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DCUX framework : the road to designing interaction personalities of a digital social coach for the elderly

Meurs, F.F.M. van (2021) DCUX framework : the road to designing interaction personalities of a digital social coach for the elderly.

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Abstract:It is a well-known fact that society is getting older. This also means that elderly (65+) tend to live independently for longer. This challenges the healthcare sector in keeping an increasing number of seniors healthy and active, providing support to those seniors in need of care. One way to provide care for elderly in domestic settings is by using technology. In the healthcare context, such technology is referred to as socially assistive robots: robots that aim to provide assistance through close and effective human interaction. In this thesis the term digital coach is used to describe socially assistive robots since the main aim is to provide coaching through interaction with the technology. The success of digital coaches depends on the acceptance by its users and understanding how they perceive the digital coach. The acceptance of digital coaches by older adults is generally poor. Acceptance relates to the user experience; how people feel as a result of interaction with a product or technology. In this thesis, the focus lies on a specific challenge: (mal)nutrition for frail elderly. It explores how the target group of older adults, aged 65+, reacts to digital coaches for healthcare. What influences their acceptance of technological innovations and how to improve that acceptance. By building on literature and conducting a case study on how to design a digital coaching personality, this thesis contributes to existing literature. It proposes a framework for designing coaching solutions for the elderly while increasing acceptance of the technological solution. The process includes an iterative approach that combines top-down and bottom-up input to come to a final design. Each iteration contains a literature part, user insights, a design part, and concludes with key insights. In the case study, different coaching personalities are designed and tested. The goal is to find out how to give the digital coach the right personality. User testing session with the final design give insights into the preference of elderly. Results show what factors influence acceptance when comparing a personalised version with a standard version. Moreover, results show that the framework can be used for socially assistive applications and in doing so, increase acceptance. In the end, a discussion and conclusion chapter discuss the limitations and future recommendations of this thesis.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:ET: Engineering Technology
Subject:05 communication studies, 20 art studies
Programme:Industrial Design Engineering MSc (66955)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/88237
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