Designing Communication Appliances to Support - Yann Riche

287 Pages·2008·4.59 MB·English

EQUIPE IN SITU, INRIA / UNIVERSITE´ PARIS SUD
Designing Communication Appliances to
Support Aging in Place
Yann Riche
The`se pre´sente´e le 15 Septembre 2008
pour l’obtention des titres de
Docteur de l’Universite´ Paris Sud
Spe´cialite´ Informatique
Pre´pare´e au sein du laboratoires :
IN SITU, INRIA/Universite´ Paris-Sud, FRANCE
JURY
WendyMACKAY Directricedethe`se
PhilippePalanque Pre´sidentdujury
PhilipGray Rapporteur
AlanNewell Rapporteur
YacineBellik Examinateur

“AVaincreSansPe´rilOnTriompheSansGloire.”
Corneille,LeCid
ThisthesisispublishedundertheCreativeCommonsLicence,youarefreetocopy,distributeandsharethis
workaslongasyouattributetheworktotheauthor,YannRiche,andthatyouusethisworkfornon-commercial
purposes.

Abstract
Eldercare is already becoming a key challenge for our society, and the situation will
degrade rapidly with the shortage of trained personal and the rising proportion of elderly
people. Innovative approaches are needed to help elders remain at home longer and safer,
to age in place. Researchers in Human Computer Interaction (HCI) contribute to seeking
solutions to this problem by studying how technologies can support elders and caregivers
needs. MonitoringsystemshavegainedpopularityinHCI,butremaindesignedtosupport
the caregivers’ task, rather than directly supporting the elders’ smooth aging. To seek al-
ternative to monitoring solution, this thesis explores how communication appliances —i.e.
computer-based devices allowing small groups of intimate people to communicate— can
provideasociallyacceptablesupportforaginginplace.
This research studies aspects of elders independent living are influenced by communi-
cation, and the role of communication in their well-being and safety. A user study with
14 elderly participants living independently explored the role of communication plays in
maintainingtheirindependenceandwell-being. Resultsofthisstudyhighlightedtheroleof
peersupportbehaviorscalledPeerCareinprovidingreciprocalcareamongstelderlyfriends,
neighborsandclubmembers. Italsohighlightedelders’needsfornon-intrusivecommuni-
cation means with their social networks and families in particular. In addition, this study
highlightedtheroleofroutinesandrhythmsawarenessinbuildingawarenessofeachothers’
activities and status. These concepts suggest that communication appliances can help es-
tablishandmaintainPeerCarebehaviorsbysupportinganawarenessofenvironmentaland
personal cues which serve as a basis for establishing and maintaining reciprocal rhythms
awareness.
To explore these aspects further, we conducted two studies involving two communica-
tion appliances, i.e. mirrorSpace and markerClock, which we used as technology probes
to gather data in real settings with elderly participants. Initially designed by Roussel et al.
[2004a], mirrorSpace is a video-based always-on communication device which uses prox-
imity to adjust privacy using a blur filtration. Designed in this thesis, markerClock is an
augmented clock permitting the ambient communication of motion information reflecting
people’s home activities and the direct communication of symbolic codes. We designed
markerClockspecificallytosupportrhythmsawarenessbyusingtheimplicitmappingofthe
communicationhistoryontheclock. Thesestudiesconfirmedtheroleofrhythmawareness
inpeersupport,andhighlightedtheneedforvalueindirectcommunication. Wespecifically
explored the concept of value in a series of participatory design sessions which suggested
theinfluenceofsensuality,effortandempathy.
Weconcludethisworkbydescribingtwostudiesexploringtheroleandusageoftech-
nology probes as a research and design methodology. In these studies, we highlighted the
roleoftechnologyprobesforeasingusers’engagementinparticipatoryprocessesandintro-
ducedanewinteractivevisualizationmethodcalledMe´langeforexploringlogdataissued
fromtechnologyprobes.
This work has implications for the design of communication appliances for aging in
placeandthetechnologyprobesmethodology. Itprovidessuggestionsregardingthedesign
ofcommunicationdevicestohelpeldersbetterageinplacebyrelyingonexistingsocially
acceptablebehaviors.

