Context & Challenge
People living with memory impairment can experience difficulties remembering and completing everyday tasks. This project explored whether haptic feedback from wearable technology could provide a simple, non-visual way of prompting users to carry out tasks as part of their daily routines. The concept was developed as a mobile application paired with a smartwatch. Users could create customised routines and receive haptic reminders at designated times, with the system recording whether tasks were completed or missed. The resulting data could then be used to help carers and healthcare providers understand how consistently users were engaging with their routines.
Explore how wearable haptic feedback could support routine tasks and independence for people with mild dementia.
Research
The concept was informed by interviews with professionals working in dementia and technology, alongside independent research into memory impairment and technology use.
The research highlighted that people with dementia may not perceive and interact with information in the same way as neurotypical users. This became a central consideration throughout the design process.
Rather than treating the problem as simply a matter of creating a conventional reminder application, I began considering how the interaction itself could be simplified for people who may experience difficulties with memory, navigation and information processing.
Approach
The research informed a number of decisions about how the application should behave.
Reduce unnecessary navigation
Routine options were presented together rather than requiring users to move through multiple levels of navigation. The intention was to minimise additional decisions and interactions that could create confusion.
Create predictable navigation
A prominent Home button was included throughout the application to provide a consistent route back to the starting point.
Increase visual clarity
I used larger spacing between interface elements and a high-contrast colour scheme to improve visual hierarchy and make the interface easier to navigate.
Reduce reliance on memory
I explored alternative login methods, including Face ID and a user-selected security question, rather than requiring users to remember a conventional password.
These decisions were intended to make the interface feel predictable and straightforward rather than requiring users to learn complex interaction patterns.
From user needs to interaction model
I developed user personas and user journeys from the research to explore how different users might interact with the proposed system. The information architecture was then developed around those journeys.
The core interaction was deliberately simple:
Create a routine
Receive a haptic reminder
Complete or miss the task
Record the outcome
This allowed the mobile application and smartwatch to perform different roles.nThe mobile application was responsible for configuring and managing routines. The smartwatch provided the actual reminder through haptic feedback.
The system could then record whether a task had been completed or missed, creating information that could potentially be used by carers or healthcare providers.
Solution
Exploring interaction beyond the screen
One of the central questions behind the project was whether wearable technology could provide an alternative to another visual notification.
Rather than asking the user to repeatedly check an application, the proposed smartwatch interaction would bring the reminder directly to them through haptic feedback.
This created a different relationship between the user and the interface:
The phone manages the routine.
The watch prompts the behaviour.
The user responds to the prompt.
The concept therefore explored how a familiar technology could potentially be repurposed to support a very different interaction need.
Information architecture
I translated the user journeys into an information architecture designed to minimise complexity.
The structure prioritised:
predictable navigation
clear hierarchy
minimal interaction steps
easy access to routine management
a consistent route back to the home screen
The aim was not to provide the greatest number of features, but to create an experience where the most important actions were easy to find.
Wireframes
I developed the concept through wireframes for the mobile application and smartwatch notification. The wireframes allowed me to establish the hierarchy and navigation before considering the final visual treatment.
This was particularly important for this project because the structure of the interface was part of the accessibility solution.
The design needed to be understandable before it could be made visually appealing.
Prototype
The final concept brought the mobile application and smartwatch interaction together into a single system.
The mobile application allowed users to establish and customise their routines, while the smartwatch provided the haptic prompts intended to support those routines.
The prototype explored how the system could respond when a task was completed or missed and how that information could subsequently contribute to monitoring a user’s engagement with their routines.
What still needed to be tested
This project was an exploratory concept rather than a validated healthcare product.
The research identified a potential opportunity, but there were significant questions that would need to be answered before the concept could progress into development. In particular, I identified the need for further research into:
How people with different forms and stages of memory impairment interact with technology
How they perceive and process information
Whether haptic prompts would actually be understood and useful
How the proposed interaction could be adapted for users with different levels of technological ability
Whether the proposed approach would genuinely improve independence and routine adherence.
This was an important limitation of the project. The prototype demonstrated a possible solution, rather than proving that the solution worked.
