Security and usability: when used in an unsupervised context, the designed medical devices should be compliant with end-user focused standards
Autonomy and robustness: functional and power autonomy should be emphasized during the definition of system requirements, since the users expected to handle these ecosystems have typically a limited technology know-how
Culture: the AAL paradigm is perceived differently across cultures. A clear example is the adoption of robots in health rehabilitation. In Japan, this is perceived as a viable option to be included as part of the AAL ecosystems, whereas in Europe and in the United States of America, people are not so widely open to the idea of leaving such matter to be managed by an artificial entity with a limited human supervision
Integration: the system’s requirements should aim at a nonintrusive and seamless integration with the user’s environment, so as to minimize their impact on his/her daily routines
Computer human interaction: the widely known limitations of the typical interfaces used to interact with the system, such as the mouse or the keyboard, prompt the adoption of other alternatives to simplify the overall system interaction (e.g., voice and gesture control)
Data management: the volume and typology of the samples required by these ecosystems have increased in terms of complexity and mutability | Privacy, control, and intrusion level: elderly users are concerned with the misuse of the information collected by the ecosystem
Perceived utility: the lack of perception of the ecosystem’s usefulness compromises its adoption. According to Sorwar et al., an important factor influencing user’s perception is his/her social life
Usability: the system’s adaptability rate to the end-user’s needs and the learning curve required to manage it are elements to consider.
Isolation: the effort performed in the system’s automation discards the user’s need for human interaction, which may lead to his/her long-run isolation
Stigmatization and pride: being perceived as fragile compromises the acceptance of the depicted ecosystems, as it was previously demonstrated by Jaschinski et al. and Vassli et al.
Lack of technology know-how: elderly people are prone to develop phobias, driven by their cognitive limitations, and to feel uncomfortable using technology
Reliability: the system’s accuracy level and capability of avoiding false positive alarms influence user’s trust in it
Financial sustainability: the inadequacy of the solution prices when taking the user’s financial limitations into account
Health concerns: concerns about the user’s excessive exposure to electromagnetic devices and its repercussion on his/her long-term health |
