Research On Design Methods Of Smart Household Appliances Based On Technology Acceptance Model For Elderly People

Under the background of the emergence and coexistence of the silver wave and the technology wave,the characteristics of elderly people get not enough attention from current manufacturers and designers of smart household appliances.The smart household appliances which are really "suitable for the aging" products are scarce,and the man-machine relationship between smart household appliances and elderly users is not friendly.Therefore,it is very necessary and urgent to develop and design smart household appliances for elderly people and explore the design methods of the smart household appliances to "suitable for the aging".Technology Acceptance Model(TAM)was originally designed to explain the determinants of the widely acceptance of computers.It has been widely used to research users'acceptance behavior and attitudes towards new information technology.In recent years,some scholars extended TAM theory and proposed Senior Technology Acceptance Model(STAM).However,previous studies on STAM focused on the factors outside of the system such as social environment,individual factors of population,and less on the design of products(systems).This dissertation combed and analyzed the relevant research theory of technology acceptance of elderly people,the characteristics of the elderly users,the design characteristics and elements of smart household appliances,and proposed a new model named Product Design-Senior Technology Acceptance Model(PD-STAM),which could explain the influence of product design on the acceptance of smart household appliances technology of elderly people.On this basis,this dissertation investigated the attitudes,intentions and usage of smart household appliances of the elderly users through questionnaires.The effects of product design elements on user perception and use behavior intention were also analyzed.Then a series of design principles of smart household appliances for elderly people were put forward and a series of product design methods on product function,product appearance and interactive interface were considered in this dissertation.Finally,the proposed product design methods were validated by the design practice of smart TV.The main contents and achievements of this dissertation are as follows:(1)The characteristics and application of TAM and STAM,and the related design elements of smart household appliances were sorted out and analyzed.The model of product design affecting the acceptance of smart household appliances technology of elderly people was proposed.According to the concepts of the new technology acceptance model,a structured questionnaire was developed to investigate the attitudes and intentions of elderly people toward smart household appliances through surveys and interviews.The problems of using smart household appliances by elderly people were summarized and the relevant statistical data was collected by this dissertation.Structural equation model(SEM)was used to analyze the effects of the three key elements of product design meaning product function,product appearance and interaction interface on perceived usefulness,perceived ease of use,perceived enjoyment,perceived safety,behavioral intention and actual use.(2)This dissertation summarized and proposed a series of principles for the design of smart household appliances for elderly people.Discussions were carried out from the following aspects:using the idea of User-centered Design(UCD)as the guideline,implementing the ideas and methods of universial design,paying attention to users'needs and the characteristics of perception,emphasizing the full improvement of user experience,and systematization and standardization of product design,aiming to form the guidelines for enterprises and industries in the process of product design and development of smart household appliances for elderly people.(3)By integrating the analysis of the new technology acceptance model and problems related to the use of smart household appliances by elderly people,the design methods of smart household appliances based on PD-STAM model were proposed.Their core idea was to achieve the goal of enhancing users'perceived usefulness,perceived safety,perceived ease of use and perceived enjoyment,focusing on the analysis of the real needs of elderly users,and emphasizing the full improvement of user experienc for elderly people at the physical,psychological and emotional aspects.The analysis of design methods was based on the three elements of the model which were product function,product appearance and interaction interface,and the case analysis of specific smart household appliances was also conducted.In terms of function,the design methods of the function of smart household appliances were discussed from four aspects of user perception(perceived usefulness,perceived safety,perceived ease of use and perceived enjoyment)by analyzing the characteristics of the function of smart household appliances and the needs of the function for elderly people.In terms of appearance,the design methods of perceived ease of use and perceived enjoyment for product appearance were discussed.In terms of interactive interface,the design methods of perceived safety and perceived ease of use were analyzed.(4)On the basis of proposed principles and methods,This dissertation took the design practice project of Hisense smart television as an example,and carried out an empirical study of product design for the elderly users by using the proposed design principles and methods,which also verified the theories and methods of this dissertation through the design practice,and explored the design methods for the elderly users' perception further.This dissertation focused on the current hotspots of our society such as population aging and product design for elderly people.It tried to combine the theory of technology acceptance with product design methodology,and applied subjective and objective methods such as user research,user experience and test experiment to the process of product design,aiming to construct a set of design ideas and methods of smart household appliances for elderly people.The results of this dissertation could help enterprises of household appliances consider the user characteristics of elderly people fully in the design and development process of their products,adopt various ways to improve product design and user experience,and improve the acceptance and popularity of smart household appliances for elderly people further.