Sensor-based and tangible interaction with a TV community platform for seniors

This paper introduces a set of sensor-based, tangible techniques for interacting with a TV-based online social community platform (SCP) for seniors. The goal of these techniques is to allow seniors to use familiar objects and places in their living environment for communicating with other SCP members in a natural, intuitive manner. A prototype sensor-assisted living environment was created, consisting of a Smart TV, illuminated proximity switches (so-called "Activity Lights"), RFID readers embedded in furniture and RFID-tagged objects. A middleware broker component analyses the received sensor events and sends corresponding events to the TV, the environment or the SCP. The TV set serves as the main output device for showing SCP content and messages, while inputs may be delivered through physical objects, furniture-embedded sensors, tablets used as second screens, or the conventional remote control. To investigate users' experience when interacting with the system, and their attitude towards the sensor-based solution, an empirical evaluation with 15 seniors was conducted.