Elaboration of innovative safety equipment concepts for infants

DS 58-9: Proceedings of ICED 09, the 17th International Conference on Engineering Design, Vol. 9, Human Behavior in Design, Palo Alto, CA, USA, 24.-27.08.2009

Year: 2009
Editor: Norell Bergendahl, M.; Grimheden, M.; Leifer, L.; Skogstad, P.; Lindemann, U.
Author: Nelson, Julien; Buisine, Stéphanie; Aoussat, Améziane; Duchamp, Robert
Series: ICED
Section: Human Behavior in Design
Page(s): 103-114

Abstract

Designing safety systems for infants poses several methodological problems. One consequence of these is that existing systems fail to effectively prevent accidents in this specific population. In this paper, we present an approach to the design of such systems. Its main originality is that it made use of a task model to help guide team creativity in the elaboration of innovative product concepts. Secondly, in order to help select concepts that were most relevant to design, participatory simulations were carried out with caregivers, relying on the use of external representations of task situations and product concepts to help these future users anticipate how they might use or reject systems based upon these concepts. Having described the issues underlying the design of innovative, acceptable safety systems for infants as well as the method used to design such systems, we then present some results obtained in the design of personal protection equipment to prevent drowning in infants.

Keywords: product concept design, accident prevention, infants

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