From user integration to usage: recent findings and evidence from Germany

Issue Gerontechnology has been criticised because Ihe development of technologies docs not seem to have had the starting point in the scientific analysis of old age and its problems- namely, in gerontology, but instead in the available technology (for example, sensor and actor devices) and its further development. The question often seems to have been what can be done with these new technologies to help older people. For some decades now, user integration, user centered design', co-creativity etc. have become more and more imperative. In many aspects the procedures to design everyday objects and technology for older people have indeed improved dramatically, although the main emphasis still seems to be on aspects of usability and user satisfaction17. Content The symposium brings together experiences and results from the German research in order to evaluate achievements and outcomes of user integration and discuss strategies to further improve design and development of gerontechnology. Structure Barbara Klein puts emphasis on the importance of deployment in real world settings as opposed to prototype testing in pilot sites and laboratories. She reports on the European project CareV.E.T., where the objective is to develop a certified training programme for care staff. Sebastian Merkel presents results of a systematic literature review on participatory methods in gerontechnology. It is shown that participatory design is widely used in different contexts, but the methods differ in regard to persons involved, how and when users are involved and for which reasons this is done. Harald Kunemund further problemati/es the concept of the "user" involved. He argues that the strategies to design or sample "users" necessarily have shortcomings and promotes the alternative of problem centered design, e.g. starting from a careful evaluation of a gerontological problem instead of arbitrary samples or personae. Barbara Klein reports on a project which starts from such a problem - bathing - and reports on the development of a robotic shower system which enables elderly or disabled individuals to shower independently at home or in care homes. Hans-Werner Wahl finally comments on these presentations and opens the floor for discussing the future of user integration. Conclusion The manifold strategies to integrate users outlined in this symposium are expected to stimulate advances in the development of methods of user integration, provide more clarity on the different functions a