A Design Space for Memory Augmentation Technologies

The pervasive nature of display technologies can enable novel ever-accessible memory aids to address deterioration caused by ageing and cognitive decline. To date, however, memory has largely been treated as a single-unit, and there has been little formal consideration of how to select the most appropriate technology for a given intervention. We build on existing domain knowledge from neuroscience and psychology to suggest a novel design space with two axes: processing level, and display modality. In particular, we consider how augmentations might intervene at a biological, cognitive or meta-cognitive level using head-mounted (private) displays, small-scale (personal) displays, larger public and semi-public displays, and with technology that bypasses the visual channels entirely (e.g. through neural stimulation or non-visual senses). We then provide examples of potential studies to explore these design areas, and discuss future directions this approach to memory augmentation may take. Consideration is also given to the ethics of memory augmentation.