Creative design of assistive products for the elderly

Abstract

This paper describes the development of a competition aimed at linking the creative talents of students from Hong Kong schools and universities with the elderly community. Students were asked to design and develop products that may benefit the elderly by assisting them in their everyday tasks. The competition runs from year to year and this paper describes the general processes that take place in its organization and running. The paper also presents some interesting projects that have successfully gone through the competition, showing how the students addressed different problems of the elderly. The paper also highlights some important lessons learnt during the process and how the project may develop in the future.