User-driven product development: Designed by, not designed for

Abstract

The current state of function and design of accessible assistive technology is lacking, evidenced by low usability and high abandonment rates by people with disabilities (PwD). A significant contributing factor to these negative outcomes is a lack of user-centered design or user-opinion in the product development. The Human Performance and Mobility Maker Lab (HPML) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a new facility dedicated to developing assistive technology by PwDs. Rather than being excluded from the design and innovation process, PwDs are the primary drivers of innovation at the HPML. The HPML’s the central tenet is ‘Designed by, not designed for’. The purpose of this paper is to explore various assistive technologies developed in the HPML while providing an empathic framework for other research groups to follow in integrating PwDs into the development and design of assistive technology.

Keywords:

• user-driven design
• empathy
• industrial design
• assistive technology

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Joseph Peters

Joseph Peters is a medical student at Kansas City University. He is a former postdoctoral researcher at the Beckman Institute, assistant coach for the UIUC Wheelchair Track team and research affiliate in the HPML.

Adam Bleakney

Adam Bleakney is Director of the HPML and faculty in the School of Art and Design at UIUC He is the Head Coach of the UIUC Wheelchair Track team.

Annika Sornson

Annika Sornson is former Lab Manager of the HPML. She studied Industrial Design in the School of Art and Design at UIUC.

Elizabeth Hsiao-Wecksler

Elizabeth Hsiao-Wecksler is Professor (Mechanical Science and Engineering) and Director of the Human Dynamics and Controls Laboratory at UIUC. She is the principal investigator of PURE.

Deana McDonagh

Deana McDonagh is Professor Industrial Design (School of Art and Design), Health Innovation Professor (Carle Illinois College of Medicine) and Founder of the (dis)Ability Design Studio (Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology).