Electronic Design for Wearables Devices Addressed from a Gender Perspective: Cross-Influences and a Methodological Proposal

Abstract

The design of wearable devices has been approached from many perspectives over the years, mainly from a functionality, electronics, mechanics, usability, wearability, or product design perspective. However, there is a missing point in these approaches: the gender perspective. Gender intersects with every approach and, considering the interrelationships and dependencies, can achieve a better adherence, reach a wider audience, and even change the conception of the wearables design paradigm. The electronics design addressed from a gender perspective must consider both the morphological and anatomical impacts and those emanating from socialization. This paper presents an analysis of the different factors to consider when designing the electronics of a wearable device, including the functionality to implement, sensors, communications, or the location, together with their interdependencies, and proposes a user-centered methodology that contemplates a gender perspective at every stage. Finally, we present a use case that validates the proposed methodology in a real design of a wearable device for the prevention of gender-based violence cases. For the application of the methodology, 59 experts have been interviewed, 300 verbatims have been extracted and analyzed, a dataset from the data of 100 women has been created and the wearable devices have been tested for a week by 15 users. The electronics design needs to be addressed from a multidisciplinary approach, by rethinking the decisions taken for granted and analyzing the implications and interrelationships from a gender perspective. We need to enroll more diverse people at every design stage and include gender as one of the variables to study.

Keywords: electronics design; gender; methodology; multidisciplinary; user center design; wearables.

Figure 1

Elements of a wearable device.

Figure 2

Interdependencies for wearable blocks.

Figure 3

Proposed methodology. Thick boxes represent the module selection in the phase (number rounded in a black circle). Fine boxes are modules to consider because the interrelationships affect them.