Design Research Of Life Care Assistive Device For Elders With Disabilities In Inclusive Design

According to the fourth national sample survey about living conditions of urban and rural elders in China in 2016,18.3% of the elders are in disability and semidisability issues with a total of 40.63 million.Disabled elders’ daily activities not only need plenty of manpower investment,but also need efficient assistive devices.However,compared to the rapid aging process in our country,the development of life care assistive devices is in its infancy.Currently,there are only a few types of assistive devices for the elders with disabilities which could not meet the diverse care demands.Therefore,this thesis attempts to apply the concept of inclusive design,which aims to "continuously improve the products to meet the needs of the broadest audience",to the design of life care assistive devices for disabled elders.From the perspective of digging out the real needs of users,this thesis is trying to design a life care assistive device which is friendly to the disabled elders and their caregivers,and which provides a better experience for both elders and caregivers.This thesis focuses on the care assistive devices in the context of inclusive design.On the one hand,it aims to encourage disabled elders to actively do the exercise,maintaining or even restoring their physical condition.It also leads them to be optimistic and strive to meet the needs of safety,respect and even self-actualization based on their survival needs;On the other hand,it is designed to reduce the physical and mental burden of caregivers from the complicated daily work,helping them accomplish caring tasks more freely.This study mainly consists of the following four parts:The 1st part: Put forward the design question.Giving a general description of the research background,the sources of the topic,the status quo of the topic,the purpose and significance of the research,and the innovation of the research.The 2nd part: Research on the status quo based on the "theory-people-products" order.First of all,the inclusive design theory is demonstrated.Then the study object is introduced from the physical and psychological characteristics.Finally,the existing life care assistive devices for the disabled elders are collected,classified and analyzed,offering references for the follow-up design practice.The 3rd part: Excavate and understand the demand.Taking the inclusive design flow as the guidance,the daily life and care needs of the disabled elders are deeply comprehended through the way such as desk research,observation and investigation.Then the final design practice by using the research method of “Task Analysis” is established.The 4th part: Design practice.In accordance with the development trends and population needs explored in 2nd and 3rd parts,the corresponding design principles have been translated.Taking the design of transfer as an example and implementing the above trends,requirements and principles in the design practice,the final design concept are optimized and deepened through “Harris Chart”.Finally,conclusions,limitations and deficiencies are summarized.