Acknowledgments
I would like first to thank my supervisor, Dr. Wendy Mackay, who made me learn so
many new things during these four years of collaboration. I would also like to thank my
committeewhoannotateditandgavemeconstructive,helpfulfeedbackonmymanuscript.
In particular, I would like to thank both examiners, Philip Gray and Alan Newell, who
came all the way from Scotland to see me perform my thesis’ defense in Orsay. I would
also like to thank Philippe Palanque who came all the way from Toulouse to preside the
defense’sjury. Finally,IwouldliketothankYacineBellikwhoattendedthedefense’sjury
andprovidedinsghtfulandinterestingquestions.
Icouldneverhavegonethroughthisthesiswithoutthehelpofmydearwife,Nathalie.
She was not only a support in the last few years, but also a source of inspiration and an
example in many aspects. We spent quite many hours talking about our respective works,
comforting each other, encouraging each other, and disagreeing with each other. I will
never thank her enough for her support through the best, enjoyable and the worst, darkest
momentsofthisthesis.
Iwouldliketothankmyfamily: myparentsJeannineandDaniel, mysisterAline, my
brotherDenoe¨l,myinlawsAndre´eandChristian. Allwereconsiderablesourceofsupport
throughout this journey spending countless hours providing distractions, advices, encour-
agements, never failing to believe in me, and feeding me good food. My sister allegedly
eventookasixmonthinternshipinacompanymanufacturingchocolatesoshecouldbring
heapsbackhome. Thankyouverymuch.
I would like to address special warm thanks to Jean-Daniel Fekete, who not only sup-
ported sitting next to me for a year and a half, shouldering without grudge my constant
requirementsfortechnicaladvices,butbecameafriendandprovidedcountlessadvicesand
support. JeanVirgule,despitehiscapillaryproblem,isagreathumanbeing.
I would like to thank a few gray haired veterans who helped me through this thesis as
well: StephenandMatthew. Stephenprovidedsupportandencouragements,neverfailedto
trust or have faith in me. I had a great time collaborating with him, and I could not have
completed this journey without him. Actually, I would probably never have started this
journey without him. Matthew shared with me many sleepless nights and I discovered the
true meaning of remote collaboration working with him through a few sleepless nights, a
world between us. I also enjoyed our many nights spent drinking beer and discussing life
andworkmixedup,illustratingoursharedpassionforwhatwedoandlive.
I would like to thank Christian Jacquemin who also provided guidance in some of the
hurdles I faced during this thesis. I am thankful for the time he dedicated to helping me
overcome those obstacles. His efforts have not been wasted: Here I stand, with a thesis in
hand,andthat’salsothankstohim. ThisisalsotrueforBastien,whowastheretolistento
meandshareadvicesandguidancewhenitbecamenecessary.
Iwouldliketothankmyfriendsandcolleagues,bothattheUniversite´ParisSudandthe
University of Queensland. Sharing this experience with them made me better, learning as
muchasIcould,sharinglaughs,coffeesandsometimescandiesorchocolate(yes,Ishared
someofmybounty),sharingsleeplessnights,exchangingadvices,and,ingeneral,support-
ing one another. In particular, I would like to thank Pascal, Emmanuel, Nicolas, Evelyn,
Jean-Baptiste and Aure´lien who took an active part in my work, assisting me in various
workshopsorinterviews,andwhoprovidedhelpfulsuggestions. Thankyouguys! Thanks
8
also to Niklas, my friend and colleague, for our fruitful collaboration, numerous dinners,
andgreatneighboradventures. Alsothanksto(unordered)EmmanuelP.,Umberto,Sofiane,
