scholarly journals Wearability and Usability Assessment of Cliff: An Automatized Zipper

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Mohamad Zairi Baharom ◽  
◽  
Frank Delbressine ◽  
Loe Feijs ◽  
Marina Toeters
Keyword(s):  
User Study ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Assistive Technologies ◽  
Prototype System ◽  
Usability Assessment

Being independent to dress or undress is important for everybody. However, (un)zipping to (un)dress is a task that is difficult for elders, especially when the zipper is in a hard-to-reach location. This paper presents the invention of Cliff: an automatized zipper and a user study performed to evaluate the wearability and how useful it is to the elderly. Results of the user study show that the elderly rated Cliff as wearable, useful, and makes the zipping and unzipping task much easier for them. This prototype system and the feedback received from the elderly contribute to the design of fashionable automated assistive technologies.

scholarly journals Increasing Usability of Homecare Applications for Older Adults: A Case Study

Designs ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christos Panagopoulos ◽  
Andreas Menychtas ◽  
Panayiotis Tsanakas ◽  
Ilias Maglogiannis
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Response ◽  
Independent Living ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Usability Assessment ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
System Usability Scale ◽  
System Usability ◽  
Practical Guidelines ◽  
Depth Interviews

As the world’s population is ageing, the field dealing with technology adoption by seniors has made headway in the scientific community. Recent technological advances have enabled the development of intelligent homecare systems that support seniors’ independent living and allow monitoring of their health status. However, despite the amount of research to understand the requirements of systems designed for the elderly, there are still unresolved usability issues that often prevent seniors from enjoying the benefits that modern ICT technologies may offer. This work presents a usability assessment of “HeartAround”, an integrated homecare solution incorporating communication functionalities, as well as health monitoring and emergency response features. An assessment with the system usability scale (SUS) method, along with in-depth interviews and qualitative analysis, has provided valuable insights for designing homecare systems for seniors, and validated some effective practical guidelines.

scholarly journals Improving the Usability of Organizational Data Systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 21
Author(s):  
Chung-Yi Hou ◽  
Matthew S. Mayernik
Keyword(s):  
User Interfaces ◽  
User Study ◽  
Data Repository ◽  
Data Systems ◽  
User Interactions ◽  
Data Repositories ◽  
Web Interfaces ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Usability Assessment ◽  
Assessment Techniques

For research data repositories, web interfaces are usually the primary, if not the only, method that data users have to interact with repository systems. Data users often search, discover, understand, access, and sometimes use data directly through repository web interfaces. Given that sub-par user interfaces can reduce the ability of users to locate, obtain, and use data, it is important to consider how repositories’ web interfaces can be evaluated and improved in order to ensure useful and successful user interactions. This paper discusses how usability assessment techniques are being applied to improve the functioning of data repository interfaces at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). At NCAR, a new suite of data system tools is being developed and collectively called the NCAR Digital Asset Services Hub (DASH). Usability evaluation techniques have been used throughout the NCAR DASH design and implementation cycles in order to ensure that the systems work well together for the intended user base. By applying user study, paper prototype, competitive analysis, journey mapping, and heuristic evaluation, the NCAR DASH Search and Repository experiences provide examples for how data systems can benefit from usability principles and techniques. Integrating usability principles and techniques into repository system design and implementation workflows helps to optimize the systems’ overall user experience.

Digital cities of the future: Extending @home assistive technologies for the elderly and the disabled

2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 176-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charalampos Doukas ◽  
Vangelis Metsis ◽  
Eric Becker ◽  
Zhengyi Le ◽  
Fillia Makedon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
The Elderly ◽  
Assistive Technologies ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Disabled

Usability assessment of telecommunication-based daily living services for the elderly

2005 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Röning ◽  
I. Alakärppä ◽  
S. Väyrynen ◽  
J. Watzke
Keyword(s):  
Daily Living ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Usability Assessment

scholarly journals Imagining and tinkering with assistive robotics in care for the disabled

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 128-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niels Christian Mossfeldt Nickelsen
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Delivery ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Assistive Technologies ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Assistive Robotics ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
Welfare Technology

Abstract The media and political-managerial levels focus on the opportunities to re-perform the Scandinavian welfare states through digitization. Especially in Denmark, this trend is prominent. Welfare technology is a Scandinavian notion used to point at assistive technologies intending to support the elderly, the disabled and care providers. Feeding assistive robotics (FAR) is a welfare technology relevant to citizens with no or low function in their arms. Despite national dissemination strategies, it proves difficult to recruit suitable users. There have been many promises for the potential of assistive robotics including more cost-efficient healthcare delivery, engaged patients and connected care providers. However, the realities of enacting assistive robotics, whether as patients or care providers, can be complicated in ways often unanticipated by government agencies and technology developers. This study discusses governmental agencies’ and technology developers’ visions with regard to what robotics may do and argues that these visions intertwine with affected stakeholders’ organizing of theirworlds. On this founding, the article discusses the resulting tinkering during implementation. The study exemplifies and demonstrates how ethnography can be used as an important method in Human Robot Interaction (HRI) research. The Actor Network Theory idea of ‘follow the actor’ inspired the study that took place as multi-sited ethnography at different locations in Denmark and Sweden. Based on desk research, observation of meals and interviews the study examines sociotechnical imaginaries and their practical and ethical implications.Human and FAR interaction demands engagement, sustained patience and understanding of the citizen’s particular body, identity and situation. The article contributes to the HRI literature by providing detailed empirical analysis based on an ethnographic studywhere political strategies, technology developers’ assumptions and affected stakeholders’ everyday hassles are in focus at the same time.

