Open Access

One of the great societal challenges that we face today concerns the move to more sustainable patterns of energy consumption, reflecting the need to balance both individual consumer choice and societal demands. In order for this ‘energy turnaround’ to take place, however, reducing residential energy consumption must go beyond using energy-efficient devices: More sustainable behaviour and lifestyles are essential parts of future ‘energy aware’ living. Addressing this issue from an HCI perspective, this paper presents the results of a 3-year research project dealing with the co-design and appropriation of a Home Energy Management System (HEMS) that has been rolled out in a living lab setting with seven households for a period of 18 months. Our HEMS is inspired by feedback systems in Sustainable Interaction Design and allows the monitoring of energy consumption in real-time. In contrast to existing research mainly focusing on how technology can persuade people to consume less energy (‘what technology does to people’), our study focuses on the appropriation of energy feedback systems (‘what people do with technology’) and how newly developed practices can become a resource for future technology design. Therefore, we deliberately followed an open research design. In keeping with this approach, our study uncovers various responses, practices and obstacles of HEMS use. We show that HEMS use is characterized by a number of different features. Recognizing the distinctive patterns of technology use in the different households and the evolutionary character of that use within the households, we conclude with a discussion of these patterns in relation to existing research and their meaning for the design of future HEMSs.

Die neue europäische Umweltstrategie der Integrierten Produktpolitik fordert von produzierenden kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen (KMU) eine eigenverantwortliche und produktbezogene Nachhaltigkeitsstrategie. Obgleich die Gestaltung von IKT-Services in nachhaltigkeitsrelevanten Bereichen ein großes Marktpotential verspricht, birgt das Innovationsmanagement für KMU einige Risiken. Um diese Herausforderungen zu adressieren motiviert diese Arbeit Living Labs, als Innovationsinfrastruktur, um den spezifischen Bedarfen von KMU für ein nachhaltiges Innovationsmanagement gerecht zu werden. Auf der Basis von 15 semi-strukturierten Interviews mit 7 KMU, die IKT-Lösungen in den Bereichen Wohnen und Mobilität entwickeln, wurden Herausforderungen sowie etablierte Strategien für ein nachhaltiges Innovationsmanagement erhoben sowie Potenziale und mögliche Risiken von Living Labs exploriert. Die Studie zeigt KMU spezifische Bedarfe auf, die eine Anpassung des Living Lab Ansatzes als Service-Dienstleistungen erforderlich machen.

Digital fabrication technologies have a great potential for empowering consumers to produce their own creations. However, despite the growing availability of digital fabrication technologies in shared machine shops such as FabLabs or University Labs, they are often perceived as difficult to use, especially by users with limited technological aptitude. Hence, it is not yet clear if the potentials of the technology can be made accessible to a broader public, or if they will remain limited to some form of “maker elite”. In this paper, we study the appropriation of digital fabrication on the example of the use of 3D printers in two different communities. In doing so, we analyze how users conceptualize their use of the 3D printers, what kind of contextual understanding is necessary to work with the machines, and how users document and share their knowledge. Based on our empirical findings, we identify the potentials that the machines offer to the communities, and what kind of challenges have to be overcome in their appropriation of the technology.

Background: Falls are common in older adults and can result in serious injuries. Due to demographic changes, falls and related healthcare costs are likely to increase over the next years. Participation and motivation of older adults in fall prevention measures remain a challenge. The iStoppFalls project developed an information and communication technology (ICT)-based system for older adults to use at home in order to reduce common fall risk factors such as impaired balance and muscle weakness. The system aims at increasing older adults’ motivation to participate in ICT-based fall prevention measures. This article reports on usability, user-experience and user-acceptance aspects affecting the use of the iStoppFalls system by older adults. Methods: In the course of a 16-week international multicenter study, 153 community-dwelling older adults aged 65+ participated in the iStoppFalls randomized controlled trial, of which half used the system in their home to exercise and assess their risk of falling. During the study, 60 participants completed questionnaires regarding the usability, user experience and user acceptance of the iStoppFalls system. Usability was measured with the System Usability Scale (SUS). For user experience the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES) was applied. User acceptance was assessed with the Dynamic Acceptance Model for the Re-evaluation of Technologies (DART). To collect more detailed data on usability, user experience and user acceptance, additional qualitative interviews and observations were conducted with participants. Results: Participants evaluated the usability of the system with an overall score of 62 (Standard Deviation, SD 15.58) out of 100, which suggests good usability. Most users enjoyed the iStoppFalls games and assessments, as shown by the overall PACES score of 31 (SD 8.03). With a score of 0.87 (SD 0.26), user acceptance results showed that participants accepted the iStoppFalls system for use in their own home. Interview data suggested that certain factors such as motivation, complexity or graphical design were different for gender and age. Conclusions: The results suggest that the iStoppFalls system has good usability, user experience and user acceptance. It will be important to take these along with factors such as motivation, gender and age into consideration when designing and further developing ICT-based fall prevention systems.

Voice assistants (VA) collect data about users’ daily life including interactions with other connected devices, musical preferences, and unintended interactions. While users appreciate the convenience of VAs, their understanding and expectations of data collection by vendors are often vague and incomplete. By making the collected data explorable for consumers, our research-through-design approach seeks to unveil design resources for fostering data literacy and help users in making better informed decisions regarding their use of VAs. In this paper, we present the design of an interactive prototype that visualizes the conversations with VAs on a timeline and provides end users with basic means to engage with data, for instance allowing for filtering and categorization. Based on an evaluation with eleven households, our paper provides insights on how users reflect upon their data trails and presents design guidelines for supporting data literacy of consumers in the context of VAs.

Falls and their consequences are arguably most important events for transition from independent living to institutional care for older adults. Information and communication technology (ICT)-based support of fall prevention and fall risk assessment under the control of the user has a tremendous potential to, over time, prevent falls and reduce associated harm and costs. Our research uses participative design and a persuasive health approach to allow for seamless integration of an ICT-based fall prevention system into older adults’ everyday life. Based on a 6-month field study with 12 participants, we present qualitative results regarding the system use and provide insights into attitudes and practices of older adults concerning fall prevention and ICT-supported self-management of health. Our study demonstrates how it can lead to positive aspects of embodiment and health literacy through continuous monitoring of personal results, improved technical confidence, and quality of life. Implications are provided for designing similar systems.

As a result of ageing societies, the prevalence of dementia, and accordingly the need of care is increasing rapidly. Here, the use of ICT-based technologies may facilitate and promote a self-sustaining life-style for people with dementia and their caregivers. The presented poster describes early findings from the project MobiAssist and outlines the ICT-based training system. The system aims to increase the physical and cognitive capabilities of people with dementia, relief the caregivers and improve wellbeing of involved parties.