User Requirements
The project has been working together with older users and users with sensory impairments to understand how to design good reminder system technologies for the home.
A questionnaire was conducted [AAATE PDF and CHI Reminders PDF] in 2010 exploring what people forget, why they forget, and existing tools and strategies they use to remember. We also explored the types of reminders people want, how they would want them delivered (sight sound, touch and smell), and the devices around the home people would prefer to receive them to. We surveyed 378 adults from all age groups online (N=206) and by post (N= 172). The main categories of reminders people want are: Home security (lock the door), Medication/care (take your pills), Appointments (you have the doctors at 2pm), Chores (water the plants today) and Objects/going out (remember your bus pass). Regarding how people want these reminders delivered to them, the wide spread of preferences that we found illustrates the importance of adapting reminder solutions to individuals and providing multiple ways to receive reminders for the home.
Focus groups were also conducted with the aim of including more people with sensory impairments and exposing them to the different types of electronic reminders currently available [INCLUDE PDF and CHI Reminders PDF]. Again people highlighted that the way they receive the reminders would depend on the reminder itself, their impairments, where they were in the house, and the devices they have available to them in the home. Importantly, people with hearing impairments will wanted to receive auditory reminders when appropriate - but these reminders would need to be designed with the impairment (and specific hearing aid) in mind.
Home Tours [INCLUDE PDF and CHI Reminders PDF] - a guided walk through the home interview - with older people also revealed that social and environmental factors also play a significant role - particularly in the home. People may prefer speech for an important reminder that they don't want to miss, yet prefer to turn speech off and opt for a tactile vibration to the skin when people are in the house and/or the reminder is more private or of a sensitive nature.
Researchers
Dr Marilyn McGee-Lennon (Researcher Co-Investigator)
Marilyn is a senior research fellow with a BSc in psychology and a PhD in computer science. Marilyn has over 10 years of teaching and research experience in the field of HCI. Her expertise includes multimodal interaction and user-centred design & evaluation. Marilyn specialises in health care and home care systems, and was recently a Research Fellow on the MATCH project, conducting user-based studies of home care technology and designing multimodal interfaces suitable for home care. She is one of the most experienced researchers in user-centred multimodal interaction in the UK, and one of few with any knowledge of multimodal design for home care settings. Marilyn lives in Glasgow with her husband Peter and enjoys live music, playing netball, watching football, and Las Vegas.
Dr Maria Wolters (Researcher Co-Investigator)
Maria is a senior research fellow at the Centre for Speech Technology Research at the University of Edinburgh. The goal of her research is to improve the accessibility and functionality of voice-based interaction. Maria studied at the University of Bonn, where she attained an MSc in Computer Science in 1997 and a PhD in Communication Research and Phonetics in 2001. She went on to join the University of Newcastle and Queen Margaret University as a clinical phonetician, before moving to the University of Edinburgh in late 2004. She is currently a research fellow on the MATCH project. Maria is married with a son and daughter, whom she homes will one day be trilingual in German, English, and Scottish Gaelic.
Publications
