Social Hue: A subtle awareness system for connecting the elderly and their caregivers

Abstract

In this position paper, we propose an unobtrusive solution for improving bonding relations between the elderly and their caregivers, through the Social Hue. The Social Hue is a bidirectional application that is based on the Philips Hue light. To create social presence, activity and emotional states will be detected through sensors and will be transformed into ambient lighting into the elder's home and vice versa without overt communication from participants. Findings are expected to provide a deeper insight on the notion of subtle awareness in relation to social connectivity between the elderly and their caregivers.