Taking back the interface for older people

The ageing population in western countries will mean increased demand on resources for supporting older people. Technology can play an important part in providing this support and alleviating the economic impact, but it is vital that the needs of older people are properly considered in this process. The general purpose computers in common use today are unsuitable for many older people and only by taking a radical approach to designing technology for this user community can we actually succeed in providing the support which is necessary in enabling them to live an independent life. In this research I propose to develop an application with interaction components specifically designed to allow older users to overcome many of the access barriers they currently face.