Biodesign and Human Body: a New Approach in Wearable Devices

The research objective is to identify the role of design in the wearable devices. This kind of project need an interdisciplinary approach typical of Biodesign discipline, a nucleus of competencies in the areas of design, ergonomics, medicine and engineering. The choice of this research subject was born by the necessity to understand if design is able to filling the gap in wearable system project, caused by the absence of an user-oriented approach. The research is divided into two parts. The first wants to develop tools able to give the designer instruments to define requirements, performances and project solutions, but especially the chance to address himself in a proposal way to the sector of bio-devices. The second part is developed with the methodology defined by Fryling “through (o by)”, an approach done throughout the projects and lead by the experience. Two case history are used to carry out such approach. The first, “Bio-Life”, is a concept of wearable sensor designed to be embedded in Bio-Suit System, a space suit concept developed by Prof. D. Newman (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) in collaboration with the NASA. The proposal is based on lines of non extension concept, an approach made by Iberall [1]. The second is a wearable device, with a system of biosensors, for physiological monitoring and training in high performance sport developed by Prof. B. Celler at the University of the New South Wales. Both this project are based on wearability. [2] This research methods is not connected to the specialization of the discipline, but to the solution of the problem in accordance with Russian scientist Vernadsky.