of security.
Social needs
Being connected socially is very important for all, but for the elderly, it becomes a key quality of life concern. Due to health issues or lack of ability to get out, the aging often finds their opportunities shrinking and they end up spending alone time often. They need opportunities to get involved socially with family, friends, and the community.
Self-Esteem needs
Being elderly does not mean it’s the end of life. They want recognition and appreciation for their ideas, abilities, and talents. Aging often loses their sense of worth when illness, disability, and frailty limit them. The loss of self-worth is devastating to elderly well-being and can be linked to depression and increase mortality.
Identified Factors to Improve Elderly life
Few factors were listed on the basis of observations and research, that can help to improve the lives of elderly people. Important factors were analyzed to identify elderly needs and fulfill all the requirements in the community space. Factors like entertainment and activities were also included to get the bigger picture. Not only the type but the communication that will happen in that space. The information on ideal space size specifications was also figured out to utilize it easily from the elderly’s perspective. The different facilities like libraries, community centers, and technology are included to increase more and more interaction between the elderly and also to help in emergency situations. Basically, these factors were imagined to help to achieve the quality of life of the elderly.
Concept of space design using IoT
Many architectural projects are into making a special society for the elderly community. Even the government is planning the same for the elderly. Based on that concept was made and a community space design idea was proposed. This would help to understand how that space should be utilized for the elderly and also by digitalizing that space with the use of the Internet of things to enhance more experience.
Space design specifications:
To design a new space specifically for the elderly, understanding their needs and requirements are the most important things. Providing their basic needs and requirements would help improve their quality of life.
1. Place should be easily available to elderly
2. It should be fulfilled with the activities. (eg. Games, puzzles, group activities)
3. It should facilitate the user and create a new experience in life.
4. It should have a communication facility where the elderly can communicate with their family and friends.
Simulation and Modeling
Identified Use Cases
The Internet of Things represents an evolution in which objects are capable of interacting with other objects. Incorporating the internet (technology) into physical infrastructure by connecting space with the use of technology to keep a continuous eye on elderly for certain activities with interfering into their personal matters.
Use case diagram shows the role of each character in that space that is connected to the internet.
Primary use cases:
1. Locate a person
2. Find the nearest person
3. Set reminders
4. Emergency alerts
5. Send Information
Concept and System diagram
Diagram gives an idea about how the system would work in space. Here, the system is placed in that space, the system as in various devices is connected to each other to exchange information. Basically, it is for the elderly to fulfill their needs, requirements, activities, etc. It also connects users to their family and friends through various devices to send the required information.
User Scenario
The use of technology (IoT) will be used in the space is explained.
Task flows (How will it work?)
Experiment Setup and User Testing
A personal device that would help users to interact with other than mobile devices. But before discarding the original sizes, the issues and problems faced by the elderly with screens were identified.
Elderly and screen issues:
The Elderly had problems with the existing GUI.
Few studies talked about usability and elderly problems.
Hypothesis:
The elderly require larger size buttons and a lesser number of elements on GUI.
Experiment:
An experiment was carried out on 20 elderly participants to test the screen size, font size, font type, text color, background, etc. The main focus was on the following points.
(a) Effect of target size and spacing on touch screen pointing performance
(b) Effect of age on pointing and reading performance
(c) Feedback of touch screens.
GUI guidelines based on experiment
Prototype Demonstration
The use of technology (IoT) will be used in the space is explained.
Research Findings
The IoT presents numerous benefits to the elderly and has the potential to change the way that the elderly interact with technology in fundamental ways. In the future, the Internet of Things is likely to meld the virtual and physical worlds together that are currently difficult to comprehend. From a security and privacy perspective, the predicted pervasive introduction of sensors and devices poses particular challenges. As physical objects in our everyday lives increasingly detect and share observations about us, users will likely continue to want privacy.
Future work includes integrating smart sensors with space and smart individual device platforms to support existing frameworks. A wider set of setups and development platforms are required. GUI part of the system needs to be developed. Need to develop devices for communications, computation, storage, sensing, and display to exchange information in exactly the same representation. The connection between two nearby communities can be established and has to be worked upon. The components of a system can be dynamically assembled based on the needs of cognitive problems rather than fixed by the boundaries of a box.