Tiago Guerreiro, LASIGE integrated member, was the keynote speaker at the first “Workshop on Mobile and Pervasive Assistive Technologies” (MPAT’21), with “Designing Pervasive Assistive Technologies with Representative Users”, March 22, 2021.

The lecturer departed from the argument that user-centered design (UCD) should not be used as an excuse for superficial and stereotypical technology-focused research. This is of utmost relevance in pervasive contexts where the importance of often unaccounted variables is higher than in more specific environments. It was presented the work done in collaboration with a community of people with visual impairments characterized by deep engagements over a period of more than 14 years. Were also told stories of prototypes covering ideation with representative users, co-design, development and evaluation and also making the case for building and assessing prototypes in ecological contexts over longitudinal periods, as a way to derive knowledge and implications that are not just speculations. Further, it was discussed the collateral impacts of this way of doing research, namely on how to engage with communities, sustainability of prototypes, and ethics of deep engagements.

MPAT was collocated with the 19th International Conference on Pervasive Computing and Communications (PerCom 2021) and its aim is to showcase recent advancements in mobile and pervasive assistive technologies, connecting researchers and practitioners working in the fields of accessibility and pervasive systems.