While voice user interfaces offer increased accessibility due to hands-free and eyes-free interactions, older adults often have challenges such as constructing structured requests and perceiving how such devices operate. Voice-first user interfaces have the potential to address these challenges by enabling multimodal interactions. Standalone voice + touchscreen Voice Assistants (VAs), such as Echo Show, are specific types of devices that adopt such interfaces and are gaining popularity. However, the affordances of the additional touchscreen for older adults are unknown. Through a 40-day real-world deployment with older adults living independently, we present a within-subjects study (N = 16; age M = 82.5, SD = 7.77, min. = 70, max. = 97) to understand how a built-in touchscreen might benefit older adults during device setup, conducting self-report diary survey, and general uses. We found that while participants appreciated the visual outputs, they still preferred to respond via speech instead of touch. We identified six design implications that can inform future innovations of senior-friendly VAs for managing healthcare and improving quality of life.

翻译：尽管语音用户界面通过免提和免视交互提升了可访问性，但老年人往往面临构建结构化请求、感知设备运行方式等挑战。以语音为主的人机界面通过实现多模态交互有望解决这些问题。采用此类界面的独立语音+触摸屏语音助手（如Echo Show）正日益普及，但附加触摸屏对老年人的功能可供性尚不明确。通过对独立居住的老年人进行为期40天的实际部署，我们开展了一项被试内研究（N=16；年龄均值82.5，标准差7.77，最小值70，最大值97），旨在探究内置触摸屏如何在设备设置、自我报告日记调查及日常使用中为老年人带来益处。研究发现，尽管参与者认可视觉输出的价值，他们仍更倾向于通过语音而非触摸进行回应。我们提炼出六项设计启示，可为未来开发面向老年人的友好型语音助手以管理医疗健康、提升生活质量提供参考。