To apply for the Abruzzo ERDF Regional Program 2021-2027 – AVVISO 1.1.1.1: “Sostegno a progetti di Ricerca e Innovazione delle imprese afferenti ai Domini tecnologici della Strategia Regionale di Specializzazione Intelligente RIS3 Abruzzo 21-27” Idea & Sviluppo srl has chosen the theme of aids for elderly and disabled users with small and medium difficulties for two main reasons: his previous experience and the current situation of the reference sector. Over the course of more than twenty years of activity and experience in product design, Idea & Sviluppo has developed and coordinated countless projects in the medical sector, consolidating experience on standards and reference materials. The other aspect that has prompted the company to take this path with optimism is the snapshot of the current state of the reference sector, which refers to some gaps and delays compared to what additive technology could bring.
The current state
The term “aids“, like its international counterpart Assistive Products, is commonly used to indicate all products available to promote people’s autonomy in activities of daily living and to reduce disability. According to the concept indicated by the World Health Organization (MDG) model, the objective of the aid is to alleviate or remove the “disabling” situations in which the person finds himself, acting on the function, activity or participation depending on how it is contextualized in the individual rehabilitation, assistance or educational project. To highlight their importance, the WHO presents aids as the “fourth pillar”, alongside vaccines, drugs and medical devices, on which to base future strategies for health and quality of life.
The survey conducted on the reference market shows that the current offer does not seem to fully satisfy the specific and personal physical, psychological and ethical needs of people. Especially with respect to elderly users, we find it difficult to evaluate and choose the most suitable product with respect to their problems due to the lack of information conveyed with forms of inclusive communication for this target audience. Sometimes assistive products have little adaptability to the specific functional needs of the person because they are the result of a design and mass production that is excessively oriented towards standardization. In some cases there are also difficulties in use or postural adaptation to the products, probably because they are not sufficiently tested to verify their actual usability by a wide audience. These are aspects pertaining to the practical and usability sphere of the product, other similar evaluations have been conducted by investigating the emotional sphere and consistency with respect to ethical principles such as the environment and labor protection. Also in this case, users complain on the one hand about the absence of emotional values which translates into an unwelcome clinical and medical sensation transmitted by the aid, making its use uncomfortable, and on the other hand a limited presence of environmentally friendly and ethically sustainable products that are however supported by appropriate certifications.
Investigating the existing market from a scientific and engineering point of view, other delays emerge, in the scientific approach for the validation and testing of solutions but also in the Design approaches capable of thinking the product throughout the development process so that it is environmentally friendly and reproducible with the innovative processes of industry 4.0.
Expected results
In response to this situation, Idea & Sviluppo intends first of all to equip itself with LCD methodologies for the design of domestic products for elderly and disabled users that minimize the environmental resources necessary for their production, intervening on their entire life cycle including decommissioning and reintroduction into the production process. If well concerted and guided by the value of “good design”, the synergy between the LCD approach and industry 4.0 is certainly capable of significantly improving the quality of production processes, increasing the company’s competitiveness also towards new market niches of eco-compatible products. These are the right premises to offer your own original collection of products that are significantly better than those currently on the market because they are designed from an ecological perspective and certifiable according to environmental standards of recognized value such as the EU Ecolabel, the European Product Declaration (EPD) and the ISO 14067 standard (Product Carbon footprint).
A new beginning?
Such a research project will generate innovative and enormously valuable design and production know-how, attentive to the issues of sustainability and sustainable 3D printing. It will be an incentive to trigger new virtuous processes and projects both within the company itself but also expendable with its customers in commissioned product design and also with other research institutes and universities. Thanks to this new “intellectual capital” the company could start its own production of sustainable, technologically advanced products that already comply with the environmental criteria of industrial products, representing a point of reference for the sustainable evolution of an industrial sector.
