Troubleshooting as a method in COVID-19 times: smart home ethnographies and remote aged care innovation

ABSTRACT

This article outlines and demonstrates the practice of troubleshooting as a method. We argue that as an interdisciplinary, collaborative, digital-hybridized and adaptable approach, troubleshooting provides an ethical opportunity to explore the experiences and outcomes of (older) people living with connected home technologies in ways that deliver novel and meaningful research insights. Our discussion draws on the experience of a project that worked with ageing people (70+) to tailor and explore their experiences with smart home devices to support their independence and wellbeing. A personalized suite of digital voice assistants (DVAs), robotic vacuum cleaners, smart lights, kettles and switches were installed into the domestic spaces and routines of 23 households and 33 participants living in rural Australia. The project team developed a methodological framework, which took an unplanned and innovative turn in response to the physical distancing challenges brought by COVID-19 lockdowns, with the social connectivity offered by the devices trialled, and the creative digital living skills between the project team and its participants. We conclude by identifying future areas of research at the intersection of smart technologies, aged care services and the home as a site of research and of ongoing methodological design.

KEYWORDS:

• Smart home
• troubleshooting
• ethnographic methodologies
• aged care
• digital living skills

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgement of Country We wish to acknowledge the people of the Kulin Nations, on whose land the Monash and Deakin university teams work; and the people of the Jukumbal, Kamilaroi/Gomeroi Nations, on whose land the McLean Care team work and on whose land this project was undertaken. We pay our respects to their Elders, past, present, and emerging.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Melisa Duque

Melisa Duque is a Research Fellow of the Emerging Technologies Research Lab, and a full-time member based at the Department of Design MADA. As a design researcher, her work sits at the intersection of Design Anthropology, Participatory Design and Everyday Design.

Sarah Pink

Sarah Pink is Professor of Design and Emerging Technologies and Director of the Emerging Technologies Research Lab at Monash University. Her work is interdisciplinary, and brings together academic scholarship and applied practice to create new modes of researching and intervening in the world towards responsible and ethical futures.

Michael Mortimer

Michael Mortimer is an Industry Research Fellow within the School of Engineering, Deakin University. Michael works for the Centre for Advanced Design in Engineering Training (CADET) Virtual Reality (VR) laboratory where Michael and the team focus on both fundamental and applied research into VR, haptics, and Human–Computer Interaction (HCI) paradigms. The team’s technical expertise lies in mechatronics, robotics, virtual reality and soft computing.

Yolande Strengers

Yolande Strengers Digital sociologist and human–computer interaction scholar investigating the sustainability and gender effects of digital, emerging and smart technologies. Yolande has been appointed through the Faculty of Information Technology and leads the Energy Futures research program.

Rex Martin

Rex Martin is a PhD candidate at Monash University’s Emerging Technologies Research Lab. His PhD project investigates the social, cultural and sensory experiences of households using micro-generation (e.g. rooftop solar PV) and battery storage technologies.

Larissa Nicholls

Larissa Nicholls is an experienced Research Fellow with a demonstrated history of delivering industry-relevant research in the fields of energy consumption & policy, health & wellbeing, household vulnerability, smart technologies, and urban design. Skilled in Applied Research, Energy Policy Analysis, Project Management, Budgeting, Sustainability, Environmental Issues, & Energy Efficiency.

Ben Horan

Ben is a Professor and the Director of the CADET Virtual Reality Training and Simulation research lab at Deakin University. Ben’s research expertise spans virtual reality, human–computer interaction, energy and mechatronics and has a range of applications including training and simulation.

Alicia Eugene

Alicia is the Principal Consultant at Harvest Community Sector Consulting. She is a human services sector strategist, co-design facilitator and project manager. Her experience spans a range of community sectors and vulnerable populations with a focus on social justice, applied industry-research practice and innovation.

Sue Thomson

Sue Thomson is the Chief Executive Officer of McLean Care, a not-for-profit aged community-based and residential aged care provider. Her experience spans leadership, governance and strategy and she is committed to the pursuit of innovation to help solve regional, rural and remote aged care service delivery challenges.