Designing Kitchen Technologies for Ageing in Place

Abstract

Assistive technologies can significantly increase older adults' independent living if these technologies are designed to meet their needs and abilities. This study investigates conditions and present possibilities for assistive technology to provide physical and cognitive support to older adults in a specific domestic task, which is cooking a meal at home. The empirical material consists of six video recordings of adults aged 65 and over preparing a meal in their kitchen. The study unpacks the complexity of kitchen tasks, from the physical interactions involved to the temporal and spatial alignment of objects and goals in the kitchen. We focus on a) Physical manipulation, such as chopping, opening packages, and moving objects around the kitchen, b) Organisation and coordination, including switching, synchronising and monitoring cooking tasks, and c) Reorchestration and reorganisation in the form of inserting additional tasks, and rearranging tools and ingredients when adjustments need to be made in the cooking process. The study outlines design principles for operational and organisational interventions to support cooking a meal for independent living. The study concludes with discussing design implications for conversational user interfaces in the kitchen, and the significance of assistive kitchen technologies for ageing in place.