Balancing user control
Aino Vonge Corry, Gunnar Kramp, Stinne Aaløkke · 2007
elderly people experience problems when introduced to assisted living technologies in their homes, as many of these technologies are based on principles of automation and invisibility. This paper reports on field studies of assisted living technology in the homes of seven elderly people, the Eldertech study. Based on the fieldwork and issues related to palpable computing we argue that when designing for assisted living a balance must be found, between ambient technology and palpability. Palpable computing provides support for balancing between automation and user control and between visibility and invisibility of information technology systems. We have found these challenges very relevant for the domain of assisted living and in this paper we explore how the challenges can inform the work done in the Eldertech study.