PROCEDURAL STUDY ON THE APPLICATION OF TAILORED CUSTOMIZATION ON USERFIT DESIGNS OF ASSISTIVE DEVICES

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Wu, Fong-Gong | Chen, Rain | Chang, Eva

Affiliations: Department of Industrial Design, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan | Department of Visual Communication Design, Southern Taiwan University, Taiwan | Department of Industrial Design, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan

Abstract: There are a large number of studies about the designs of assistive Devices, but there is a serious lack of studies on the design procedures for assistive Devices. Most existing assistive Devices conduct pure customization for specific cases, but assistive Devices with pure customization creates even heavier economic burdens upon the disabled, who are already at an economic disadvantage. This study introduces the concept of tailored customization to USERfit design procedures for assistive Devices. By using expert evaluations from different fields, this study allows the same types of assistive Devices to be designed using tailored customization rather than pure customization. Results of the study show that the introduction of tailored customization to USERfit design procedures for assistive Devices would allow other disabled cases to have a lessened economic burden without compromising the usage needs. This study will make USERfit design procedures for assistive Devices more comprehensive, allowing more disabled people to acquire suitable assistive Devices.

Keywords: tailored customization, USERfit, assistive devices, design, process

Journal: Journal of Integrated Design & Process Science, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 13-23, 2008