Abstract
We explore the ways in which animate objects can be used to cue actions as part of coaching in Activities of Daily Living (ADL). In this case, changing the appearance or behavior of a physical object is intended to cue actions which are appropriate for a given context. The context is defined by the intention of the users, the state of the objects and the tasks for which these objects can be used. We present initial design prototypes and simple user trials which explore the impact of different cues on activity. It is shown that raising the handle of a jug, for example, not only cues the act of picking up the jug but also encourages use of the hand adjacent to the handle; that combinations of lights (on the objects) and auditory cues influence activity through reducing uncertainty; and that cueing can challenge pre-learned action sequences. We interpret these results in terms of the idea that the animate objects can be used to create affording situations, and discuss implications of this work to support relearning of ADL following brain damage or injury, such as might arise following a stroke.
Highlights
In this paper we consider ‘coaching’ in terms of encouraging people to act
For several of the objects used in the archetypical Activities of Daily Living (ADL) of making a cup of tea, we developed an instrumented coaster
The rising of the handle is a good affordance for determining which hand to use
Summary
Coaching involves a set of processes which are aimed at helping an individual (or group of individuals) improve, develop or learn skills. Often coaching will involve a dialogue between the individual and their coach. Replacing a (human) coach with a digital counterpart, raises some interesting questions concerning the ways in which to determine the improvement, development or learning by the individual, and the ways in which ‘dialogue’ could occur. Ensuring that the coaching is tailored to the abilities of the individual is essential for digital coaching [1]. A basic specification for a digital coach would include the ability to recognize the actions performed by the individual, to evaluate these actions (against some quality criterion), and to provide advice and guidance that could lead to improvement (or alteration) in the performance of the actions (Table 1)
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