Companies are under increasing pressure to deal with environmental concerns during product design, for it is the design process which primarily decides the environmental impact of a manufactured product over its life. Tools which assist in taking a life cycle view of the product are a necessary support to designers. Prime amongst these tools is Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). However, a major criticism of LCA methodologies is that while they provide advice on environmentally superior product designs, they do not provide guidance on the economic impact. With product take back increasingly likely to become the responsibility of producer companies attention is now being paid to the later phases of a products life, such as maintenance and disposal costs. A new methodology is shown to be required to complement LCA, one which considers the economic implications of environmentally superior designs over the whole product life. It is argued that a major challenge of such a methodology will be how it deals with the uncertainty associated with the future. The research provides a review of product life cycle design methodologies and a critique of existing approaches to uncertainty. A design teams requirements for decision support that deals with product economic life cycle uncertainty is presented and a decision support methodology which meets these requirements is described. The methodology builds upon the theory of life cycle costing. In practice, the methodology integrates a computer based life cycle model with statistical techniques to quantify the contribution of life cycle variables. In bringing these proven but previously separate tools together the method resolves the issue of uncertainty in a novel and acceptable way. Through the use of an in-depth industrial case study, it is shown that the methodology provides practical support to the design team to produce economically superior product life cycle designs.

Orientador: Olympio José Pinheiro / Banca: Ivan Amaral Guerrini / Banca: Cláudio Roberto Goya / Resumo: O atual modelo de produção, distribuição e consumo que orienta nossa sociedade é apontado como responsável por severos prejuízos ao planeta, aos seus recursos naturais e a todas as espécies vivas além de favorecer a marginalização e a massificação das culturas. A sustentabilidade surge, nesse cenário, como uma tentativa de reverter ou pelo menos minimizar esse quadro, através da incorporação do pensamento sistêmico e de metodologias transdisciplinares que propõem novos modelos de comportamento. Este estudo visa tragar um panorama do surgimento dos conceitos de ambientalismo e de sustentabilidade e apresenta exemplos que apontam como ela é percebida e praticada pela população no Brasil. Neste processo de investigação, focalizou-se como estudo de campo a atuação do Projeto Tamar, que busca a preservação ambiental através da conscientização e desenvolvimento social, feito um recorte na Vila de Regência, litoral norte do Espírito Santo, onde se avaliou a importância do artesanato para a melhoria da qualidade de vida local. Observando este amplo contexto da produção ao consumo, tanto no que diz respeito à preservação do meio ambiente quanto ao desenvolvimento social, podemos destacar o design como ferramenta indispensável na busca por uma "ecocivilização", termo utilizado por Azevedo (2008). Devido à influência direta na relação projeto, produção, venda e consumo, o designer é um dos pilares que deverá estruturar a tão sonhada sociedade sustentável em uma ecocivilização. os resultados que foram pesquisados sinalizam que ainda há um grande abismo entre as preocupações sócio-ambientais e o real comportamento do ser humano global e particularmente do brasileiro. Como consequencia, defende-se que atuar somente na produção e no consumo já não é suficiente para o campo do Design... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The current model production, distribuition and consumption that drives our society is blamed for severe damage to the planet, to its natural resources and to all living species in addition to pormote marginalization and cultural excavation. The sustainability arises in this scenario as an attempt to reverse or at least minimize this framework through the incoporation of systems thinking and methodologies of transdiciplinary, which propose new models or bahavior. This study aims to give an aims to give an overwiew of the emergence of the concepts of environmentalism and sustainability, and provides examples that show how it is perceived and practiced by the population in Brazil. In the process of research has focused field study as the Tamar Project, which seeks to protect the environment through awareness and social development, we studied in specific the Regência Village, north coast of the Espírito Santo, where we evaluated the importance of the craft work to improve the local quality of life. Noting this broad context from production to consumption, both with regard to environmental preservation and social development, we highlight the design as a tool in the search for a indispensável "ecocivilization", a term used by Azevedo (2008). Due to the direct influence on relationship design, produciton, sale and consumption, the designer is one of the pillars that should structure our longed for a sustainable society in ecocivilization. The results that were surveyed indicate that there is still a big gap in socio-environmental concerns and real human behavior overall and particularly Brazil. As a result, it is argued that only act in the production and consumption is no longer sufficient for the field of design, since designers must, above all, assuming the role of educating for a new consciousness on a planetary scale / Mestre

