Supporting Elder Connectedness through Cognitively Sustainable Design Interactions with the Memory Music Box

Isolation is one of the largest contributors to a lack of wellbeing, increased anxiety and loneliness in older adults. In collaboration with elders in living facilities, we designed the Memory Music Box: a low-threshold platform to increase connectedness. The research community has contributed notable research in support of elders through monitoring, tracking and memory augmentation. Despite the Information and Communication Technologies field (ICT) advances in providing new opportunities for connection, challenges in accessibility increase the gap between elders and their loved ones. We approach this challenge by embedding a familiar form factor with innovative applications, performing design evaluations with our key target group and incorporating multi-iteration learnings. These findings culminate in a novel design that facilitates elders in crossing technology and communication barriers. Based on these findings, we discuss how future inclusive technologies for the older adults’ need to balance ease of use, subtlety and Cognitively Sustainable Design.