As a designer, you have a great responsibility. The consequences of your design decisions could unintentionally exclude large sectors of the population. To mitigate that, you need to become aware of the wide diversity of human capabilities, to be able to think critically about the consequences of your designs, and to gain experience solving problems for a wide range of people using appropriate methods. Further, it is important to understand how emerging technologies can allow humans to augment their physical and cognitive abilities in ways that have not previously been possible.
To be able to design assistive technologies, you have to first understand the human physiological and psychological systems, what this means for your designs, and how to design in a way that moves towards universal design. In order to be inventive in creating assistive technologies, we will investigate relevant emerging technologies such as Machine Learning and Mixed Reality and explore methodologies such as calm technology and participatory design. The assignments and project will encourage you to think critically about human capabilities; and you will get to design, prototype and present an assistive technology.
This course will challenge you to see the world through other people's eyes, and make you more aware of the abilities and limitations of yourself and the people you are designing for.