Possible changes in brain metabolites are associated with Motor Neurone Disease (MND). Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) has been performed on the brains of MND patients and control volunteers to acquire signals which contain information about brain metabolites from within the motor cortex area. Discrimination between JvThD and normal groups may help to understand the pathogenic mechanisms in MND and may be useful for monitoring the effects of future trial treatment regimens. The research described in this thesis presents the development of a pattern recognition system based on neural networks to correctly distinguish between motor neurone disease (MND) patients and controls when presented with a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrum. The NMR spectra are pre-processed to obtain consistent data, and statistical parameters are extracted and selected from each spectrum. Four statistical neural network classifiers are used to provide information and initial decisions (MND/normal). A neural network is then used to combine these to give a final decision. Experimental results indicate that the system can achieve high performance classification on the spectra, including spectra not seen by the system during training. The experiment was repeated on different training and test sets to validate the method and the repeated design shows that the final system was able to achieve high performance classification. A ifizzy rule-based system teclmique is applied to translate and extract rules encoded in weights of neural network classifiers. The neural networks are translated into a few comprehensible rules to understand how the network performs the final decision.

This thesis describes research in the area of automated industrial inspection using machine vision systems. It is anticipated that the algorithms described will contribute to the design of a machine vision system for the automatic surface inspection of cylindrical pellets. Firstly, the acquisition and segmentation of pellet tray images using area capture is described. Individual pellets are segmented from a pellet tray image by a novel system using the Radon transform coupled with data clustering. Subsequent to the segmentation, the linking of four pellet views depicting the entire circumferential area of the pellet is described along with a simple technique to compensate for intensity variations brought about by imaging the three-dimensional cylindrical surface of the pellet. The image processing techniques of filtering, edge detection, thresholding and morphology are used in the segmentation of grey level pellet defect images. The grey level pellet images are low-pass filtered and binary images formed using edge detection with thresholding. Binary morphology operators are then used in conjunction with a termination condition based on the number of objects in the image to ensure homogenous defect representations. The problem of overlapping defects is addressed, resulting in a second algorithm using the Radon transform coupled with data clustering. Prior to classification salient features are extracted from a set of synthetic binary defect images to form feature vectors. The novel idea of image object classification using 100% fuzzy inference is described, and results are shown to be superior to results obtained by feature space classifiers. The sub-classification of crack defects is carried out using a heuristic classifier, and the parameterisation of pellet defects is described.

The research contained in this thesis provides an investigation into a new method of minimising the perceptual differences when encoding digitised speech. An application of the perceptual criteria is described in the context of a codebook encoding methodology Some of the background studies covered aspects of psychoacoustics, in particular the effects of the human outer, middle and inner ear. Models approximating each region of the ear are utilised and concatenated into a single overall auditory response path model. As the objective of the research is to encode and decode speech waveforms, some study into how speech is produced and the classification of speech sounds is required. From this there is a description of a basic speech production model which is modelled as a digital filter. A review of the main categories for coding schemes that are currently employed is presented along with commonly used coding methods. In particular the codebook coding method is reviewed in sufficient detail to contrast with the new coding method. The development of a new perceptual minimisation criterion which relies on dual application of the auditory response path model on the original and reconstructed speech waveforms is described. In this the ordering of eodebook searches, the frequency spectrum used as the search target, windowing functions with durations and placement are all analysed to determine the optimum encoder design. Also described are a number of prospective gain algorithms which cover both time and frequency domain implementations. A new encoder is constructed which fully integrates the new perceptual criterion into the minimisation of the original and reconstructed speech waveforms. In the minimisation no part of the traditional encoder method is used, however both methods use a similar technique for determining gain factors. Speech derived from both encoders was subjectively assessed by a number of untrained, independent listeners. The results presented show that both methods are comparable but there is a slight preference towards the traditional encoder. A measure of the complexity indicated that the new minimisation method is also more complex than the traditional encoder.

The research contained in this thesis is an investigation into mosaic construction. Mosaic techniques are used to obtain images with a large field of view by assembling a sequence of smaller individual overlapping images. In existing methods of mosaic construction only successive images are aligned. Accumulation of small alignment errors occur, and in the case of the image path returning to a previous position in the mosaic, a significant mismatch between nonconsecutive images will result (looping path problem). A new method for consistently aligning all the images in a mosaic is proposed in this thesis. This is achieved by distribution of the small alignment errors. Each image is allowed to modify its position relative to its neighbour images in the mosaic by a small amount with respect to the computed registration. Two images recorded by a rotating ideal camera are related by the same transformation that relates the camera's sensor plane at the time the images were captured. When two images overlap, the intensity values in both images coincide through the intersection line of the sensor planes. This intersection line has the property that the images can be seamlessly joined through that line. An analogy between the images and the physical world is proposed to solve the looping path problem. The images correspond to rigid objects, and these are linked with forces which pull them towards the right positions with respect to their neighbours. That is, every pair of overlapping images are "hinged" through their corresponding intersection line. Aided by another constraint named the spherical constraint, this network of selforganising images has the ability of distributing itself on the surface of a sphere. As a direct result of the new concepts developed in this research work, spherical mosaics (i.e. mosaics with unlimited horizontal and vertical field of view) can be created.

