Not only the older population is growing in size, people are also living increasingly longer. The vast majority of the elderly indicate that they want to participate in society independently for as long as possible. The elderly are frequently confronted with products and services, which take no account of their declining physical abilities and changing social circumstances. This makes life more difficult for them than is necessary. An-other problem is that manufacturers and industrial designers are afraid for typical 'old-people's' products (stigmatised products) when they involve seniors in their user tests.
On this basis the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, and the Ministry of Housing, Urban Planning and the Environment commissioned KITTZ in 1995 to carry out the three-year project 'Technology and the Elderly'. The project's core activities were the execution of demonstration projects and the dissemination and embedding of knowledge and experience gained in these projects. The use of the expertise of senior citizens took a central place within the project. Within the demonstration projects, the information from the user research led to the development of new products that responded to the needs of older people.
The execution of the in total 60 demonstration projects, gave a successful initial impulse to making manufacturers realise that there is a great market of opportunities for products that are attractive and user-friendly for senior citizens. The in total 60 demonstration projects related to nearly all aspects of daily life and ranged from a new model of super market shopping trolley to an electronic medication aid, from a bicycle to a dynamic passenger information system, from electric tools to a domotica appliances for seniors, from a user friendly blister packaging to a passive social alarm system.
last update 2002-03-18