Designers
Designers
Designers
Spot
The Future Of Aging
Key Words
Designers
Liam Bourgeois Talasnik
SUMMARY
As we age, consistent mobility becomes harder to maintain, especially in fast-moving cities like New York. My capstone explores how we can make navigating urban public spaces easier for older adults. For this project, I traveled around the city, gaining insights into the older adult experience in public. I discovered that while each challenge was unique to each interviewee, the anxiety around defensive walking was the real barrier. So, through a co-design process, we created a pair of glasses that utilizes advancements in extended reality digital displays to create a hands-free user experience that acts as a second set of eyes in public.
challenge
Alongside over 20 older adults and 3 caretakers, I found a multitude of needs around improving the public space experience through a mapping exercise. These needs can be categorized into consistent infrastructure challenges (like sidewalk condition, lighting, or the location of a bench) or Variable challenges (Like weather, sensory disruptors, threat of collision, and even mental health). In terms of solutions, through a co-design activity, I discovered that older adults leaned towards product-driven interventions. But they didn’t want products that labeled them old or disabled.
Outcome
Through more co-design, we landed on XR glasses as a product that could serve this need through computer vision and hands-free AI chat assistance. I had older adult interviewees design feasible accessibility features, or at least possible, through development and model training. But, to avoid creating a product that was a poster for accessibility needs, and something that differentiated from the market beyond accessibility. I added longevity & circularity as a separate value proposition that would cater to a broader customer base. I built those values into the product's lifespan and design.
MEET THE Designers:
Liam Bourgeois Talasnik