Accessible Vending Machines: The Future is Inclusive
Megan Ackroyd
My project proposal is an accessible vending machine. Through various research methods, the final design is a set of specific components which all work to enable people with different physical and intellectual abilities to access the vending machine.
Design Problem
Vending machines may seem an odd choice, but this convenience is a service able bodied people often take for granted. Many wheelchair users can’t access vending machines, but most machines are in hospitals, where many wheelchair users can often spend a lot of time.
Each component has been chosen with purpose, such as motorised item collection to take the beverage or snack to a reasonable height, as opposed to an older machine which relies on gravity, meaning wheelchair users are unable to reach their selected items. The key to this accessible design is the space next to and underneath the machine so wheelchair users can face the machine, making it safer and more comfortable for them. The machine has been designed in a way that seated and standing users can access it, as good inclusive design isn’t detrimental to other users.
Description of the Project
The research for this idea was primarily user observation and questionnaires at Pinderfields Spinal Rehabilitation Centre, where my brother was formerly a patient after emergency spinal surgery left him, wheelchair bound. This final idea was chosen out of eight initial concepts.
Process
About me
Design has been a passion of mine since high school, which is why I chose this degree pathway. Now I know accessible design is where I want to continue after graduation. Looking at the world and seeing where it fails to be inclusive but now having the knowledge and abilities to change that.