Abstract:The Senior Living Lab (SLL) is a transdisciplinary research platform created by four Universities that aims at promoting ageing well at home through the co-creation of innovative products, services and practices with older adults. While most living labs for ageing well are focused on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), this social laboratory adopts a transdisciplinary approach, bringing together designers, economists, engineers and healthcare professionals to develop multiple forms of social innovation using participatory methods. The SLL is based on an ecological approach, connecting professionals and users in a cooperative network and involving all of the stakeholders concerned with ageing well, such as existing associations, business entities and policy-makers. Three main themes for the co-design of products and services were identified at the beginning of the SLL conception, each sustained by a major business partner: healthy nutrition to cope with frailty, improved autonomous mobility to foster independence and social communication to prevent isolation. This article shows the innovative transdisciplinary approach of the SLL and discusses the particular challenges that emerged during the first year of its creation, investigating the role of ICTs when designing products and services for older adults.
In this paper, we present the design process of a smart bracelet that aims at enhancing the life of elderly people. The bracelet acts as a personal assistant during the user's everyday life, monitoring the health status and alerting him or her about abnormal conditions, reminding medications and facilitating the everyday life in many outdoor and indoor activities.
Eyes on the road, hands on the wheel" is a crucial principle to be taken into account designing interactions for current in-vehicle interfaces. Gesture interaction is a promising modality that can be implemented following this principle in order to reduce driver distraction and increase safety. We present the results of a user elicitation for gestures performed on the surface of the steering wheel. We asked to 40 participants to elicit 6 gestures, for a total of 240 gestures. Based on the results of this experience, we derived a taxonomy of gestures performed on the steering wheel. The analysis of the results offers useful suggestions for the design of in-vehicle gestural interfaces based on this approach.
BackgroundObesity amongst children and adolescents is becoming a major health problem globally and mobile food records can play a crucial role in promoting healthy dietary habits.ObjectiveTo describe the methodology for the implementation of the e-Diary mobile food record, to assess its capability in promoting healthy eating habits, to evaluate the factors associated with its usage and engagement.MethodsThis is a descriptive study that compared the characteristics of participants engaged in the e-Diary, which was part of the PEGASO project in which an app to provide proactive health promotion was given to 365 students at 4 European sites enrolled during October to December 2016: England (UK), Scotland (UK), Lombardy (Italy), and Catalonia (Spain). The e-Diary tracked the users' dietary habits in terms of food groups, dietary indexes, and 6 dietary target behaviors relating to consumption of: fruit; vegetable; breakfast; sugar-sweetened beverages; fast-food; and snacks. The e-Diary provided also personalized suggestions for the next meal and gamification.ResultsThe e-Diary was used for 6 months by 357 adolescents (53.8% females). The study showed that females used the e-Diary much more than males (aOR 3.8, 95% CI 1.6–8.8). Participants aged 14 years were more engaged in the e-Diary than older age groups (aOR 5.1, 95% CI 1.4–18.8) as were those with a very good/excellent self-perceived health status compared to their peers with fair/poor health perception (aOR 4.2, 95% CI 1.3–13.3). Compared to the intervention sites, those living in Catalonia (aOR 13.2 95% CI 2.5–68.8) were more engaged. In terms of behavior change, a significant positive correlation between fruit (p < 0.0001) and vegetables (p = 0.0087) intake was observed in association with increased engagement in the e-Diary. Similarly, adolescents who used the app for more than 2 weeks had significantly higher odds of not skipping breakfast over the study period (aOR 2.5, 95% CI 1.0–6.3).ConclusionsThe users highly engaged with the e-Diary were associated with improved dietary behaviors: increased consumption of fruit and vegetables and reduced skipping of breakfast. Although the overall usage of the e-Diary was high during the first weeks, it declined thereafter. Future applications should foster user engagement, particularly targeting adolescents at high risk.Clinical Trial Registrationhttps://www.clinicaltrials.gov/, identifier: NCT02930148.
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