Feeling old could be defined as realizing that we are not able to do what we were able to do before, in the same way. We may realize this physically (e.g. joint problems when running) or socially (e.g. problems understanding younger people’s slang). For the latter, and taking the case of teenagers, it is even important to have this distinction, as they need this difference to find their identity. Thus, in this post I will be focusing only on how someone grows old physically and how an apartment may be designed to support this.
Designing for the elderly is designing for a very heterogeneous group of people. Some like to cook, to have their house clean. Others don’t care that much and have more interest in keeping in shape and being outdoors. Some are very family-oriented and want to keep a highly active social life. In fact, all of us will hopefully grow old, so designing for the elderly is, in the end, designing for everyone. Thus, multiple needs should be covered and multiple options should be available. But none of these should be forced, while simplicity of use should be kept at all times.
Some other considerations to take into account when we design to cover needs related to impairments are those related to the people affected indirectly by them. If we put a loud beep as an indicator, would that be upsetting for bystanders? Even more importantly, how do our solutions affect the people that spend long and quality time with the person impaired? When exploring the needs, we should cater our solutions to also meet the needs of family, therapists, etc. as far as they are concerned with our user.
Text as indicator for interaction should try to be avoid, as well as acronyms. This is because, especially in the case of the latter, understanding involves memory skills. The more complicated the instructions are, the more probable is that a person developing memory loss will have problems recalling how to use the artifact. If possible, pictures are usually preferable. The best option may be to have both text and picture, for memory training and also to accommodate different kinds of users. Allowing users to customize these pictures can be a better solution. Maybe one picture triggers one memory till one point, where another picture will do the trick faster or better. Or maybe we just get tired of one and like to change from time to time. Feeling in a wintery mood? Make your apartment look more Christmasy!
The customization of the apartment may be performed by the one living there or by close people (again, family, therapists, etc.). The addition of profiles to the system would allow to select a set of possible actions and changes for different users of the system. One issue I have not been able to solve in a satisfactory way is what should be included in each set. At the wheelchair trial session, we saw that we overworry about safety sometimes and users may want to have less safety precautions. My concern in the case of cognitive impairments is that the person is suddenly not able anymore to clearly discern which he/she is able to do and which she/he is not. In this case, another user should have more permissions in the system to include safety options (rejected by the person with the impairment). Is this ethical? How do we know what is best for another person? Where is the line drawn? I am afraid I have not a good answer for these questions.
Several ways to have notes on things that need to be remembered should be spread across the apartment: a screen on fridge door, to immediately write down what needs to be bought. With a touchable interface, so only pointing with one finger is needed (in case of lost of fine motor skills). Something similar to have reminders for medicines, in a calendar for family birthdays, doctor appointments, etc. Other data should be possible to add, e.g. for a doctor appointment what do I need to bring, (maybe X-ray results?), who is coming with me, how do I get there? Can I check if that person is free to give me a lift? Having everything in one place will more likely prevent me from forgetting to take care of all the details. As to delay potential dementia, gamification of house chores, etc. could help to keep memory active and motivate the user to do it.
Memory loss will make a person more prone to forgetting to turn off the kitchen stove, for example. Smoke detectors are something we have in every house. But what if this person has also a hearing impairment? A nontraditional solution could be to have the floor slightly vibrate, so that anyone anywhere in the house can perceive it. Anywhere? And if you are sleeping, how can we wake you up? Having the bed vibrating? What happens if you are in the shower? I have yet no answer for this either.
Anything that needs to be pushed in the house should not involve being strong. Aids for the soap, as seen in some clinics (like in the one in the picture) are an inspiration for this. Maybe we could use a similar idea for doors? Some doors may need to be heavy (do they?), due to fire prevention, but that doesn’t mean we need to do all the effort to push them. What about using the same sensor/button combination to open doors at campus? Sometimes we may see this button as for “lazy” people but… is using the knob and pulling such a workout? Should it be?
Another need I have noticed in the early and, I would say, in anyone, is the need of having warm floors in winter. Heated floors should be part of the ideal apartment. As with any other feature of the apartment, customization is key (only I know how hot I want the floor) and it would be even better if it included recommendations (“the optimal temperature, with your medical history, is 25 ºC”).
These recommendations can be based on the data collected by monitoring the vital constants of the user. In Madrid (and probably in lots of other places) there is a social service, which consists of sending assistance when the user presses a button contained in a medallion that can be easily carried in a chain around the neck. This medallion could read vital constants and sends them to nurse when button is pressed, so that more information about the problem is known as soon as possible. The medallion could also beep if constants reach a dangerous level (low blood pressure, insulin levels, etc.)
As mentioned at the beginning of the post, there are lots of people who like to keep their house dust-clean. The appearance of visual impairments may decrease the ability of finding dusty spots. To aid in this, dust sensors can be included and “dusty” zones may be shown in a small map of the apartment.
Some other improvements may be made for the social needs. For instance, having slide shows photo frames, maybe one for each family member, so that pictures of beloved ones are displayed around the house. What about adding videos? Sound can be turn on/off, and it is important to remember that, for some people, these kinds of sounds keep them company.
Non-excluding Design 