From care practices to speculative vignettes-design considerations for robots in good care.

The care sector has become one of the test beds for developing robotic technologies, which have been promised to mitigate problems with aging populations and labor shortages. Despite these promises, the practical application of such technologies have been met with limited success. Apart from technical limitations, other challenges exist in the way we approach designing these technologies.

In the details: the micro-ethics of negotiations and in-situ judgements in participatory design with marginalised children.

Engaging marginalised children, such as disabled children, in Participatory Design (PD) entails particular challenges. The processes can effect social changes by decidedly attending to their lived experience as expertise. However, involving marginalised children in research also requires maintaining a delicate balance between ensuring their right to participation as well as their protection from harm.

Thinking OutsideTheBox - Designing Smart Things with Autistic Children.

This article offers a synopsis of and a critical reflection on the research project OutsideTheBox Rethinking Assistive Technology with Autistic Children. The aim of the 3-year project was to develop digital technology that would holistically respond to the complex life-worlds of autistic children, affording positive experiences that they could share with others. Through a series of long-term participatory design processes, smart objects were developed individually with nine children employing a wide range of different methods (e.

Assistive Solutions in Practice: Experiences from AAL Pilot Regions in Austria.

Since 2012 six AAL pilot regions were launched in Austria. The main goal of these pilot regions is to evaluate the impact of AAL technologies in daily use considering the entire value chain. Additionally, go-to market strategies for assistive technologies based on an involvement of all relevant stakeholders are developed.

In pursuit of rigour and accountability in participatory design.

The field of Participatory Design (PD) has greatly diversified and we see a broad spectrum of approaches and methodologies emerging. However, to foster its role in designing future interactive technologies, a discussion about accountability and rigour across this spectrum is needed. Rejecting the traditional, positivistic framework, we take inspiration from related fields such as Design Research and Action Research to develop interpretations of these concepts that are rooted in PD׳s own belief system.