Principles for fostering the transdisciplinary development of assistive technologies

Jennifer Boger, Piper Jackson, Maurice Mulvenna, Judith Sixsmith, Andrew Sixsmith, Alex Mihailidis, Pia Kontos, Janice Miller Polgar, Alisa Grigorovich, Suzanne Martin

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Developing useful and usable assistive technologies often presents complex (or “wicked”) challenges that require input from multiple disciplines and sectors. Transdisciplinary collaboration can enable holistic understanding of challenges that may lead to innovative, impactful and transformative solutions. This paper presents generalised principles that are intended to foster transdisciplinary assistive technology development. The paper introduces the area of assistive technology design before discussing general aspects of transdisciplinary collaboration followed by an overview of relevant concepts, including approaches, methodologies and frameworks for conducting and evaluating transdisciplinary working and assistive technology design. The principles for transdisciplinary development of assistive technologies are presented and applied post hoc to the COACH project, an ambient-assisted living technology for guiding completion of activities of daily living by older adults with dementia as an illustrative example. Future work includes the refinement and validation of these principles through their application to real-world transdisciplinary assistive technology projects.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)480-490
Number of pages10
JournalDisability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology
Volume12
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 7 Apr 2016

Keywords

  • Assistive technology
  • collaboration
  • innovation
  • principles
  • transdisciplinarity

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