Requirements gathering using drama for computer vision-based monitoring in supportive home environments

The use of theatrical techniques to provoke discussion amongst potential users of gerontechnology in order to assist with the design process was investigated. Specifically, the technology being developed was automated visual tracking and monitoring to support older people within their homes by analysing their activity and raising the alarm should they fall. A professional author produced a variety of stories, manifested as relatively short video scenarios, illustrating the various ways in which the technology might operate and be used. Professional actors played out these scenarios as video clips which were shown to groups of potential users as a means of generating discussion. The result was a rich, qualitative method of data collection used successfully with older people and providing a systematic way of accessing their valuable input on the design of a tool to help them to live independently. The method provided a way in which the results of drama, and the discussions provoked, could be fed back into the design process. Key words: Dramatised scenarios, fall detection, computer vision.