Interactive domestic alarm handling: older adults´ interaction with speech alarms

A rapidly ageing population has prompted the development of interactive domestic alarm systems (IDASs) to enable older adults to live independently in their own home for longer. The older adults´ ability to receive and respond to IDAS outputs is critical for successful alarm handling. This paper considers the use of speech as IDAS output and its impact on an aging user group´s ability to handle domestic alarm states effectively. An exploratory field investigation, conducted as an extension of previous laboratory studies [see, 9, 10], is reported. The findings suggest that speech appears to be a promising mode of IDAS output. These findings are discussed and future research directions offered