Unit Package Opening Design for the Elderly by Applying the Principles of Universal Design

Abstract

The elderly suffer considerable discomfort due to inadequate adaptation of everyday objects to their needs. This problem will grow in the future due to demographic changes and the increasing proportion of elderly people in society. Because of weakening with age muscle strength, as well as a decline in psychomotor coordination, activities such as opening bottles or handling keys become problematic. The problem is exacerbated in particular in the case of packages which need to safeguard against leakage or unauthorized opening e.g., by children, as they must have a high level of difficulty in opening (through considerable strength or manual dexterity). In turn, due to the cohort problem existing data cannot be directly used and an apparatus for the collection of relevant data must be constructed. To solve the problem, a method of biomechanical modeling enriched with the heuristic approach in the field of developing solutions to facilitate the opening of packaging is assumed, and the development of which is grounded in the principles of universal design. The article contains a summary of the existing solutions facilitating the opening of packages as well as allowing to obtain data in this respect for the elderly. As a result, a universal design enriched with principles of solving technical conflicts is presented.