Applicability Study Of Interaction Designon Functionality Of Apartment For The Elderly

Aging problem has been the most serious and difficult challenge in the present society.Under the tough condition of rising amount of the aged,it is still in an imbalanced and hysteretic stage for meeting the rapidly increasing demand of the living houses for the elderly.In both of the 17th and 18th National Congress of Communist Party of China,living condition for the aged as an important problem had been discussed by Chinese leaders.Therefore,aging problem is not only the social worry of the public but a national strategic goal to solve.As the change of values of the elderly,the traditional type of apartment for the elderly has gradually cannot meet the psychological and physiological demands of the aged in the modern time.At present,the development of Internet of Things(IoT)and intelligent home system brings a new orientation for the design of late-model apartment.This study aims to promote the transition of the traditional apartment so as to let the old people live more healthily and safely,that is to say the new apartment will give the aged the sense of belonging and achievement of realizing individual value by applying the concepts of emotion,humanization and user experience into the design of the apartment for the elderly.It satisfies the basic needs of the old people such as the needs of independent capacity and security,also realizes their pursuit towards emotion and self-worth.The dissertation was divided into three parts:firstly,the author defined the different notions related to the study and have a literature review on the current condition of the apartment for the elderly abroad and in China.By analyzing the review,the author found that the existing traditional apartment in China is not suitable for the physiological and psychological needs of the elderly any more,but the market lacked an in-depth investigation on the real needs and behaviors of the aged,and a research on the detail and practicability of the new type of the apartment for the elderly.Secondly,based on the above mentioned condition of the apartment for the elderly in China,the author analyzed the characteristics and needs of the elderly and stated several design principles that should be followed in terms of the key physiological and psychological factors of the elderly.Thirdly,through the previous questionnaire survey of the aging users,the author knew about the real physiological and psychological needs of the elderly,then the author used the notion of interaction design to propose strategies for the redesign and rebuilding of present and future apartment for the elderly under the background of the era of Internet of things.Further,the author put forward the development prospects of the future intelligent apartment for the elderly and summarized the full paper.