Mycelium-composites has been emerging commercially as an environmentally sustainable alternative to conventional materials. By utilizing the fungal mycelium’s ability to bond with lignin and cellulose fibers of plants, mycelium-composites can be made that are recyclable and renewable. Mycelium therefore has the potential to contribute to creating more sustainable options in material selection for product designers. However, the visual appearance of mycelium materials might pose a challenge when it comes to their adaption into society. Case-studies have indicated a negative reaction to the mycelium-composites aesthetics which are characterized by imperfections and irregularities with an off-white coloring. Using theories surrounding aesthetics, materials experience and emotional design, the purpose of this study was to further develop the visual and/or aesthetical aspects of a mycelium-composite through a material driven design process The results of material development is presented in a product concept that displays the insight that can assist designers create mycelium-based products that are more accepted by a broader market.

Consideration of sustainability in product and industrial design courses is becoming more common and relevant within higher education in the UK. However little is known about how widespread the teaching is and what is actually understood as sustainable design with discrepancies in the definitions used in different institutions. Literature highlights that many universities now engage with the tangible environmental aspects of sustainable design, whilst the intangible social aspects are left unaddressed. This thesis explores methods for encouraging and enabling students to address the social aspects within sustainable product design (SPD) education. The first research stage presents the results of a nationwide survey, which investigated how widely SPD is taught, which social aspects are addressed, how SPD is taught and assessed and the attitudes and awareness of it amongst academics. The second research stage presents further research into best practice in SPD through detailed interviews with leading academics in the field. A third research stage built upon the findings from both these studies, and sought to address a perceived weakness in SPD education; the lack of understanding and consideration of the social aspects in sustainable product design in teaching and project outcomes. Three Rethinking Design workshops were developed and tested at five universities in the UK and Ireland. These workshops were designed to introduce students to the wider social aspects of SPD, through the use of audio visual group based workshops. The design of the workshops enabled a learning environment where a deep understanding of the social aspects of Sustainable Product Design could be developed through; group work, discussion and critical reflection, which led to students exploring design thinking responses, suggesting that deep learning, had occurred.

The notion of “you are what you buy” is an updated adage from “you are what you eat”. It makes a connection between our everyday objects and their effect on our lived experience. Looking at our relationships with our things as a type of contract, we must be intentional to shape these object contracts for our own good and health. Instead of our society’s design talents being put toward a consumerist agenda, designers must direct research and development which addresses the effects of our products holistically. Various concepts have emerged in my creative practice which demand a deeper research and development. These are concepts of little interest to the corporate product developer, as they appeal to agendas beyond profit. Just as the slow food movement responds to fast food and “Big Ag”, the concepts of time, gifts, ritual emerge as virtues which demand development in our products. These concepts are not an answer to consumerism. However, they are tastes that have fallen off of our product diet. I point to various works works of art and design, of my own and others, which seek to renew the vastness of our potential experience with everyday objects. Instead of choosing from the corporate offering, we may take a more critical view of design which looks at our holistic experience with our products.

The research reported in this thesis had two aims. To investigate how the variability and complexity of the mobile context of use should be addressed when capturing user needs for mobile products and to explore the role of indirect methods of data capture as tools for eliciting user needs in a form appropriate for informing the scenario based design of mobile products during the. earliest stages of product development. This research presents a novel scenario-based approach to eliciting and representing user needs in a form suitable for informing the earliest exploratory stages of mobile product design. Within this approach scenarios are used to provide snapshots of actual or envisaged product use that can be used to find a starting point for design when there is no clearly defined focus for innovation. Scenarios are organized into sets using scenario tables to structure consideration of key variables within the mobile context of use. These key variables are identified as: mobility, emotion, social relationship and communication purpose. Three user studies were conducted using UK undergraduate students as the study population. Study One explored use of schematic representations ('maps') of each participant's social communications and mobility as tools for eliciting user needs, both in relation to existing mobile product use and in relation to projected use of future mobile product concepts. Study Two used a diary study method to explore existing mobile communications use. Ways of structuring consideration of the mobile context of use were explored and the effectiveness of the diary as a tool for eliciting user needs and for scenario generation was assessed. Study Three extended the diary study approach to include consideration ofthe emotional context of product use and to include pictorial feedback of diary entries to study participants. These personal representations of product use were used to further explore user needs and to prompt participants to generate narratives describing motivations for product use suitable for presentation in scenario form.