Autonomous driving will change the role of the driver. From being the main actor in driving, the driver will now have a supervisory role during the autonomous driving phases. However, if the driver has to take over control of the vehicle, he must be aware of the situation around him. This is why it is important to develop interfaces to keep him in the loop. This article proposes a systematic review of Human Vehicle Interaction (HVI) providing situation awareness in the context of autonomous driving. 37 articles presenting such interactions are analyzed in terms of design of the interaction (modalities, location, conveyed information) but also in term of evaluation and experimental conditions. We present an overview of previous studies in order to highlight the work already done or in progress. Current studies present mainly monomodal interfaces although the evaluation of multimodal interactions present promising results in this field.

Virtual Coaches, also known as e-coaches, are a disruptive technology in healthcare. Indeed, among other usages, they might provide cost-effective solutions for increasing human wellbeing in different domains, such as physical, nutritional, cognitive, social, and emotional. This paper presents a systematic review of virtual coaches specifically aimed at improving or maintaining older adults’ health in the aforementioned domains. Such digital systems assume various forms, from classic apps, to more advanced conversational agents or robots. Fifty-six articles describing a virtual coach for older adults and aimed at improving their wellbeing were identified and further analyzed. In particular, we presented how previous studies defined their virtual coaches, which behavioral change models and techniques they adopted and the overall system architecture, in terms of monitoring solutions, processing methods and modalities for intervention delivery. Our results show that few thorough evaluations of e-coaching systems have been conducted, especially regarding multi-domain coaching approaches. Through our analysis, we identified the wellbeing domains that should be addressed in future studies as well as the most promising behavior change models and techniques and coaching interfaces. Previous work illustrates that older adults often appreciate conversational agents and robots. However, the lack of a multidomain intervention approach in the current literature motivates us to seek to define future solutions.

In the Internet of Things era, an increasing number of everyday objects are able to offer innovative services to the user. However, most of these devices provide only smartphone or web user interfaces. As a result, the interaction is disconnected from the physical world, decreasing the user experience and increasing the risk of user alienation from the physical world. We argue that tangible interaction can counteract this trend and this article discusses the potential benefits and the still open challenges of tangible interaction applied to the Internet of Things. After an analysis of open challenges for Human-Computer Interaction in IoT, we summarize current trends in tangible interaction and extrapolate eight tangible interaction properties that could be exploited for designing novel interactions with IoT objects. Through a systematic review of tangible interaction applied to IoT, we show what has been already explored in the systems that pioneered the field and the future explorations that still have to be conducted. In order to guide future work in this field, we propose a design card set for supporting the generation of tangible interfaces for IoT objects. The card set has been evaluated during a workshop with 21 people and the results are discussed.

This article proposes a smart watch for the recognition of gestures with objects. The watch is designed to embed different kinds of sensors enabling several functionalities: the recognition of tagged objects by means of RFID technology; the recognition of gestures of the forearm using inertial sensors; the recognition of fingers gestures, hand gestures and grasps by sensing the force exerted by tendons in the wrist. Although the first two functionalities adopt common solutions already presented in the literature, for the third functionality we propose a novel approach based on flexible force sensors on the wrist. These sensors are integrated in the belt of the watch and aim to detect movements of tendons and changes of the shape of the wrist. A feasibility evaluation is presented and discussed. Results show that force sensors on the wrist are able to retrieve important information about hand and finger movements, although this information can vary depending on sensor placement. Further improvements for this system are also proposed.

The Senior Living Lab (SLL) is a transdisciplinary research platform created by four Universities that aims at promoting ageing well at home through the co-creation of innovative products, services and practices with older adults. While most living labs for ageing well are focused on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), this social laboratory adopts a transdisciplinary approach, bringing together designers, economists, engineers and healthcare professionals to develop multiple forms of social innovation using participatory methods. The SLL is based on an ecological approach, connecting professionals and users in a cooperative network and involving all of the stakeholders concerned with ageing well, such as existing associations, business entities and policy-makers. Three main themes for the co-design of products and services were identified at the beginning of the SLL conception, each sustained by a major business partner: healthy nutrition to cope with frailty, improved autonomous mobility to foster independence and social communication to prevent isolation. This article shows the innovative transdisciplinary approach of the SLL and discusses the particular challenges that emerged during the first year of its creation, investigating the role of ICTs when designing products and services for older adults.