In this paper we describe the co-design process of a proof-of-concept home control system, and how it was carried out by utilising a user-centred design methodology. The aim was to develop a demonstrator of a home control system that supports elderly people in living more independently in their homes. The focus of the research was on the configuration tool of the environment, which was meant to be exploited in a nursing home. The home control system was intended to be used and configured by non-technologically versed users: mainly the care personnel, but also the inhabitants and their close relatives. The system was co-designed and evaluated at first with nurses, who were considered to be the local experts of the chosen ecosystem. The final web-based proof-of-concept system was evaluated with nurses and end-users.

This paper presents a solution for creating light-weighted content and context-aware mobile multimedia services. The main application domain is in user created multimedia content and experience sharing. Our approach is to have a platform supporting state-of-the art content management functionalities in order to enable easy creation of specialized multimedia services for various target groups and purposes. We have developed a mobile multimedia content creation platform with integrated context metadata support. To verify the overall functionality of our platform we have defined a multimedia content service template and created a set of exemplary services using Web-based technologies such as JavaScript, media RSS feed and Java.

In this paper we introduce prerequisites for the empowerment of social interaction when using a multi-user mobile service. The paper is based on a case study of user experiences of a multiplayer mobile game where the players attend the game via their mobile phones whilst their activity is materialized on a common public display. Based on the results of user evaluation we introduce three enabling factors for social interaction in a multiplayer game: context, communication and identification. User aspects to these factors as well as perspectives to other types of services are presented.