Design for disability: Integration of human factor for the design of an electro-mechanical drum stick system

Traditionally, designers imagine, design and manufacture products or interfaces for able-bodied users. In the areas of assistive technology and design for disability, human factors must be taken into account during the design. The final user capabilities but also others specific expertise can constitute these human factors. In the present context, the authors are working with designers who develop products dedicated to play on percussion musical instruments. Musical characteristics are specific expertise that must be integrated to the design of the product. In this article, authors detail the design approaches chosen, the technologies used for manufacturing the system and especially functionalities developed for such a product. They will present how the human factors have influenced the design of the product in the iterative design steps of the UCD methodology.