While there currently exists a great deal of research in the literature demonstrating various engineering applications for virtual reality (VR) and the benefits of these applications, VR adoption has been slow in part because of the high cost and resources required to setup and maintain the hardware for these applications. However, in the last 5 years, a new generation of VR hardware has emerged with cost and resource requirements which are a small fraction of previous hardware. This work begins with a survey of this newly available hardware summarizing recent advances for providing virtual input to all of the five human senses. The literature review then proceeds to highlight previous research into improving various aspects of the Engineering Design Process by using VR applications. The literature review concludes that given the significantly improved cost to benefit ratio of this new hardware, a tipping point has been reached where companies will see benefits from providing their engineering workforce with general access to VR hardware. From the conclusions drawn in the literature review, this work proceeds to explore and answer two main questions related to connecting and collaborating via this new VR hardware. The first question seeks to understand the trade-offs between cybersickness and disorientation from different styles of moving users in a collaborative VR environment (CVE). Since a CVE can be much larger than the physical world it is sometimes necessary to move the virtual participant which can cause cybersickness and disorientation. Understanding this trade-off is one key to creating a usable CVE. It is found that many users are willing to experience some mild cybersickness to significantly reduce the amount of disorientation experienced in a CVE. However, a second group of users are not willing to make this trade and hence require the ability to customize the CVE for their preferred trade-off between cybersickness and disorientation. The second question seeks to understand how a CVE with support for natural gestures can improve communication about complex 3D data over video conferencing which is the current standard for remote collaboration. It is found that such a CVE implemented with the latest low-cost consumer-grade VR hardware can improve communication speed up to 45% while also improving the accuracy of the communication. In addition, it was found that gestures in the CVE were much more effective and natural than mouse gestures in Skype, 93% of participants preferred the CVE over current video conferencing software, and 86% of participants stated they would like to have access to VR tools in their workplace.

While there currently exists a great deal of research in the literature demonstrating various engineering applications for virtual reality (VR) and the benefits of these applications, VR adoption has been slow in part because of the high cost and resources required to setup and maintain the hardware for these applications. However, in the last 5 years, a new generation of VR hardware has emerged with cost and resource requirements which are a small fraction of previous hardware. This work begins with a survey of this newly available hardware summarizing recent advances for providing virtual input to all of the five human senses. The literature review then proceeds to highlight previous research into improving various aspects of the Engineering Design Process by using VR applications. The literature review concludes that given the significantly improved cost to benefit ratio of this new hardware, a tipping point has been reached where companies will see benefits from providing their engineering workforce with general access to VR hardware. From the conclusions drawn in the literature review, this work proceeds to explore and answer two main questions related to connecting and collaborating via this new VR hardware. The first question seeks to understand the trade-offs between cybersickness and disorientation from different styles of moving users in a collaborative VR environment (CVE). Since a CVE can be much larger than the physical world it is sometimes necessary to move the virtual participant which can cause cybersickness and disorientation. Understanding this trade-off is one key to creating a usable CVE. It is found that many users are willing to experience some mild cybersickness to significantly reduce the amount of disorientation experienced in a CVE. However, a second group of users are not willing to make this trade and hence require the ability to customize the CVE for their preferred trade-off between cybersickness and disorientation. The second question seeks to understand how a CVE with support for natural gestures can improve communication about complex 3D data over video conferencing which is the current standard for remote collaboration. It is found that such a CVE implemented with the latest low-cost consumer-grade VR hardware can improve communication speed up to 45% while also improving the accuracy of the communication. In addition, it was found that gestures in the CVE were much more effective and natural than mouse gestures in Skype, 93% of participants preferred the CVE over current video conferencing software, and 86% of participants stated they would like to have access to VR tools in their workplace.

