Early lessons from the design of tectile terminals for elderly people

Abstract — This paper presents the early results of the multidisciplinary project Tivipol aiming to propose ICT devices to enhance the daily life of older people in a retirement home. A prototype combining a tactile color screen, a RFID reader and a ticket printer has been designed. It allows the older people to manage their usual activities in the retirement home (e.g. reserving their menu for the next days at the cafeteria). A first formative evaluation carried out with five residents of the home has shown the high level of usability and possible acceptance of the new system. This ongoing research is intended to find out which elements play a key role in the acceptation and diffusion of a ICT-based technology among elderly people in good physical and mental conditions.