Caroline,OlivierC.,Fannis,NicolasR.,Pierre,Je´roˆme,Fanny,Ste´phane,Anastasia,Clint,
Jamie,Lorna,Marie,Fiona,Michelle,Azraai,Jeff,Jared,Lochee,Alexandra,Viviane,Ralf,
Markus,Ann,Margot,John,Ian,Brian,Jason,andforgivemeifIhaveforgottenyouinthis
list.
I would like to thank all of my friends who journeyed with me in the ups and downs
the life of a PhD student. You were always a great source of advice and entertainment,
encouragement and distraction. I love you all. Special thanks to Max, whose enthusiasm
never failed to help me keep my chin up. To Julien who started a PhD and left me in the
dust so he could take acting classes, become a great actor and invite us in your private jet.
ToEmilyforbeingaformidablehuman(acredittoherrace)withunbearableoptimism. To
Morty with his nonchalance, his roller classes, his smile and his great taste in women (Hi,
Sarah!). To Seb and Be´ne´ who made it through before we did and always have some kind
ofbedreadyforusifwehappentodropby.
I would like to thank the participants in my studies, who spend a large amount of time
feeding me the valuable information which constitute a large part of this document. Most
participated without any substantial reward, and it makes their time, effort and motivation
all the more valuable. I would also like to thank the people who helped me recruiting
participants,hostingthem,andthoseingeneralwhomaintainthedifficultmechanicofthe
administration and helped me in my struggles. Those people are often the hidden face of
researchsothankstothestaffattheUniversite´ ParisSud,theUniversityofQueensland(big
up,Kate!),INRIA(MC,youarethebest),theParisianCouncilforSocialAffairs,thePoint
Paris Emeraude of the 18th and 10th arrondissements of Paris, and the various clubs and
associationsIworkedwith.
During this thesis, I lost two teeth, successively dropped and gained between 5 and 15
kilos, movedeighttimes, didabouttenscubadives, visitedtheUSAforthefirsttime, met
my wife, bought my first own laptop and my first digital SLR, and developed a taste for
avocado. Forgivemeforanymistake,misspelling,mis-anythinginthisdocument.
List Of Publications
Peer Review Conference Publications
YANN RICHE, MATTHEW SIMPSON AND STEPHEN VILLER Zebra : Exploring par-
ticipatory design engagement in fieldwork (2008) Proceedings of the 2008 Conference on
DesigningInteractiveSystems(DIS’08),ACMPress
Chapter7
NIKLAS ELMQUIST, NATHALIE HENRY, YANN RICHE AND JEAN-DANIEL FEKETE
(2008)Me´lange: SpaceFoldingforMulti-FocusInteraction,Proceedingsofthe2008Con-
ferenceonHumanFactorsinComputingSystems(CHI’08),ACMPress
Chapter8
YANN RICHE AND WENDY MACKAY (2007) markerClock : A Communicating Aug-
mentedClockforElderlyLectureNotesinComputerScience-INTERACT2007Conference
(shortpaper),Springer-Verlag
Chapter5
YANN RICHE AND WENDY MACKAY (2007) Une horloge communicante pour les
se´niors Proceedings of the 2007 French-Speaking Conference of Human-Computer Inter-
action(demonstrationpaper),ACMPress
Chapter5
Doctoral Consortium
YANN RICHE(2007)PeerCare,ChallengingtheMonitoringApproachLectureNotesin
ComputerScience-INTERACT2007Conference,Springer-Verlag
Chapters3,4and5
Workshop Papers
YANN RICHE, WENDY MACKAY (2005) PeerCare: Challenging the Monitoring Ap-
proachtoCarefortheElderlyBCSHCI’05WorkshoponHCIandtheOlderPopulation
Chapter3
WENDY MACKAY, YANN RICHE AND JEAN-BAPTISTE LABRUNE,(2005)Communi-
cation Appliances: Shared Awareness for Intimate Social Networks, CHI’05 Workshop on
AwarenessSystems: Knownresults,theory,conceptsandfuturechallenges
Chapters2and3
Technical Report
YANN RICHE (2007) Technology Probes for the Design of a Communication Systems
forSeniorsReportattheUniversityofQueensland,Brisbane,Australia
Chapters3,4and7