Social inclusion is one of the major challenges for the elderly living alone. An active social life is connected in many ways to both mental and physical well-being. As the online social networks are getting more common in peoples social lives, there is therefore a growing need for social applications that are designed for the elderly. In this paper we present design and implementation of the AMCOSOP system that enables the elderly to stay connected with their families, friends and safety network even though they are living by themselves. Consisting of a touchscreen user interface and web-based solutions, the AMCOSOP system was used in field trials in two countries for several months.
Elderly people with no or limited skills of using computers are in risk of social isolation as social life moves to the Internet. This paper describes the design process and implementation of a user interface and device for the elderly for a social networking application. The idea is that people with no previous experience on using computers are able to use the device immediately and that the device is not considered to be a computer. An iterative and user-centred design process is used to ensure that all the needs and views from the users are taken into account. The user interface and the device have been tested in long lasting field trials and the results are presented in this paper. Based on the results the implemented device seems to qualify the needs of elder users.
The number of elderly people is increasing rapidly both in absolute numbers and in relation to younger population. It is the benefit for both the elders and the communities that elderly people continue to live in their own homes as long as possible. Therefore technology should be used to help the elders in their homes. As loneliness and social isolation have negative impact on the health and happiness of the older population, ambient devices and social networking may be used to help the elderly connect with their friends and families. In this paper we will demonstrate our solution, the Amcosop system, which will help elders feel safe and keep connected with their nearest and dearest.
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