Initiation of the Suan-Lien living lab - A living lab with an elderly welfare focus

Abstract

This paper presents the initiation of the Suan-Lien Living Lab. The Suan-Lien Living Lab was established by the Center of Innovation and Synergy for Intelligent Home and Living Technology (INSIGHT Center, National Taiwan University) in the Suan-Lien Elderly Care Center, in north Taiwan in 2009. This paper presents the three key steps to launching the Suan-Lien Living Lab. The first step is to reach a mutual understanding and position of trust while recording and analyzing the data of target users, the second step is to create a protocol facilitating each test process, and the third step is to conduct tests under a sustainable operation model. This paper also summarizes the lessons learnt during the process, suggesting that the five major key success factors are: (1) high involvement of users, (2) versatile forms of communication, (3) effective conversion of tacit knowledge, (4) the building of a multi-disciplinary team, and (5) cohesion of stakeholders. Challenges and future development of the Suan-Lien Living Lab are also fully discussed. This paper also describes two example projects conducted in the Suan-Lien Living Lab. From these projects, we identified the challenges faced by the Suan-Lien Living Lab and its future development. © 2012 International Journal of Automation and Smart Technology.