A Conceptual Design for a Smart Photo Album Catered to the Elderly

As Taiwan becomes an aged society, the problems caused by memory and cognitive impairments have added to the enormous medical care costs, increasing the burden placed on the next generation. Medical studies have found that adding brain-protective factors into daily life and engaging in mental activities that stimulate brain function, creative activities, or regular exercise can significantly prevent mental and memory loss. Therefore, this study used the concepts within reminiscence therapy to develop a smart photo album in order to improve elderly memories and ability to feel happiness. The user-centered design focused on care for the elderly to accomplish the conceptual design. Observation and interviews were first conducted to explore the needs and ideas of the elderly had regarding photographs (the discover step). Then, the key factors for design were analyzed and defined by affinity diagram (the define step). We founded 4 affinity factors relating to the mental ideals of the elderly: Memories (k1), Sharing (k2), Emotion (k3) and Lack (k4). Next, the scenario story was used to generate rich and innovative conceptual designs and to integrate new technologies (the develop step). In this study the smart photo album was named Fond Memories that presented two features: “Image memory sharing” and “Emotion detection”. These shared memories create empathy, relieve depression, and allow the elderly to enjoy memories with their families.