Warm Technology: a novel perspective on design for and with people living with dementia

In developing technologies to address needs of people living with dementia, we note a frequent mismatch between the dominant solutions offered in AAL and telecare technologies today—through screens, sensors, “natural” interactions, and complicated 'one-size-fits-all' technology integration—and the personal needs of people living with dementia. In this chapter, we develop the concept of Warm Technology, which redirects our focus from providing efficient and clinical support in view of the limitations and corrosions associated with dementia, to a more emancipated notion of aging, and a technology design process that is sensitive to the possibilities and unique qualities of old age—personal, affective, social, contextualized, and embodied. Warm Technology aims at improving quality of life by supporting and enhancing human potential, social connectedness, dignity, and self-reliance. We formulate design criteria of Warm Technology and present a number of design cases that illustrate this new direction in designing for and with people living with dementia.