Illumination of Calendar Events in the Household of Older Persons

Abstract

Living a self-determined life at home is typically very important for older persons. For this the individual needs to still be able to follow the daily and weekly routines, maintain social contacts, and comply to certain treatment plans. As the mental skills are slightly decreasing over the years an intelligent reminder system might compensate for this. In our research, we are exploring ambient light as a modality to present calendar information to older persons in their household. This modality promises high acceptance, easy integration and unobtrusive presentation of the different relevant events for the person in the household. Our user studies show that under a careful design of the information presentation upcoming events can be indicated and are perceived by the person in the household – and in consequence support the individual’s daily course.