Challenge today

The company Cykelpoolen Sverige AB (Cykelpoolen) offers electric and cargo bicycle pools. The company is participating in this project due to the fact that the property owners who ordered and paid for the pools do not have the knowledge or interest in the residents in the properties using available electric bicycles. This means that end users use the electric bikes in existing pools to a lesser extent than expected. Thus, Cykelpoolen cannot ensure a sustainable business model based solely on user revenue. In order to enable the shift that the municipalities are striving for, new solutions,  that can contribute to increasing the electric bicycle pools' competitiveness, are therefore needed. 

User-centered design process

In order to make electric bicycle pools a more attractive mobility solution for registered end users, Cykelpoolen, together with RISE, wants to explore how a change in behavior can take place. To create a positive behavior change, the project will combine Design thinking, Nudging and Gamification. In the project, obstacles will be identified, what is it that makes so few people use the bikes today? What is it that triggers and motivates the users? The behavioral insights will create an understanding of what influences their choices. By getting to know the users and finding out how the bikes are used and their views on competing mobility solutions, a better experience can be created with the greatest possible benefit.

Increased use through gamification

The goal is to develop three prototype solutions that will include nudging or gamification to increase the use of the electric and cargo bikes in three selected bicycle pools. The solutions will be integrated into Cykelpoolen's existing end-user app and tested by existing end-users.

The challange

Life stories are collected information about a person, everything from their history to preferences and habits. The method is often used in care and social care to create the conditions for person-centred care. The stories play a vital role for many people as it is a tool that gives the opportunity to see beyond diagnoses. The problem with the method today is that the stories are often "hidden" in journal systems and are not available in daily work. They are also time-consuming to collect, which entails the risk that they are not prioritized and that they are not updated when the person changes over time.

The goal

Through an iterative and user-driven process, the project has explored how multisensory interactive life stories can be designed to:

• convey the sense of identity and belonging create an experience for several senses
• evoke memories, inspire activities, conversations and contribute to well-being
• be useful & available to the staff in their daily work
• increase participation in one's own care situation & social context

The concept developed during the project has been designed as a prototype that has been tested and evaluated by the users in their real context, i.e. staff and care recipients in nursing homes, relatives and elder people still living at home.

Demonstration of the prototype

The application "Like or dislike"

Users engage in conversation around the images displayed on the screen and select thumbs up (like) or thumbs down (dislike) on the images to make a selection. The pictures that get the thumbs up are saved in a collection that can then be sent to Pebbles.

"Pebbles"

Users can either send pictures to Pebbles from the "Like or dislike"-session or from ready-made categories on different themes (for example nature, travel or sports). The images sent to the Pebbles are displayed on a digital screen on the undersides of the "pebbles". After users have viewed the image, they can flip them over to await a new image. If the user holds the stone in their hand, they can also feel it vibrate when the image changes. In this way, it becomes clear that something new has happened.

Publications

AHFE International Conference 2013 Life Stories – Developing an Interactive Solution for Reminiscence and Communication.
AHFE Open Access, vol 88. AHFE International, USA.http://doi.org/10.54941/ahfe1003660

AHFE International Conference 2014 Evaluation of an Interactive Solution for Reminiscence and Communication.  
AHFE Open Access, vol 133. AHFE International, USA.http://doi.org/10.54941/ahfe1004890

Each year, many millions of children are exposed to painful medical events such as vaccinations, blood tests, minor surgeries or invasive examinations. Children often perceive these events as frightening, which can lead to failed treatments, slower healing and anxiety about medical procedures. 

The project’s objective is to strengthen empowerment and trust of the child and their parents during medical procedures and to prevent procedural anxiety and trauma. This is achieved through development of an innovative digital tool integrating multiple evidence-based principles tailored on the age and developmental level of the child. 

The project runs over a period of three years from January 2020 until December 2022. The funding is provided by EIT health. 

In the tool, an attractive and colorful bird-like creature, named Milo will be the companion of the child during the hospital visit and procedure. The “Breath of Nature” is a magical world where the child is invited to join. A multi-modular app with trust-enhancing, relaxation and training modules for the children and their parents will be developed and can be used in the waiting room or at home. Central in the little nirvana experience is the procedural encounter. This will be embedded in a multisensory 2D/3D experience. A service is developed for the care providers, with which they can control the interactive experience based on the patient's status and needs/phases of the procedure.

