Application of assistive technology in a concurrent engineering environment for the special products development: A case study

Abstract

The product development process within the philosophy of concurrent engineering (CE) brings expressive results reducing the project's time and on the final costs and as a result strengthens the complete product life cycle. In the light of the absolute and relative growth of elderly and persons with special needs in the coming years, it is noticeable that the area of product development can promote benefits and consequently it becomes a strong ally in the design of the products that can integrate persons with reduced mobility into the society. This article presents a case study with the aim of delineating a product accessible to the largest number of customers using a conceptual framework that addresses the concepts and tools of the Integrated Product Development Process in the CE environment and the Assistive Technology (AT) definitions. The AT seeks to help persons with reduced functional ability or as support for persons with special needs to realize some activities. It is proposed a design of a menu with functions attributed to a cell phone that would be accessible to all users including persons with visual disabilities. © Springer-Verlag London 2013.