Seiban Co., Ltd. and Kyoto University of the Arts, known for their school bags, jointly developed a practical and well-designed guide dog harness from the perspectives of guide dog users, guide dogs, and those who see them, and went to the Kansai Guide Dog Association. I donated.
It has been about 80 years since guide dogs were introduced in Japan, but the design of guide dog equipment had no evidence of product design at a practical level from the beginning.In addition, there are about 930 guide dog users in Japan (as of March 2020), but the understanding of guide dogs and assistance dogs in Japanese society is still low.Despite being permitted by the Assistance Dog Law for the Physically Handicapped (Assistance Dog Law), there are quite a few cases where the use of facilities accompanied by guide dogs (assistance dogs) is refused.
Therefore, Associate Professor Takaaki Oe of Kyoto University of the Arts focused on the fact that the shape of the harness has not been designed with priority on function and appearance, "I think the power of product design can change it for the better." There may be important learning for students who want to become designers, "and from 2016, in collaboration with the Kansai Blind Service Dog Foundation, we began to handle the design of equipment for blind dogs in university classes.
After proposing multiple patterns through the lessons, I decided to look for a joint research destination for commercialization.This time, because of the excellent durability and weather resistance, the use of lightweight materials, the know-how of combining metal parts and leather materials, and the fact that the students of the class at that time were enrolled in Seiban after graduation. Joint development and donations have been realized.
In developing, in order to face the challenges of harnesses in modern society, we repeated dialogues with guide dog users, workshops to experience life in the dark, walking with guide dogs in a blindfold, and observations.
After that, the design was devised from the process of repeating trials from the perspectives of users, guide dogs, and those who see them.Pay attention to whether it is easy to grip the handle when walking, it is easy to grasp the movement of the guide dog, the shape does not burden the guide dog's body, the impression given by the harness is not instrumental, and it is durable to be used for a long time. , Kansai Guide Dog Association staff repeatedly monitored during the actual training.