The role of games is continuously expanding in our society. We play to socialize, to learn and to express ourselves. People of all ages and genders play and have done so since prehistoric times. Game design denotes the design process to break down, describe and recreate games based on their functions and implications. This field of design, with its own theory and practice, has won wide recognition as useful not only for the development of games but also for general modelling of and designing for human behavior. 

This enables the use of the same types of design approaches and techniques in an array of different contexts, for learning as well as for immersive narratives, live action role playing and playful visualization. The type of technologies underlying digital game development is the same as the ones driving XR (extended reality), such as VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality), real time simulations and computer-generated imagery. As a result, our expertise in game development is also applicable in areas such as digital twins, artistic or commercial exhibitions and other interactive non-game contexts. We also use, design, prototype and develop actual games a medium to approach different subjects and questions. For example, as tools for reflection, cooperation, experimentation and innovation, where the unique properties of a game opens new possibilities. 

We apply design methodologies and theories as well as a wide expertise in technical development from hardware to software, in combination with a user-centered focus. The purpose of this is to achieve meaningful change in society and to make state-of-the-art technology available to partners and customers. 

Original photos by Ellicia, Garrett johnson and Robo Wunderkind on Unsplash.

One of the major current trends is the move towards ’invisible’ government and pro-active services to make government services more efficient and accessible. This implies a wide-scale adoption of digital services (e.g., AI, virtual assistants, chatbots, etc.). Provision of such services requires a very good understanding of citizen needs. 

RISE received the task to implement research focused on citizen dialogues (medborgareundersökning). The major aims of the research are to understand:

• When and how do citizens make contact with public services, when is it needed, and when is it unnecessary.
• What contacts do citizens want and not want.
• What do citizens feel confident about public administrations doing automatically "behind the scenes".

Citizen dialogues were implemented using online focus group interviews. Interviews were arranged around specific life events: "Finding somewhere to live", "Having a child in Sweden", and "Victim of crime". The analysis of data helped to identify a number of issues that citizens encounter when approaching governmental authorities today. The analysis also provided key insights about:

• Citizen's perception of personal contact and contact with automated systems.
• In which circumstance one type of contact is more preferred than another.
• Being inside and outside the system.

In the research, we have also identified the key elements important for governmental digital services, which should be in place for these services to take off. These are:

• Digital.
• Trust.
• Inclusion.

The project was implemented in close contact and in continuous dialogue with DIGG. Results of this research will be used by DIGG to formulate their vision and for discussion with different stakeholders. These include EU authorities, Swedish authorities and agencies, municipalities, regions, academia, and citizens.

Project teams involved:  Hayley Ho and Tatjana Apanasevic from Connected societies unit, and Magnus Eriksson from Societal transformation unit. 

Interaction design aims to make products, services, websites and more, to be as easy to understand and use as possible. The basis lies in design principles for the design of interfaces and interaction patterns that guide the user to achieve their goal. Interaction design includes the entire flow for the user, what the interface looks like, how information is presented and how the different steps are put together. The goal is a smooth user experience - interaction design works best when you as a user do not notice that it exists.

Interaction design is about designing the interaction between human and system (eg computer, program, service). The interaction designer needs to have a good knowledge of how human cognitive processes work, and often need both an understanding of how users interact with the system and what is required by the system technically to realize it (eg what information is to be displayed or collected by the user , and when). A user-centered design process strives for the technical solution to be adapted to the user's needs and what he wants to achieve. In reality, however, some compromises are often required between both the user and the system, depending on the project time and budget.

How do we work with interaction design?

We work with interaction for design in research and together with business and the public sector. In a design project, we start by creating an understanding of people's current activities through observations, interviews, workshops and other design methods. We also study what is happening in the outside world and how it relates to the activities. With this as a starting point, we design products, services or systems that enable other ways of carrying out activities. We often create prototypes to be able to test ideas at an early stage and evaluate them with people in their lives. With this way of working, we can create sustainable and attractive solutions for people, industry and society.

We must change the way we live to reach national and international targets for ecological, social, and economical sustainability, such as UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. However, these targets are not on our minds as we go about our daily lives. In everyday living we engage in different activities to achieve completely different types of targets such as getting to work or school, preparing meals, having fun, resting, or taking care of friends and family. These activities take place in varying physical and social context, such as at work or at home, indoors or outdoors, and both in public and private settings.

