Intuitive products will be the key to success in the “wearables” market, especially if manufacturers want to persuade an aging population to use advanced health care devices, an expert told attendees at the recent Advanced Design & Manufacturing conference in Cleveland.
Mike Maczuzak, CEO and founder of SmartShape Design (photo, below), said that wearables will need to be more approachable in the future because older users are less familiar with the world of apps and mobile technology. “The challenge is that the people who need remote health care the most are the least able to participate it in,” Maczuzak said. “So the key to success will be making it as intuitive and seamless an experience as possible.”
Mike Maczuzak, CEO of SmartShape, says that interfaces for wearables are often designed by young people who’ve “never seen a world without apps.” (Source: Design News)
Maczuzak, who will speak again at the upcoming BIOMEDevice in Boston, cited statistics showing that only 20% of the over-65 population has smart phones, and only 15% of that small group has ever downloaded a software app. He added that most of those senior users don’t understand what it means to “sync to the cloud.”