Our work is “use-inspired basic research.” It seeks to be profoundly practical in everyday living -- transportation, health, communications, business, work & retirement, planning & decision making, play & recreation, and caregiving, while seeking to advance basic understanding of how aging impacts and is impacted by social, economic and technological systems.

Our research is motivated by a shared belief that the appropriate use of technology, along with innovations in delivery, can have a significant impact on the quality of life for older adults, their families and caregivers.

Our activities involve an array of disciplines including engineering, computer science, human factors, health and medical science, design, management, marketing, and the social and behavioral sciences.

The Lab employs three interrelated and mutually reinforcing approaches:

• Field Research: Because our research aims to provide solutions for practical problems, part of the research consists of surveys and interviews with older and younger people, observations of behavior in various settings, on-site use of novel devices and analysis of existing archival data.
• Theoretical Models: A second research activity is the development of theoretical models that account for observed phenomena in the field research. Because of the complexity of the issues involved, and the number of possible solutions, such models are essential as tools for modeling, simulation and decision making, e.g., a verifying theory of how older adults learn, use, and trust new technology and related services.
• Laboratory Experiments Laboratory experiments with younger and older people provide the opportunity to study various questions in a controlled environment, giving us access to issues that are impractical or impossible to study otherwise.

These three research activities are by no means independent. Field data are used to generate predictions for lab experiments, and to serve as the basis for preliminary models. Laboratory experiments allow researchers to replicate phenomena that were observed in the field research, and to test predictions derived from the theoretical models. The theoretical models are continually updated with data from the lab and field studies. The AgeLab maintains and is actively developing one of the world's largest knowledgebases on older adult and caregiver behavior in a variety of setting--from driving, to health behaviors to the adoption of new technologies.