STARNUTIE S „DOPOMOCOU“ – ÚČASŤ STARŠÍCH ĽUDÍ V PROJEKTOCH VYVÍJAJÚCICH TECHNICKÉ ZARIADENIA PRE SENIOROV. PRÍKLAD AMBIENT ASSISTED LIVING

One of the strategies of successful coping with the challenges of population ageing is the development of assistance systems for elderly people. Thanks to them they can live in their own households for the longest time. This paper is based on an ethnographic case study and explains the ways elderly people are involved in the development of intelligent assistance systems. On the basis of participatory observation and qualitative interviews, it can be concluded that the participation of elderly people in the design of technological devices often happens at the final stage of approval of technical prototypes, as a result of which the perspective of the testing users cannot be appropriately considered in the prototype design. This means that the appearance and functions of the technical facilities are based mainly on the cultural premises and designer’s perceptions of the old age and ageing, and less on the experience and needs of their future users. The contribution observes this tension in relationships through ethnography.