Integration of gender in the design process of mechatronic products: An interdisciplinary approach

A reliable improvement of the design process has to include the dimension of gender. In order to develop a successful product, a variety of complex requirements have to be considered during the design process. Therefore, specific and comprehensive guidelines can help design engineers to find the best solutions for a product. In this study an interdisciplinary mixed method approach has been applied to examine the diversity of user requirements and involve them in the participative design process. When analyzing the design process for a mechatronic product including the human-machine-interface in a systematic procedure requirement profiles are derived for various machines, which can be applied by the design engineer and help to perform advances. As a result of this study many improvements have been realized, e.g. more accurate positioning and better handling of the workpieces, improved ergonomic design and support for the exchange of the working table and a modified surface of the software with remote control functionality. This contribution presents the interdisciplinary approach to integrate gender in the design process of mechatronic products.