This paper reports on the user requirements analysis, design and evaluation of smart home solutions for people with dementia. In order to be appropriate for people with dementia, smart home technologies should keep interaction with users to a minimum. In the work presented in this paper, discussions with carers, as well as a more formal user-survey, provided a good understanding of the issues that are faced by this group, and useful indications of potential design solutions. This preliminary survey work led to a design approach that used carer emulation, familiarity of appearance, incorporation of verbal prompts and reminders, and careful user-monitoring, to achieve effective devices. This design approach is illustrated through several examples of specific designs. Evaluations of stand-alone systems were carried out prior to smart home installation, and illustrated the complex interface that exists between assistive technology and people with dementia.
This paper addresses the design of assistive technology that specifically aims to support an improvement in the quality of life of people with dementia. Starting from interviews with users, a grounded theory approach was used to compile a wish list of issues important for maintaining quality of life. A large list of potential technologies that could address these issues was generated, and four were selected for initial development: a music player, a device to reduce social isolation, a conversation prompter, and a device to support sequences of tasks. The music player and social isolation device are described in this paper in detail. A user-led approach to their design was followed, including approaches to finding control interfaces that were intuitive for people with dementia. The paper concludes with a list of recommendations for designers looking to develop equipment of this kind.
Much assistive technology for people with dementia is primarily designed to support security and safety. This paper describes design work carried out for a project called INDEPENDENT which specifically aimed at designing technology to support quality of life. The project involved academic engineers, social scientists and architects, together with representatives of user groups and a manufacturer. The design work was based on a comprehensive user survey in which people with dementia themselves highlighted the factors which affected their quality of life. This data was analysed through a series of multidisciplinary workshops involving the whole project consortium. The workshops consolidated the data into a wish-list of 11 areas crucial to quality of life that could then be addressed by new designs. Of the total of 69 designs that were considered, 4 were selected for initial design work within the project; a simple music player, a window-on-the-world device for streaming remote images into people's homes and between homes, a conversation prompter, and a device to support sequences of activities. The paper describes progress with these devices, highlighting the iterative and user-led design methodology used.
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