Alessia Brischetto

Wellness for all: Novel design scenarios and concepts of products-systems for an inclusive user experience in indoor physical activity

Today’s aging phenomena is bringing about important changes in the make-up of our population with consequential need for assistance and cures, thus substantially increasing the costs sustained by society. The policies of the European Community aim to maintain general health and to promote life styles capable of sustaining a level of self sufficiency and at the same time an “intelligent” process of aging, where one remains active and healthy for as long as possibile. The education to physical activity and to sports is a very important objective, which require the development of a conscious attitude of citizens towards their own health. With emphasis on the ergonomics of design and on methods of innovation, Human Centered Design designates likely scenarios in the near future and proposes possibile solutions which concentrate on needs and expectations, allowing one to maintain an active life, through wellness and prevention. This paper presents the results of the “Smart Running” workshop, promoted by the Laboratory of Ergonomics and Design (LED) of the University of Florence in collaboration with Technogym, a leading-edge company that develops fitness equipment for any physical activity. The projects represent innovative solutions for indoor running, particularly intent on involving an increasing number of participants.

Playgrounds for All: Practical strategies and guidelines for designing inclusive play areas for children

To date, outdoor game equipment and playground facilities worldwide are increasingly oriented towards a wide range of solutions in support to gaming activities for children of any age, independently from their motor, cognitive and social impairments. However, due to the complexity of variables interplaying between product demands and user capabilities, many efforts are still needed for making games and playgrounds as much as possible inclusive. The present work proposes a novel methodology useful to designers and other stakeholders for predicting the degree of user exclusion when performing play activities. User trials, focus groups, interviews together with the analysis of accessibility standards, disability descriptors by ICF, and Task Analysis were used for cross-correlating the required tasks with user capabilities. This led to creating an evaluation tool useful to get an immediate feedback and reliable information on the level of inclusiveness of any type of game equipment and user disability. It revealed to be also effective for assessing personal and environmental factors of interest and identifying design requirements.

UX Evaluation of a New Rowing Ergometer: The Case Study of the Technogym “SkillRow”

This paper demonstrates the results of workshop “UX Skillrow Evaluation” workshop, promoted by the Laboratory of Ergonomics and Design (LED) of the University of Florence in collaboration with Technogym, a leading-edge company that develops fitness equipment for any physical activity. The workshop aimed to define the current levels of usability and experience of use of rowing “Skillrow”, through method of investigation and practice of Human-Centered Design and User Experience approaches. The predominant aim of work was to identify usability and user experience of rowing Skillrow and its user interfaces. Following this, to identify the potential, project proposals were conducted, brainstorming and focus group activities. During testing twenty-one users participated, aged between 22 and 30. The research goals were: measurements of current usability level and user experience of product-system interfaces, and definition of critical issues and implementation of the current user interfaces. Finally, the results from the evaluation phases allowed to get qualitative data on the levels of effective usability of the product, the components and its graphic interface. In the form of scenario-based design, solutions to improve the current high levels of usability of the user interface were also developed.

Innovative Scenarios and Products for Sport Outdoor: The Challenge of Design for Citizens’ Wellness and Health

Increasing physical activity and physical education are very important issues to overcome ageing population, but require the development of a conscious attitude of citizens towards their own health. Ergonomics for Design and methods of the Human-centred design and User Experience may allow outlining possible solutions for increasing human expectations towards active life, wellness and prevention. This paper presents the results of the Wellness Outdoor workshop, promoted by the Laboratory of Ergonomics and Design (LED) of the University of Florence in collaboration with Technogym, a leading-edge company that develops fitness equipment for any physical activity. Main aims of the workshop were to define and design novel scenarios and systems concepts for outdoor fitness. To this aim, we followed a first research step based on focus groups, personas methods, user observations and Task Analysis, which led to the definition of user needs and context-of-use. Then, brainstorming activities driven by scenarios-based design and parallel design sessions proved to be effective for outlining inputs and ideas generation. Finally, in the present work four system concepts, named S.O.Fiber, Hexagon Space, Outdoor Training and Develop, are presented.

Ergonomics in Design: The Human-Centred Design Approach for Developing Innovative Motor Caravans Systems

Ergonomics and Design, precisely the relationship among Human- centred design (HCD) approach and Design for Innovation methods, represent a concrete growth strategy. European Union suggests design as a key discipline and activity to bring new ideas to the market, transforming them into user-friendly and appealing products or services. Though still often associated solely with aesthetics, the application of design is much broader. A more systematic use of design as a tool for Human-centred and market-driven innovation in all sectors of the economy, complementary to R&D, would improve European competitiveness. The paper presents the early results of the POR CReO-FP7 project “Triaca” developed with Trigano SpA. In Italy, recreational vehicles sector has always been present and active, however, in recent years motor caravans industry recorded a strong decrease of orders due to the economic downturn and a flattened supply. In this context, the project aim is the development of innovative solutions in terms of environmental sustainability and quality of the user experience. Our contribution is focused on the experimentation of the HCD approach, especially its investigation methods based on the direct involvement of users and its evaluation methods for usability and safety to the development of good design solution.

‘HighChest’: An Augmented Freezer Designed for Smart Food Management and Promotion of Eco-Efficient Behaviour

This paper introduces HighChest, an innovative smart freezer designed to promote energy efficient behavior and the responsible use of food. Introducing a novel human–machine interface (HMI) design developed through assessment phases and a user involvement stage, HighChest is state of the art, featuring smart services that exploit embedded sensors and Internet of things functionalities, which enhance the local capabilities of the appliance. The industrial design thinking approach followed for the advanced HMI is intended to maximize the social impact of the food management service, enhancing both the user experience of the product and the user’s willingness to adopt eco- and energy-friendly behaviors. The sensor equipment realizes automatic recognition of food by learning from the users, as well as automatic localization inside the deposit space. Moreover, it provides monitoring of the appliance’s usage, avoiding temperature and humidity issues related to improper use. Experimental tests were conducted to evaluate the localization system, and the results showed 100% accuracy for weights greater or equal to 0.5 kg. Drifts due to the lid opening and prolonged usage time were also measured, to implement automatic reset corrections.

Improving Learning Technologies and Social Inclusion Through Human Centred Design and Universal Design Approaches: Novel Designing Scenarios

In contemporary society, technology is increasingly the main tool for producing and promoting information and well-being. With special regards to the framework of ICT for learning, assistive and adaptive technologies as well as e-learning and m-learning platforms, are usually employed to provide equal access to knowledge regardless of any impairment or disabilities. However, due to several limitations of technology, people can be socially excluded. In the present work, to deeply understand such limitation, the most relevant learning theories in the creation of instructional environments were investigated. On the basis of this preliminary research, the work was aimed at analyzing the inclusive potential of current ICT and related standards of web accessibility, platforms and content format in order to assess what may be the contribution of Ergonomics for design and Universal Design for improving learning environments and social inclusion for the widest number of person.