Functional framework for the eco-design of a sports medicine product
Abstract
The access to sports and recreational activities to persons with disabilities is not sufficiently developed due to unsuitable equipments or unfavorable prejudices in mixing valid and handicaped persons. An effort should be made to develop new products in a sustainable logic that meet both environmental, economic and social considerations. To address these recommendations, this paper proposes a design aided tool based on a functional approach that takes into account the life cycle of the product and an exhaustive identification of environmental elements in interaction with the product. The resulting interactions are then translated as functions and as ecological objectives. The application of the method to a sports medicine product shows the benefits of the approach and shows the resulting social and technological innovations.