This study analysed work activity in a hospital basement where humans and robots interacted and cooperated on logistics tasks. The robots were deployed to automate parts of courier processes and improve the work environment for the hospital's kitchen staff. Human–robot cooperation was studied through ethnographic fieldwork relating to mobile service robots and hospital kitchen staff. The results highlighted problems arising through the assumption that the ‘plug and play’ service robots could effectively automate work tasks. The analysis revealed the complexity of human–robot interaction in dynamic work settings such as hospitals and identified contradictions between the envisioning and realisation of robots at work, as well as the visible and invisible procedures underpinning human–robot cooperation. Consequently, we emphasise the importance of considering robots as agents of change and draw attention to the new work practices that arise when robots assume the roles of workers in dynamic work settings.

Domestic robots such as vacuum cleaners or lawnmowers are becoming popular consumer products in private homes, but while current HCI research on domestic robots has highlighted for example personalisation, long-term effects, or design guidelines, little attention has been paid to automation. To address this, we conducted a qualitative study with 24 participants in private households using interviews, contextual technology tours, and robot deployment. Through thematic analysis we identified three themes related to 1) work routines and automation, 2) domestic robot automation and the physical environment, as well as 3) interaction and breakdown intervention. We present an empirical understanding of how task automation using domestic robots can be implemented in the home. Lastly, we discuss our findings in relation to existing literature and highlight three opportunities for improved task automation using domestic robots for future research.

Designing technology-mediated connections between patients, relatives and healthcare providers is a main focus of electronic healthcare (eHealth). Involving future users in the innovation and design of eHealth is important for understanding the complex socio-technical challenge of connecting key actors in health management. This paper presents the results of a research project on the design of eHealth solutions for hearing healthcare. We introduce a client journey perspective on hearing rehabilitation and present how we engaged elderly hearing aid users, relatives and healthcare providers in inventing future eHealth-assisted client journeys. Our analysis of this problem space presents a series of boundaries and barriers and possible bridges and connections for future hearing rehabilitation. We synthesise these results by developing an integrated model of the complex interplay between information, communication and learning among key actors in hearing rehabilitation and we outline four implications for design within this framework.

Assessing the amount of carbohydrates in their food is central for people with diabetes mellitus on intensive insulin therapy. This can be a challenging task for adults, but it is particularly so for young people since being a teenager takes attention from disease management. Learning happens in everyday life, but formal diabetes education is also considered an important aspect of diabetes self-management. In a case study we wanted to investigate how, and to which extent, to add motivation (chocolate) to learning (broccoli) by applying participatory design methods in the development of a mobile game about carbohydrate counting. This paper presents the design process and the resulting prototype. It concludes with challenges and opportunities for design of digital learning systems for children and adolescents addressing the carbohydrate counting issue.

The paper presents three directions for design of IT-services supporting everyday living with the chronic illness diabetes.