Community design challenge, products striving from concept
Year: 2013
Editor: John Lawlor, Ger Reilly, Robert Simpson, Michael Ring, Ahmed Kovacevic, Mark McGrath, William Ion, David Tormey, Erik Bohemia, Chris McMahon, Brian Parkinson
Author: Timmins, Bernard Anthony; Long, Siobhan; McQuaid, Noel
Series: E&PDE
Institution: Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland
Section: Inclusive Design
Page(s): 447-452
ISBN: 978-1-904670-42-1
Abstract
DITâs Product Design programme, Enable Ireland, and people with disabilities in the community have teamed together to create a unique Assistive Technology and Universal Design learning environment, significantly supported and resourced by the entire team. In this environment students realise very quickly that using âoff-the-shelfâ generic Assistive Technology devices for people with varying degrees of disability leads to Assistive Technology abandonment, and that their innovative designs can play a key role in addressing this issue. A reoccurring theme from people with disabilities in the community is why arenât these innovative designs being made? Reacting to this Enable Ireland, in partnership with Dublin Institute of Technology launched a Community Design Challenge in Microsoft on Monday, December 3rd 2012. This competition is open to all students nationally and internationally, and is sponsored by Leckey, a company which specialises in designing and manufacturing specialist seating and postural management devices for children with disabilities. This competition will finish in August 2013, when a winner will be chosen with a view to getting this design to commercialisation. This paper aims to describe the benefits and risks this synergistic approach to potentially reducing the product life cycle has for the community, students and business.
Keywords: Community, product-life-cycle, assistive-technology, Leckey