How to Enhance Elderly Care Products, Services, and Systems by Means of IoT Technology and Human-Centered Design Approach

Nowadays world is characterized by two significant factors: a progressively ageing society and the digitalization process. While the first phenomenon is mainly due to the ageing of the Baby Boomer generation (those born between 1946 and 1964), as well as to increased longevity and the decrease of birth rate (Aguiar and Macário in Transp Res Proced 25:4355–4369, 2017 [1]; WHO, 2014 [2]), the digitalization process is spreading all over the world thanks to the enormous evolution of the Internet and Information Communication Technology (Gartner Information Technology Glossary: Definition of Digitalization, 2021 [3]). The related changes of these factors can be considered from two perspectives. On the one hand, they are a harbinger of possibilities and opportunities, but on the other hand, they also involve a high potential of exclusion, especially for fragile categories, such as elderly people. In this situation, the role of Human-centered design (HCD) is not only to design products and services that meet the needs of the elderly, but also to support an inclusive society where the elderly can actively age and continue their economic, social, and cultural routines. In particular, this contribution investigates the role of HCD in leveraging IoT technologies to enhance the elderly care scenario on three different levels: products, services, and systems. Finally, based on these three levels, the role of HCD methodology is discussed in relation to the context of elderly care and IoT technology.