Operational Assistance for Elderly People by Using Audio Rhythms

Recently, Information Technology (IT) machines with complicated function are requiring better user assistance, particularly for elderly people. It is necessary to reduce the psychological load such as a sense of insecurity and impatience in operation, as well as the cognitive load. One approach to reduce psychological load is voice guidance. However many elderly people may become confused due to the speed of guidance. Sometimes it is too fast or too slow. Ideally it must synchronize to the user's operational pace reflecting context of use. This research focuses on enhanced operational rhythm to reduce psychological load on the elderly when using a Multiple Function Printer (MFP), which requires the user to navigate between quite a few settings. Evaluation was carried out by observing elderly subjects using an MFP interface whilst hearing a metronome at a tempo of 40, 60 and 120 bpm (beats per minute). The number of operational errors and overall time taken were recorded along with subjective evaluation via interviews with the subjects. The results showed that providing audio rhythm is effective, however a rhythm which is too fast produces a negative effect.