An Inclusive Design Guideline for Designing Elderly Friendly Smart Home Control Device

Abstract

Concerns related to age and aging of older people has been lingering around many people’s minds, especially for the older adults who are about to enter their young-old stage of life or already experiencing the physical and psychological changes of their bodies. However, technology has the potential to bring people closer to each other, to assist communication with family, to monitor the health status of the elderly, and to make life a little easier. In this case, an expected rise of numbers of family needing help and support for their older family members would continuously increase the desire of products that are inclusively designed for an aging population. Both the aging process and smart home technology are studied from the literature review. A design guideline that synthesizes the principles of human-centered design and inclusive design for older users with the innovation and possibility of elderly-friendly smart home control devices is created, coupled with a universal remote control to demonstrate the use of this guideline.