VICON - Virtual User Concept for Inclusive Design of Consumer Products and User Interfaces
Designing consumer products according to the needs of people with (age-related) physical or sensory disabilities plays a very important role in allowing them to lead an independent life. But the requirements of older people or people with physical disabilities are generally not well considered for instance when designing displays or controls.
One reason is the difficulty for mainstream manufacturers to have a detailed understanding of the needs of these user groups or even to conduct user tests. Therefore the aim of VICON is to develop software tools based on virtual representations of user models, whose requirements have been identified in course of empirical studies. These tools will support manufacturers in different phases of the product development process:
- In the first conception phase developers may retrieve recommendations in regard to appropriate size and distance of buttons on a mobile phone for people with minor or moderate physical impairments. Another example would be to find information about suitable color combinations for people with age-related decreased visual acuity.
- In later development phases a simulation tool can be employed to evaluate product prototypes in regard to accessibility. For this avatars representing specified user groups can interact with virtual product prototypes. By analyzing the interaction obstacles while using the product are detected and recommendations for adjustments of the product are provided, e.g. utilization of higher contrasts or pressure-sensitive controls.
VICON is co-funded by the European Commission under the IST 7th Framework Programme (248294). The project duration is from 2010-01-01 to 2012-08-30.
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