Making virtual users a reality: The inclusive design project VICON

In the last decade, user interfaces of consumer products have become increasingly complex. This can cause very real problems for older people and people with disabilities when buying mainstream products. It is an issue we cannot ignore as the Worlds population is ageing rapidly. Despite the market potential and social obligation, most products are developed without any consultation with older users. Furthermore user testing only typically takes place once a prototype of a product has been created or after a version of a product is already on the market. The European Project VICON aims to address these issues by developing a library of virtual users with varying levels of impairment in vision, hearing and manual dexterity that can be used to test product designs for accessibility and usability issues at early stages of the design process.