Francesca Tosi

The short essay introduces the results of POTDESIGN educo/produco I EDIZIONE. The POTDESIGN program, aimed at students of participating universities and students of the last two years of secondary school course, was presented in 2019 as part of POT-Piani di Orientamento e Tutorato /Orientation and Tutoring Plans funded by the Italian Ministry of Universities and Research, and has been configured as a network of the degree courses in Design of Italian Universities. The programme, coordinated by the University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", in fact saw the participation of most of the three-year study courses in Industrial Design (L-4) up to, during the development of the program, to their en-tirety. The program has been promoted by the Italian University Conference of Design as an important opportunity for collaboration and comparison between the degree courses in Design of Italian Universities, and as a field of experimentation of working methods and projects capable of involving secondary school students orienting them towards university studies and, at the same time, able to support the study path of university students enrolled in study courses in Industrial Design.

The European population is getting older; many elderlies would like to live independently in their homes as long as possible. In this context, a robotic telepresence service could support the frail persons in their homes, empowering their social relationships. In this work, 10 frail elderly were asked to live with a telepresence robot (i.e. Double Robot), through which the formal caregiver could remotely visit and chat with them. A total of 169 days of field-test trial was evaluated before (TO) and after (TF) the tests with a multidimensional framework, including acceptance, usability, and expectation domains. The system was used for 2871 mins, and the results underline good usability- and acceptance- related domains (average score equals to 70.83 at TF) and expectation (average score equal to 67.01 at TF). Results remark that expectation could influence the potential and the real use of the robot. Additionally, a positive trend in the answers was identified between T0 and TF. Indeed, the evaluation of a system should envisage a complex, multidisciplinary and holistic approach, that may influence the success or failure of the robot's purpose, if not properly analysed during the evaluation and design phase.

The specificity and innovative value of the ergonomic approach to design lies in its ability to evaluate the range of variables that define the interaction between people and what they come into contact with (that is, the characteristics and abilities of users; the characteristics of products and the activities for which they are, or can be, used; the characteristics of the physical, social and organisational context), their reciprocal relationship and what could change with time, by periodically identifying and interpreting the needs and expectations that people express, or can express, regarding this interaction. The design intervention, then, is based on the ability to understand, interpret—and imagine—the different situations and scenarios in which people can, or could, come into contact with the system, by identifying the range of variables involved and the complexity that defines their reciprocal relationship. This is achieved by defining the system of requirements that are needed for the product and the necessary parameters and criteria for evaluating and designing the quality of the product. Ergonomics’ intervention methods allow us to define and manage these relation- ships, organise the data collected during the design process and define the integrated intervention requirements. In particular, the methods for evaluating usability and safety of use, as well as the methods for evaluating the User Experience, are based on the collection of informa- tion about the interaction between people and products and systems they come into contact with within a given usage context. They also allow us to identify and analyse the behaviour of people (or users), their needs (needs, expectations and desires) and, finally, the type and frequency of the errors that they can make while performing the required tasks.

The human being was born to move and physical activity is one of the main functions of the human-being. According to WHO, the physical inactivity is identified as the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality and its levels are rising in many countries nowadays. Systemic and environmental factors, busy life, laziness and lack of time promote a sedentary lifestyle as opposed to a healthy lifestyle. Movement and physical activity contribute to improving all aspects of the quality of life, and they representing a strategic tool for healthy aging. WHO identifies the active ageing ad a “global demographic revolution”, which requires an immediate international action. In this context, the Horizon 2020 European Community for Research and Innovation Framework Programme aimes to the safeguarding of population health, including young and older people, and to the promoting lifestyle patterns which are able to preserve human independence over time, thus favouring a form of ageing being active, sustainable, inclusive and healthy as long as possible. The spread of physical activity, like common practice of everyday life, and the education to sport from an early age, are basic targets to improve quality of life both at individual and at social level. These objectives require the development of a conscious behaviour and an increasing empowering the people about their health status. Wellness challenge is directed at the innovation of the urban design, and in this context the design, like strategic factor of innovation, can contribute to generating innovative and inclusive products and services that support people in choosing an healthy and active lifestyle. The main objective is to propose new scenarios and product-systems that can promote physical activity outdoor. The role of design is essential to identify new solution and intervention strategies based on the knowledge and on the interpretation of persons’ needs and expectation. The research on this subject has been consolidated for years the collaboration between Technogym, company leader in this field, and Laboratory of Ergonomics & Design. The Ergonomics for Design, the methodological approach of Human-Centred Design and the potentialities of smart technologies allow to identify possible development scenarios and intervention solutions, focused on persons’ needs and expectations. These solutions can nudge people to an active life, promoting wellness and prevention in terms of commitment to themselves and social responsibility. The partnership between LED and Technogym has developed over years using research, experimentation and co-design activities. It produces several results in terms of actual products-services testing and in terms of design concepts for new products and services. Specifically, in the “wellness outdoor” area, they’ve been developed several concepts with innovative formal and functional features, that can improve the interaction between user and environment. These concepts are focused on training methods (and their diversity at multiple levels), on the possibility to have a group or an individual training supported by digital devices or services (such as mobile applications, local information systems, etc.). Design concepts have been developed during two workshops in which were involved young designers and students of the Master Degree in Design. Design concepts have been developed during two workshops, held in 2016 and 2017 by the LED, involving approximately 20 young designers. Main aim of the workshops was to develop a series of new outdoor fitness systems - for gardens, parks, campus, etc. – that could be more attractive for people thanks to their formal and communicational features. These systems allow people to train outdoor and aim to become a pole of attraction and sharing in the urban context.

The paper presents methods and results of a co-design process aimed at structuring a game intended to train undergraduate students on inclusive design. The process is accomplished in the framework of the wider project PudCad, Practicing Universal Design Principles in Design Education through a CAD-Based Game, supported by the UE program Erasmus+ involving HEIs and Research Centres. It’s aim is to create a gaming platform based on CAD software supporting interior architecture and design students to conceive accessible environments regardless of age, physical ability and/or user social condition. Essential for the implementation of EU social integration and non-discrimination goals, Universal Design is often marginal in students’ training. PudCad intends to fill this gap by developing a digital video game (a game for change), enriched with story and CAD features. Through playful dynamics, future designers will be able to assimilate inclusion principles and create concepts based on human diversity. The project develops itself through 4 students workshops and three international conferences on Universal Design, Ergonomics, Game and Education. In this paper we focus on the process and results of the third workshop. Building empathy and awareness for the Universal Design principles was decided to be the main drive of the game. Besides research and analysis on literature and use cases, tools like game engines, platforms and technologies (i.e. virtual reality and augmented reality) were checked out and tested. Before starting the production stage, the idea of having analog prototypes came up to support robust design decisions. To develop game concepts and produce paper prototypes, we execute a game jam workshop with the participation of interior architecture and design students as well as game design students leading the teams. The workshops is thus a breaking point to take solid decisions about the game design and production