EquityWare: Co-Designing Wearables With And For Low Income Communities In The U.S.

Title of the Paper

EquityWare: Co-Designing Wearables With And For Low Income Communities In The U.S.

Paper Information

• Subject Area: Social equity and design, focusing on co-designing wearable devices for low-income communities
• Keywords: Wearable devices, co-design, low socioeconomic status (low SES), community, crime, safety, interviews

Research Background and Issues

• Key Issues and Challenges:

  • Wearable devices have the potential to improve health and safety but often fail to consider the needs of low socioeconomic status (low SES) communities. These communities, which need such technologies the most, are unable to access them due to high costs and neglect in design.
  • Existing device designs (e.g., photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors for heart rate measurement) are often inaccurate or ineffective for individuals with darker skin tones, making these devices less applicable—or even harmful—for minority and low SES communities.
  • The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the digital divide and social inequality, significantly increasing poverty and healthcare access issues in low SES communities.

• Research Motivation: The authors propose the concept of "Equityware," a research agenda aimed at inclusive and equitable design by co-creating wearable technologies with marginalized communities, particularly focusing on safety.

  • The goal is to bridge the gap between existing technologies and the unique needs of low SES communities.

• Related Work:

  • Participatory Design and Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) methods have been widely used to address issues faced by marginalized communities.
  • However, these methods have primarily been applied to mobile apps and website design, with limited focus on hardware and wearable device design.
  • Existing research on the impact of wearable devices in low SES communities largely focuses on health monitoring rather than safety-related applications.

Solutions

• Proposed Methods and Research Questions:

  • The authors adopt a co-design approach, conducting in-depth interviews and workshops with members of low SES communities to understand their needs for safety-related wearable devices.
  • The research focuses on:
    1. Exploring the daily safety challenges faced by low SES communities.
    2. Identifying issues and barriers with existing wearable devices.
    3. Co-creating future wearable device features and designs tailored to these groups.

• Research Process:

  • Conducted two rounds of semi-structured interviews (19 in total), focusing on community needs (first round) and specific technical safety considerations (second round).
  • Introduced scenario storyboards as discussion aids to help participants visualize and understand the potential and functionality of wearable devices.
  • Used grounded theory to analyze interview data and identify key themes.

• Innovations:

  • Introduced and defined the "Equityware" research agenda, positioning equity as the core driver of design.
  • Designed a prototype of a low-power, modular, and contextually reconfigurable device (as shown in Figure 2), demonstrating how hardware and software integration can address community concerns.
  • Emphasized the design of inconspicuous, low-cost, and multifunctional safety wearables for high-crime areas.

Research Findings

• Interview Findings & Key Safety Issues:

  1. Gang Violence: For example, respondents mentioned family members being repeatedly subjected to armed robberies.
  2. Infrastructure Deficiencies: Poor street lighting and unreliable emergency response services (e.g., police) left community members feeling helpless and unsafe.
  3. Gender-Based Violence: Female participants commonly described experiences of harassment, stalking, and even abduction.

• Perceptions of Wearable Devices:

  • Barriers with existing devices include:
    • Functional privacy concerns (e.g., cameras raising issues of privacy invasion and racial bias).
    • Highly conspicuous designs (which may lead to theft) and high costs.
    • Lack of user flexibility in controlling device functions.
    • Short battery life or inconvenient charging, especially in communities with frequent power outages.
  • Features appreciated by respondents include:
    • Automatic evidence recording (despite associated privacy concerns).
    • Area detection and motion sensing functions (e.g., alarm systems).
    • Miniaturized and modular designs.
    • Independence from batteries or extremely low power consumption.

• User-Suggested New Features:

  • Location-sharing functionality to share real-time location with family members.
  • Voice recognition and microphone capabilities for emergency calls or recording audio evidence.
  • Night vision functionality to adapt to poorly lit community environments (e.g., dim streetlights).

• Experimental and Prototype Design Outcomes:

  • Figure 2 illustrates a modular, low-power, reconfigurable system prototype that allows users to freely combine device features for different scenarios, meeting diverse needs.
  • Hardware design emphasizes non-invasive environmental sensing technologies (e.g., sound-based detection systems instead of cameras).

• Future Research and Limitations:

  • The study focused on Latinx communities, leaving the needs and circumstances of other racial or cultural backgrounds unexplored.
  • Methodologically, the use of scenario storyboards may bias design solutions in specific directions; future work should develop more comprehensive co-design tools.
  • The authors call for interdisciplinary collaboration between HCI and engineering fields to advance the Equityware research agenda.

Conclusion

This study is the first to explore the safety needs of low SES communities and proposes an equity-centered wearable device design framework, "Equityware." Through system design encompassing hardware, software, and education, the research lays a conceptual and practical foundation for developing technologies tailored to low SES communities in the future.