This study investigates the application of immersive experience services to leisure facilities for the successful aging of the elderly. In the past, the social image of the elderly was that of passive beings who needed care due to physical and cognitive decline associated with biological aging. However, the concept of “successful aging” actively highlighting the positive aspects of aging and trying to promote longer and healthier life has started to acquire importance in recent years. In this context, elderly welfare centers can be described as facilities that encourage learning, leisure, and social activities of the elderly with impaired physical and cognitive functions. The use of recent immersive experience technologies such as virtual reality and mixed reality (MR), in order to mitigate physical and spatial constraints and provide an immersion into the desired environment and situation, could contribute substantially to the health of the elderly. However, the application of immersive technologies is concentrated on the provision of entertainment, education, and medical facilities. The number of previous studies on the immersion experiences of the elderly is limited, and the connection between immersion experiences and various services and programs that promote successful aging at elderly welfare centers requires further research. This study analyzes the function and space of the elderly welfare centers for successful aging through the review of previous studies and classifies immersion technology categories based on the review of the relevant literature. The study analyzes the health benefits of immersive experience technologies and related products and services and proposes an immersive experience service model for the elderly welfare center. The results of the study could provide a valuable input for the spatial application of immersive experience technologies for successful aging in the future.

Smart-home technology and related services can reinforce a person’s experiential nature, promoting sustainable living among the elderly. It is crucial in the housing industry that support “Aging in Place”, contributing to the contact, control, and simulation of nature at home as well as the creation of a high-quality living space instead of mechanical achievement. Further, biophilic experience, the strengthening of inherent human propensity to nature for optimal health and well-being, supports the elderly’s physical, mental, and sociological health. However, despite the continuing emphasis on the benefits of residential nature experiences for the elderly, the application of smart-home technology and services is insufficient. This study presents a theoretical basis for combining biophilia and smart-home technology, providing a framework for smart-home services to ensure elderly residents can have biophilic experiences. In this study, smart-home components and related studies that can support the biophilic experience and the corresponding technology are analyzed. The results suggest the type and content of smart-home service for ensuring a biophilic experience, while also indicating the configuration of supportive input and output devices according to the service framework. Moreover, we recommend the interaction characteristics of smart-home devices from the perspective of residents, space, efficient service provision, and physical application. This paper broadens our understanding of the sustainable, residential-environment nature experience and informs the expansion of the aged-friendly smart-home industry, contributing to smart-home services trends and development.

This study covers the issue of insufficient childcare support, which is part of the combined social problem of low birth rates and aging, and sets the direction for the environmental improvement of childcare facilities. This study aims to find the clues to creating an optimized environment for children in nature, which is a key factor that generally promotes children’s physical, cognitive, and social development. In this paper, we conducted a literature review and case study to determine the spatial design characteristics of childcare facilities based on a biophilic design and survey. This study reached five conclusions. Firstly, childcare facilities need a spatial design to have a view of the natural ecosystem outside to increase children’s concentration and provide a pleasant environment. Secondly, there is a need for open space that makes observation and monitoring more convenient in the different spaces of childcare facilities. Thirdly, childcare facilities need a spatial design where children can enjoy various sensory experiences related to nature. Fourthly, childcare facilities must have an interesting and familiar spatial design using natural elements. Lastly, there must be hiding places considering the children’s stage of development and learning ability. The results will be used as the baseline data for the spatial design and planning of childcare facilities based on biophilic design.

There has been increasing academic interest in biophilic design in response to recent environmental and climate change issues, including the COVID-19 pandemic. However, discussions of the utilization of digital technology in providing universal access to nature, and opportunities to experience more diverse nature, are lacking. This study aimed to compare and analyze major theoretical systems for biophilic experiences in a residential environment, and to propose a hybrid framework that combines physical and digital design techniques for comparison and analysis. This paper discusses framework application strategies in line with scales of residential environments. Based on a systematic literature review, this study integrated and derived key elements of biophilic experience for a better quality of life in a modern residential environment and proposed a hybrid framework and strategy based on this. As a result, a hybrid framework of 15 integrated factors for three biophilic experiences was derived, and various strengths and potential opportunities were identified in terms of application depending on the scales. At the unit scale, it was found that the well-being and health of residents improved; at the building scale, the potential for sustainability was highlighted; at the complex scale, there was a contribution to higher residential competitiveness in multi-dimensional aspects. In particular, the biophilic experience-based hybrid framework in this study provided insights into addressing the weaknesses and threats discussed in the existing biophilic design.

This study proposes a new family of high‐boost Z ‐source inverters (ZSIs) with combined switched‐inductor and transformer cells. By changing the transformer turn ratio, the number of switched‐inductor cells and shoot‐through duty cycle, the proposed inverter produces high voltage gain. Compared with the conventional high‐boost ZSI topologies for the same input and output voltage, the proposed inverter uses a higher modulation index to improve the output waveform. An alternate‐cascaded technique is applied to the proposed inverter to distribute the stresses on the passive components. This study presents the operating principles and analysis. To verify the performance of the proposed inverter, simulation and experimental results are shown with various transformer turn ratios.