Why Design for sustainable living?

Even if we are not aware of it, most of our activities has impact from a sustainability perspective – positive or negative. With design methods and strategies for sustainable living, we can explore how everyday activities can be carried out with less negative impact and instead potentially have a positive impact. To do so, we start with understanding how people live and what sustainability impact their lifestyle has. We then use design strategies for sustainable living to create solutions that enable other ways of carrying out everyday activities. An example of a design solution for a person who needs to transport larger items with less climate impact than with a car would be an electric cargo bike. Another example is that the design and placement of an outdoor gym can influence which groups (in terms of age or gender, for instance) that utilise the gym.

How do we create sustainable solutions for people's everyday challenges?

We work with Design for sustainable living in research or with business and the public sector. In a design project on sustainable lifestyles, we often start by creating an understanding of people's current activities through observations, interviews, workshops, or other design-ethnographic methods. We can, in addition, measure behaviours, preferences, or sustainability impact, for example with sensors, questionnaires, or life cycle assessments. Then, we study relevant trends and developments in society. Based on this combined understanding, we design products, services, systems, or built environments that could enable other ways of carrying out these activities. We often prototype initial ideas and evaluate them with people in the intended use context. This way of working enables us to create sustainable and attractive solutions to people's everyday challenges.

Purpose and goal

The project focused on the societal challenge with a growing polarization in the public discourse. Sweden's democracy model is based on citizen participation, where the media play an important role as a place for dialogue. With a change in media use, however, there is a need to explore new methods and digital tools for this. The goal of the project was to create a solution that can make it easier for people to meet in a safe and inclusive way. In the project, we explored e.g. how to use newspaper content constructively, in order to attract even those who do not usually participate.

Results

The project developed and suggest methods for working with constructive journalism and reader engagement, designed user scenarios and concept ideas, as well as an early prototype of a digital tool tested with user groups. The result serve as a basis for further development in a stage 3 project where the implementation of a chosen solution is further developed and tested in a real environment.

Project process

RISE, Mitt i Direkt AB, Norr Media AB and Södertörn University jointly carry out a design and prototyping process where constructive journalism and digital tools are tested together with user groups in a lab environment. Content in Mitt i Direkt AB's newspaper will be linked to the innovation process in the project. 

En produkts miljöpåverkan är till stor del avhängig de tidiga stegen av produktutveckling, där design är en avgörande faktor. Därför är det viktigt att inkludera och integrera hållbarhetsaspekter från start, utan att för den delen kompromissa med andra viktiga faktorer så som prestanda, funktionalitet, estetik, kvalité och kostnader. Detta kallas ibland för ekodesign.

Det kan kännas svårt att veta vad, var och hur ekodesign ska appliceras. Här kan RISE hjälpa dig både med processen och i de olika stegen, vilket kan inkludera allt från till exempel att:

• optimera funktion,
• minska miljöpåverkan under användning,
• välja rätt material,
• minska mängden material,
• optimera livslängden,
• optimera produktionen,
• optimera resthanteringen, och
• optimera distributionen.

Vid arbete med ekodesign är det av relevans att ha tillgång till expertkompetens inom flera olika områden, och här kan RISE t.ex. också bistå med kompentens inom LCA, substitution av oönskade kemikalier, cirkulär omställning, hållbara material, hållbar produktion mm.  RISE kan också ge stöd med designmetodik för att ta reda på vilka funktioner som behövs, hur miljöpåverkan under användning kan minskas och vad som är en optimal livslängd, till exempel.

Med hjälp av ekodesign kan både produkt och process bli mer miljömässigt hållbar med minskad negativ påverkan på miljön som en av flera positiva effekter.

During the project, RISE, Brain+, Aarhus University, Aarhus University Hospital, Lytics and Sentian first researched how digital game design and design for behavior change could potentially be applied to discover, prevent and treat Alzheimers disease. Later in the project, the project partners explored how the form of dementia treatment called Cognitive Stimulation Therapy, CST, can be translated to a digital format through support tools for clinical professionals as well as relatives, acquaintances and people around people with dementia.

Participants from RISE included Kristina Knaving, Annika Gustafsson, Maja Fjällbäck, Anneli Nöu, László Sall Vesselényi and Jessica Dagman.