A Framework of Smart-Home Service for Elderly’s Biophilic Experience

Abstract

Smart-home technology and related services can reinforce a person’s experiential nature, promoting sustainable living among the elderly. It is crucial in the housing industry that support “Aging in Place”, contributing to the contact, control, and simulation of nature at home as well as the creation of a high-quality living space instead of mechanical achievement. Further, biophilic experience, the strengthening of inherent human propensity to nature for optimal health and well-being, supports the elderly’s physical, mental, and sociological health. However, despite the continuing emphasis on the benefits of residential nature experiences for the elderly, the application of smart-home technology and services is insufficient. This study presents a theoretical basis for combining biophilia and smart-home technology, providing a framework for smart-home services to ensure elderly residents can have biophilic experiences. In this study, smart-home components and related studies that can support the biophilic experience and the corresponding technology are analyzed. The results suggest the type and content of smart-home service for ensuring a biophilic experience, while also indicating the configuration of supportive input and output devices according to the service framework. Moreover, we recommend the interaction characteristics of smart-home devices from the perspective of residents, space, efficient service provision, and physical application. This paper broadens our understanding of the sustainable, residential-environment nature experience and informs the expansion of the aged-friendly smart-home industry, contributing to smart-home services trends and development.

Toward the Biophilic Residential Regeneration for the Green New Deal

“…Prior studies related to human responses to nature have provided convincing evidence in a wide range of fields in which interaction with nature is related to inducing healing and recovery, improved understanding of learning, and reduced social hostility and aggression [13,17,[41][42][43]. Recently, the architectural community has discussed planning and technical measures to maximize the experience with nature to build a healthy physical environment and a high-quality living environment through the effects of biophilia [44]. The third and last concept is the "collaboration with natural ecosystem", which is to recognize that all-natural resources are finite and pursue a cooperative relationship between humans and nature rather than a one-sided collection of resources.…”

“…The greening of community space for enhancing experience with nature enhances access to nature and affects social friendship and integration, responding to social vulnerabilities, such as reduced crime rates, increased consideration, and altruistic behavior. In particular, the link between biophilic design and smart-home technology can maximize direct contact with natural factors, such as daylight, wind, and climate change, and if it actively utilizes technologies that promote experience with nature inside [44], it can ease physical space constraints and improve the living environment and the quality of health and welfare of residents. The use of natural materials such as trees and stones in every space; the use of colors and patterns to symbolize nature [13,97] Aqua Tower, Chicago, USA…”

“…In addition, it is necessary to induce a visual or tactile connection with the indirect nature by utilizing the colors and materials of interior elements such as walls, ceilings, and floors. With the recent development of immersion technology, it is possible to simulate natural environments [ 44 ], and the construction of a natural immersive environment in a house using this innovation can be an original means to improve access to nature. The unit-scale biophilic strategy actively contributes to the improvement of residents’ health and well-being and helps reinforce the residents’ biophilia propensity to nature.…”

“…sky lounge" with immersive displays and audio, videos, and images of nature; support of real-time communication with friends and family[44,96,98] Undersea Project(Magic Leap)…”

A Preference-Driven Smart Home Service for the Elderly’s Biophilic Experience

“…First, through prior research and literature, we examine the residential environment for the elderly, smart homes, and the elderly’s perception of SHS and technology and discuss the characteristics and necessity of biophilic design experience. Second, we reorganized the SHS of the three biophilic experiences and related sensors and devices, focusing on our previous research [ 27 , 28 ]. In this study, we developed a survey instrument for biophilic experience-based SHS.…”