Deep Design for Ambient Intelligence: Toward Acceptable Appliances for Higher Quality of Life of the Elderly

Abstract

Deep design outlined in the paper is a new approach, where not only tasks, immediate emotions or habits and behaviours are considered. Deep design aims to identify sources of emotionally rich and strong experiences and feelings in order to augment them subsequently by means of smart technology. The most intrinsical needs of users, their deep needs, should be revealed and reflected in the process. Evaluation of a new technology is described as a successive process, starting with immediate decision, followed by short-term acceptance and finally long-term appropriation driven by the deep needs in a role of high order reinforcers. Deep design builds on various existing human-centric and emotion-driven approaches, but brings them further, or maybe rather deeper, bringing deep psycho-technical and socio-technical factors on the highest levels of importance. The idea of deep design is being introduced in a context of ambient technologies for elderlies, because actually there are certain dissonances in what do elderlies need and what many current intelligent technologies offer. As we show in the paper, our research in sources ranging from gerontology to ambient intelligence revealed four clusters of deep needs of elderlies - social touch, autonomy with anticipated support, feeling of being competent and feeling of helpfulness and self-worth.