Thermal stimulation is a feedback channel that has the potential to influence the emotional response of people to media such as images. While previous work has demonstrated that thermal stimuli might have an effect on the emotional perception of images, little is understood about the exact emotional responses different thermal properties and presentation techniques can elicit towards images. This paper presents two user studies that investigate the effect thermal stimuli parameters (e.g. intensity) and timing of thermal stimuli presentation have on the emotional perception of images. We found that thermal stimulation increased valence and arousal in images with low valence and neutral to low arousal. Thermal augmentation of images also reduced valence and arousal in high valence and arousal images. We discovered that depending on when thermal augmentation is presented, it can either be used to create anticipation or enhance the inherent emotion an image is capable of evoking.

Rehabilitation has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of falling in older adults. However, low adherence to rehabilitation exercises in the home means that seniors often do not get the therapy that they require. We propose that the use of tailored exergames could encourage adherence to falls rehabilitation in the home, as exergames have proved successful in clinical settings. We describe the results from the first known study to investigate the longterm (12 weeks) use of exergames, designed in close collaboration with elderly users, for falls rehabilitation in the home. Our findings suggest that there is an untapped potential of exergames for home rehabilitation use, as our findings show that there was better adherence to exercise in participants who used the exergames, versus those who used standard care. Finally, we make recommendations for designers, on the design of exergames for the rehabilitation of seniors.

In this paper, we describe the design and evaluation of an interactive home-based rehabilitation visualisation system used by a wide variety of ages (users in our studies were aged from 47-89) to undertake rehabilitation in the home following knee replacement surgery. We present the rehabilitation visualization system and the results of a randomized controlled study in which we investigated the usability and feasibility of the system in the home. We found that our users were able to use the system successfully for their rehabilitation with improved rehabilitation outcomes after 6 weeks when compared to the current rehabilitation care. Finally we highlight the lessons learned which will benefit prospective designers of home rehabilitation technology in ensuring successful home evaluations in clinical rehabilitation.

Abstract. The home is a complex environment, designed for general use but shaped by individual needs and desires. It is a place often shared by several people with different demands and requirements. It is a place embedded with technologies utilised at various times by people in diverse ways. Until recently most home technologies have been primarily functional; aimed at easing domestic chores such as cooking, washing and cleaning. In the last few years information and communication technologies have added to the technological complexity of the home. Entertainment technologies have become increasingly dominant, as the simple TV has given way to video, DVD and satellite or cable services. Technologies converge and diverge to create new hybrid experiences; a trend which we see continuing. Moreover in the future ubiquitous and ambient computing devices and functions will become hidden and communications between devices will become more complex. It is against this background that we undertook a number of studies into the place of technologies and technology use in the home. We studied the placement and use of existing technologies in five homes in Scotland using a novel, multi-part, naturalistic methodology. Transcripts from the studies were analysed using a grounded theory approach in an attempt to draw out key, recurring concepts concerning technology use at home. Eight conceptsplace, learning, utility, interaction, control, cost, lifecycle and privacy -emerged from this analysis. Additionally, four types of space were identified in homes; communication, work, leisure (private) and leisure (public). In this paper we focus on these four spaces and how they fit in with previous work on places and spaces in the home. We present a contextually grounded method of investigation of home technologies, the technology tour, and show how the four spaces in the home can be understood and represented as maps of the home layout that are often different for different members of the household. This understanding of place can be set alongside an understanding of technology where the themes of utility, interaction, cost and lifecycle are most important. General design issues that cross place and technology in the home are discussed in the final section of the paper. These can be used to sensitise designers of both artefacts and physical spaces to the needs of people and their use of technologies at home.

Falls are the leading cause of accidental injury-related deaths in the elderly; a fall can lead to a loss of independence, and a fear of falling. Rehabilitation programmes involving exercise have proved the most successful way to reduce the risk of falls. However, the limitations of standard care (e.g. booklets) could prevent home users from receiving the full therapeutic benefit that rehabilitation offers. Having consulted users and health experts, we developed games, and visualizations for falls rehabilitation that we believe could potentially overcome the main barriers to effective rehabilitation in the home. In this paper, we describe user studies that we carried out with older adults to evaluate the use of these visual tools versus standard care, both in the laboratory and in the home. Our main findings show that our visualizations and games were able to overcome the major limitations of standard care, and that they were usable and acceptable to the end users.