Touchscreen and TV as user interface for an AAL-environment for elderly people

The user interface of an ambient assisted living (AAL) environment is the »face« and the one part of the whole system which is seen by the elderly person. Subsequently one important factor for the success of ambient assisted living is directly connected to the user-acceptance of the user-interface. Further more services have to be found which are a real benefit for elderly people and easy to identify as this benefit for them. This paper discusses a user-centred process model which includes elderly people in all stages of the development process, to ensure that appropriate products are developed which are accepted and usable for them. Furthermore preliminary questions for an appropriate choice of an interaction device and modality is presented as well as and the discussion about TV and touchscreen as interaction devices for AAL. At last, using the example of the EU-project SOPRANO, a concept for a graphical user interface for TV and touchscreen will be presented.