Development of an Exercise Support System for the Elderly Which Uses a Small Humanoid Robot

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 939-948 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masataka Hirano ◽  
◽  
Naohiko Hanajima ◽  
Keigo Urita ◽  
Satoru Muto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Support System ◽  
Humanoid Robot ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Elderly Subjects ◽  
Motion Sensor ◽  
Prototype System ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Pose Detection ◽  
Young Subjects

The increasing number of senior citizens who need long-term care or rehabilitation has become a serious issue, especially considering the increasing aging population and declining birthrate. To maintain one’s motor functions and improve one’s muscle strength or range of motion, it is important to continue exercising constantly. We have developed a prototype exercise support system that aim to promote and evaluate exercise of users. This system includes a small humanoid robot presenting the exercises, amotion sensor, a touch panel, a laptop PC to control other devices, and other parts. We propose a method of detecting the specific poses of the users from the skeleton data of the motion sensor. We use a questionnaire to evaluate the system’s effect on the promotion of exercise and the users’ understanding of the movements of the robot, and we use a motion sensor to evaluate motion recognition of the users during the exercises. The system is tested by young people and also elderly staying in a geriatric health service facility. The questionnaire results indicate that the elderly subjects react positively to the exercises. The pose detection method shows a correct answer rate of 94% for the young subjects and 87% for the elderly subjects. It is confirmed that the prototype system can be put into practice use.

scholarly journals WEB-BASED PERSONAL DIGITAL PHOTO COLLECTIONS: MULTIMODAL RETRIEVAL

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-57
Author(s):  
Nor Azman Ismail ◽  
Ann O'Brien
Keyword(s):  
User Study ◽  
Multimodal Interaction ◽  
Prototype System ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Digital Photo ◽  
Photo Collections ◽  
It Architecture ◽  
Multimodal Retrieval ◽  
Data Files ◽  
Retrieval Engine

When personal photo collections get large retrieval of specific photos or sets of photos becomes difficult mainly due to the fairly primitive means by which they are organised. Commercial photo handling systems help but often have only elementary searching features. In this paper, we describe an interactive web-based photo retrieval system that enables personal digital photo users to accomplish photo browsing by using multimodal interaction. This system not only enables users to use mouse click input modalities but also speech input modality to browse their personal digital photos in the World Wide Web (WWW) environment. The prototype system and it architecture utilise web technology which was built using web programming scripting (JavaScript, XHTML, ASP, XML based mark-up language) and image database in order to achieve its objective. All prototype programs and data files including the user’s photo repository, profiles, dialogues, grammars, prompt, and retrieval engine are stored and located in the web server. Our approach also consists of human-computer speech dialogue based on photo browsing of image content by four main categories (Who? What? When? and Where?). Our user study with 20 digital photo users showed that the participants reacted positively to their experience with the system interactions.

scholarly journals A Systematic Literature Review of the Design Approach and Usability Evaluation of the Pain Management Mobile Applications

Symmetry ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Umm Shah ◽  
Thiam Chiew
Keyword(s):  
Pain Management ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Systematic Literature Review ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Empirical Evaluation ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Design Approach ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Usability Assessment

The increasing popularity of mHealth is a promising opportunity for pain self-management. Mobile apps can be easily developed, but understanding the design and usability will result in apps that can retain more users. This research aims at identifying, analyzing, and synthesizing the current state-of-the-art of: (a) the design approach and (b) usability assessment of pain management mobile applications. A systematic literature review was conducted on 27 studies retrieved from Medline, PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Scopus. The review revealed that most of the apps were for chronic pain. No app was specifically for men or for the elderly. None of the studies involved expert-based system inspection methods. Only one study used two different approaches of automated and empirical evaluation. We mapped the identified usability issues to ISO 9241-11 and ISO/IEC 25010, and aggregated the recommendations for improvement. Moreover, we also identified certain issues that are solely concerned with the patient’s behavior. We organized the issues into taxonomies of design considerations for building usable pain self-management mobile applications. As pain is prevalent among the elderly, pain management will be much needed while moving toward an aging society. However, we found that the involvement of the elderly in the development of pain management mobile apps is very minimal, which may affect the utility and usability of the apps.

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