Inclusive Design Approach in Assistive Technology Development = Approccio progettuale inclusivo per lo sviluppo di tecnologie assistive

The Inclusive Design approach is a key point in the development of consumer products, the more people can use a product, the more chances of market success it has. The design thinking approach to product development through trial and error processes, starting from field research, focusing on user needs and reaching user-friendly results, is now the driving force of research and design practices. Furthermore, the diffusion of low-cost electronics and the easy access to the knowledge of ICT technologies allow more designers to creatively deal with the difficult scenarios of assistive technologies. The future generation of designers will face faster growth of ICT embedded in consumer products, and this could be a good opportunity for Inclusion. This paper presents six examples of Inclusive Design products developed involving disabled users and through hands-on approach. Products have been developed by design students of the Product Design Laboratory during 2018-2019 academic year. The paper focuses on the user centered design approach as the best one to design a product for a real user affected by a disability; indeed, according to the teaching strategy, students identified a person with a disability and then worked together to identify a need and create a functional prototype of a product that can help the user with a specific task. The projects have been developed through the application of desktop research, user involvement, mock-ups and each final working prototype. The results of the process have been exhibited to the general public at the end of the semester.