Got the Device, Where is the Service? Case Studies of Visually Impaired Users in Developing Smart Care

This study shows that the desired interactions between users and a smart environment may occur in increasingly dynamic and heterogeneous forms. The services must be invoked automatically according to perceived user demands in the contexts in which they are living. Ideally, alternative assistance should be offered as appropriate and fed back into users´ mobility settings. We argue that single devices or systems cannot by themselves meet these requirements. An innovative approach is required so that the increasingly specialised devices can be supported by an ad hoc infrastructure for dynamic, non-text reading services. This is a critical prerequisite for developing smart care for users. Some essential concepts relating to the services are also discussed