Abstract
Based on the approach of research through design, this research combines virtual reality (VR) and participatory design method to develop and customize the appearance of wearable assistive devices. It attempts to test the efficiency of developing designs with the help of VR, especially the collaborative capabilities with various participants and users without design background. The study cases are three wearable assistive device users (one shoulder amputation (AE) case and two hand deformity cases) at our partner institution, Disabled Reconstruction Center of Taipei Veterans General Hospital, with the design goal of helping them design prosthetic accessories. The research focuses on testing new design function in VR environment, the Collab feature of LandingPad in Gravity Sketch. During the studies, the designer discussed and modified the virtual model with stakeholders such as patients, medical and assistive device technicians, and the final design proposals were 3D printed and assembled with physical components. The research process was recorded both in real world and VR by means of audio and video. The experimental and interview results indicate that applying VR technology for wearable assistive device co-creation is beneficial for both the user participants and the prosthesis designers. Overall, this study developed a set of procedures for using VR to co-create assistive devices, explored assistive devices that were suitable for the study participants, and provided recommendations for designing VR user interfaces. In the future, we will further expand the scope of VR applications for designing assistive devices and examine more types of assistive devices and scenarios.
Keywords
Virtual Prototyping, Participatory Design, Virtual Reality, Assistive Devices Design
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2023.177
Citation
Lin, M.,and Lee, L.(2023) Designing the prosthetic appearance in virtual reality with the collaboration of participants and users, in De Sainz Molestina, D., Galluzzo, L., Rizzo, F., Spallazzo, D. (eds.), IASDR 2023: Life-Changing Design, 9-13 October, Milan, Italy. https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2023.177
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
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Designing the prosthetic appearance in virtual reality with the collaboration of participants and users
Based on the approach of research through design, this research combines virtual reality (VR) and participatory design method to develop and customize the appearance of wearable assistive devices. It attempts to test the efficiency of developing designs with the help of VR, especially the collaborative capabilities with various participants and users without design background. The study cases are three wearable assistive device users (one shoulder amputation (AE) case and two hand deformity cases) at our partner institution, Disabled Reconstruction Center of Taipei Veterans General Hospital, with the design goal of helping them design prosthetic accessories. The research focuses on testing new design function in VR environment, the Collab feature of LandingPad in Gravity Sketch. During the studies, the designer discussed and modified the virtual model with stakeholders such as patients, medical and assistive device technicians, and the final design proposals were 3D printed and assembled with physical components. The research process was recorded both in real world and VR by means of audio and video. The experimental and interview results indicate that applying VR technology for wearable assistive device co-creation is beneficial for both the user participants and the prosthesis designers. Overall, this study developed a set of procedures for using VR to co-create assistive devices, explored assistive devices that were suitable for the study participants, and provided recommendations for designing VR user interfaces. In the future, we will further expand the scope of VR applications for designing assistive devices and examine more types of assistive devices and scenarios.