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N. Bairagi and S. K. Bhuyan
promotion activities to a great extent [3]. Hence, developing adaptive sportswear for
wheelchair tennis players by using a user-centric design approach is important in the
Indian scenario as there are limited studies in this area. User-Centric Design (UCD)
is a process by which the researchers carry out design process by focusing on the
users in real-life situations.
A pilot study was done with the wheelchair tennis players at Karnataka State
Lawn Tennis Association, Bengaluru, during May 2019. During the study, it was
observed that three out of five players have lost the mobility of their legs due to
poliomyelitis. According to WHO, Poliomyelitis or Polio is an infectious viral disease
that destroys the nerve cells present in the spinal cord causing paralysis in the body. It
was found that until 1990, an average of 500 to 1000 children got paralysed daily [4].
This motivated the researchers to take up the study. Therefore, the main aim of this
proposed research is to develop design concepts and criteria for adaptive sportswear
for wheelchair-bound tennis players of India based on user-centric research approach.
The specific objectives of this paper are as follows.
1.1 Objectives
• To study the user needs and requirements in sportswear and develop design
criteria and concepts of adaptive functional sportswear for wheelchair-bound
tennis players in India who have lost the mobility of their legs due to poliomyelitis.
• To study the thermal imaging of the skin temperature of the players in a real set up
using infrared thermography for understanding the thermophysiological comfort
requirements with respect to the sportswear of the players.
2 Research Methodology
User-centric design development principles with the design process of Lamb and
Kallal (1992) has been used as a theoretical framework for designing of functional
adaptive sportswear for wheelchair tennis players, as there are limited researches in
this area in the Indian context [5].
Human-centred design research methods or user-centred design methods as classified by Hanington (2003) in three categories: traditional, adapted and innovative
methods. First, traditional methods include market research, focus groups, surveys
and interviews. The data acquired through these methods provide a good overall
view of the design field. Therefore, this method has been adopted and studies on
the clothing needs of wheelchair-bound tennis players, the problems faced with
the commercially available sportswear were done through interviews with players,
coaches, doctors, physiotherapists and caregivers. The second method as mentioned
by Hanington 2003 is applied methods, which refers to using research and development methods from design research. Examples of applied methods are qualitative
N. Bairagi and S. K. Bhuyan
promotion activities to a great extent [3]. Hence, developing adaptive sportswear for
wheelchair tennis players by using a user-centric design approach is important in the
Indian scenario as there are limited studies in this area. User-Centric Design (UCD)
is a process by which the researchers carry out design process by focusing on the
users in real-life situations.
A pilot study was done with the wheelchair tennis players at Karnataka State
Lawn Tennis Association, Bengaluru, during May 2019. During the study, it was
observed that three out of five players have lost the mobility of their legs due to
poliomyelitis. According to WHO, Poliomyelitis or Polio is an infectious viral disease
that destroys the nerve cells present in the spinal cord causing paralysis in the body. It
was found that until 1990, an average of 500 to 1000 children got paralysed daily [4].
This motivated the researchers to take up the study. Therefore, the main aim of this
proposed research is to develop design concepts and criteria for adaptive sportswear
for wheelchair-bound tennis players of India based on user-centric research approach.
The specific objectives of this paper are as follows.
1.1 Objectives
• To study the user needs and requirements in sportswear and develop design
criteria and concepts of adaptive functional sportswear for wheelchair-bound
tennis players in India who have lost the mobility of their legs due to poliomyelitis.
• To study the thermal imaging of the skin temperature of the players in a real set up
using infrared thermography for understanding the thermophysiological comfort
requirements with respect to the sportswear of the players.
2 Research Methodology
User-centric design development principles with the design process of Lamb and
Kallal (1992) has been used as a theoretical framework for designing of functional
adaptive sportswear for wheelchair tennis players, as there are limited researches in
this area in the Indian context [5].
Human-centred design research methods or user-centred design methods as classified by Hanington (2003) in three categories: traditional, adapted and innovative
methods. First, traditional methods include market research, focus groups, surveys
and interviews. The data acquired through these methods provide a good overall
view of the design field. Therefore, this method has been adopted and studies on
the clothing needs of wheelchair-bound tennis players, the problems faced with
the commercially available sportswear were done through interviews with players,
coaches, doctors, physiotherapists and caregivers. The second method as mentioned
by Hanington 2003 is applied methods, which refers to using research and development methods from design research. Examples of applied methods are qualitative