Playful Persuasion to Support Older Adults' Social and Physical Activities

Names Linda de Valk, Sander Kruitwagen, Natalia Romero, Janienke Sturm
Advisors Tilde Bekker, Berry Eggen

The project on ‘Independent Living’ is funded by the Creative Conversion Factory.
The partners in the Independent Living project are: Philips Research, Eindhoven University of Technology, Orbis, Devlab and NH Hotels.

The aim of the project is to examine how intelligent concepts can support social and physical activities of older adults. We assume that people can be seduced to certain activities if the design incorporates playful features, such as appealing to curiosity and providing challenges.Through an iterative design process we will develop concepts and verify the design assumptions with various stakeholders, such as older adults, family and friends and care givers. We are building a prototype called The Activator, that provides feedback about physical activity and social proximity to older adults living in a care home. Furthermore, it provides information about upcoming activities in the home. We are planning to do an evaluation study to explore how The Activator will be used in the field.