Gardener holding shears and pointing at his garden

Intergenerational Skill Sharing

This project investigates how to design technology for sharing embodied skills between generations. We are currently studying this topic in the context of gardening, an activity practised by an estimated 42 million US households for a variety of economic, social, and health motivations across age groups.

Team: Teja Maddali
Pubs: CHI 20, CSCW 22, CHI 23


Students points at poster depicting an idea that was co-designed with people with dementia. The idea involves a tablet on a stand that follows the user (the poster is detailed but little is visible).

Technology and Dementia

The goal of this project is to understand and create design criteria for technologies for people with dementia that are enjoyable, relevant, and accessible. We are conducting interviews, observations, focus groups, usability tests, and co-design, with a particular focus on meaningful activities and self-management.

Team: Emma Dixon, Pooja Upadhyay, Ruipu Hu, Mary Radnofsky, Diana Blackwelder
Pubs: CHI 19, 20, 21; CSCW 19, 21; Assets 20
Funding: Grant 90REGE0008, U.S. Admin. for Community Living, NIDILRR, Dept. of Health & Human Services.
Cartoon drawing of a voice assistant

Aging with Voice Technologies

Older adults are increasingly adopting commercially available smart speakers like Amazon Echo or Google Home. By understanding older individuals’ current usage, perceptions, and preferences around such technologies, this work explores how these technologies can be customized to better support aging in place.

Team: Alisha Pradhan, Katie Siek, Ben Jelen
Pubs: CSCW 19, TOCHI 20
Funding: National Science Foundation award #IIS-1816145.
Participant sitting at a table with a laptop with a remote researcher on a video call and a mini printer

Advancing Design

We are examining both technological and theoretical approaches to advance design methods for working with older adults and people with dementia. This includes supporting remote, embodied design, participatory action research approaches, and developing a Human Rights-based approach to user-centered design.

Team: Ruipu Hu, Pooja Upadhyay, Mary Radnofsky, Diana Blackwelder
Pubs: CHI 20, 21; TACCESS 21
Funding: National Science Foundation award #IIS-2045679.