Getting Older People Involved in the Process of Ambient Assisted Living Research and Development

This paper proposes an investigation protocol for research and development of Ambient Assisted Living technologies for elderly people, based on effective strategies for motivating users and establishing a long-term relationship that enables them to “enter in the User Centered Design loop”. For a project that aims at the experimentation in the users’ homes, we advocate the building and nourishing of a solid network of users and stakeholders for project support. It is crucial to involve local authorities, associations of elderly people, and social operators as de facto partners of the project, sharing with them the ambitious research and development objectives, and identifying ways of integrating research activities with their existing daily practices. This guarantees continual users’ involvement, which favors interest in the scientific objectives, reduces risks of abandonment, and produces improved information.