Doctor of Philosophy(PhD) / This thesis describes the exploration and the development of computational means to investigate the behaviour of design objects before they are available for investigation in the physical world. The motivation is to inform the design process about the design object’s performance in order to achieve better – more performance-oriented – design outcomes in the sense of energy efficiency and comfort performance than can be achieved by conventional design techniques. The research is structured into five successive parts. - Concept Development – A review of the objective domains comfort assessment and energy efficiency assessment is conducted and the design process, human design activity and the application of simulation in the architectural domain is discussed in order to identify requirements for the development of computational means for design analysis. Requirements regarding model content, model features and model integration are developed. The main requirements are that a highly integrated, three-dimensional and dynamic representation of physical processes is needed and that a universal and integrated representation is required. - Concept Formulation – Based on the identified requirements, the concept for a model is formulated. In order to achieve a universal and integrated representation of physical processes the concept uses the approach of a constructive language. Space is represented with autonomous spatial elements, called congeneric cells. Interaction between the cells is represented by near- and remote-conjunctions. Physical and geometric self-contained formulations of the model reduce the model input requirements, so that geometric information and simple property specification (material, activity) is sufficient to describe the design object in the model. - Model Development – The concept is formulated in mathematical physical terms based on well known physical laws and building physical models (first-principle approach). Heat and moisture conduction, diffusion of various components and a flow model is formulated as near-conjunction processes. Heat radiation, light and sound are modelled with a radiosity approach as remote-conjunctions. The simulation algorithm, which governs the interaction between the cells in order to represent the behaviour of space, is explained. - Computational Implementation – The concept and the model is tested by implementation of a prototype using C++ and OpenGL on a conventional Pentium 4 notebook. The prototype consists of three parts: user-interface, model translator and simulation engine. The user interface functions as model-input and result-output device. The implementation of the concept and of further model parts is described in detail. - Assessment and Testing – The developed concept and the model, as implemented in the prototype, are tested and assessed against the initially developed requirements. The physical model is assessed in regard to plausibility and accuracy of the representation of the physical phenomena. At the end of the thesis the project is summarized, the achievements of the project’s objectives are discussed critically and issues for future research are suggested. Possible applications of the developed model are listed, and the contributions to the application of computational simulation in the architectural domain, developed in this research, are named. At the current stage the required processing time and high memory requirements prevent implementation of a design assessment system, following the suggested concept, at a useful scale. Also the developed physical models require further refinement and testing. Although the general feasibility of the concept and the model was successfully demonstrated, its implementation in a fully applicable design assessment system based on the universal and integrated representation of physical processes was not achieved at this stage. While detailed description and analysis is given in the body of the thesis, detailed formulations of the work and the developed model are given in the appendix. The body and the appendix together provide a complete picture of the research presented.

Principles of design composition are commonly understood to pertain to geometrical systems for arranging parts in assembling a formal whole. Connection to socio-cultural 'meaning' and relevance arguably occurs primarily via the assumed divinity or universality of these systems. In the contemporary architectural world, where explicitly held beliefs in fundamental, geometrically defined principles or values have dissipated, guiding principles of composition appear to be obsolete. This seems particularly true in relation to work that highlights process - or change, responsiveness, interactivity and adaptability - since this implies that the composition remains in flux and unable to be grounded in the composition of form. While processually inflected architecture (referred to here as 'processual architecture'), has been an active field since at least the 1960s, it has been significantly developed since design experiments involving digital computation intensified in t he 1990s. For this field of work, both highly celebrated and criticised as superficial or unethical, any connection to 'meaning' or value that might be offered by principles of composition would appear especially lost. This thesis reviews, counterpoises and reorients these assumptions, arguing a case for the value of processual architectural that has not been previously articulated. After the last 10 to 15 years of digital experimentation, it is clear that digital technology in itself is not the primary issue, but simply part of a complex equation. The thesis articulates this 'equation' through the model of emergence, which has been used in the field with increasing prominence in recent years. Through both practice-based research and theoretical development, a processually inflected theory of composition is proposed. This offers pathways through which the potential of processual architecture might be productively developed, aiming to open this field of work into a deeper engagement with pressing contemporary socio-political issues. The thesis demonstrates how the cultivation of particular modes of attention and engagement, found to hold an implicit but nevertheless amplified significance within processual architecture, make it possible to develop an embodied awareness pertaining to an 'ethico-aesthetic know-how'. This know-how is acquired and matured through attention to the affective dimensions that arise through design activity. The thesis highlight aspects of design process and products that are routinely suppressed in architectural discourse, generating new insights into the importance of affect for design process, design products and the relations between them. The ethical dimensions of such an approach become especially poignant through the explicit connection made between design activity and the practices of everyday life. Relationships between architecture and the social become re-energised, in a radically alternative manner to the social agendas of modernism or the more literary critiques of post-modernism. Through detailed discussions of the specific, local conditions with a series of design projects I have undertaken, I argue how and why close attention to the affective dimensions of design process offers new and productive ways to approach research through design practice. This offers a response to the calls for new 'post-critical' forms of research through empowering both sides of a previously held divide: theory and practice.

<p>Windy Scandinavia is the manufacturer of the luxury yacht Windy 52 Xanthos. There is a storage application in the aft sofa on the boat that doesn’t live up to the standard and functionality level that Windy represents. This report describes the mechanical design process of this storage application, which currently has bad functionality and is expensive for Windy in production.</p><p>The aim of the project was to develop the existing storage application to a low cost application. Simple and effective for Windy to produce and assemble, with the directives of access to the front or from above to the sofa.</p><p>A feasibility study of the existing application was made to get a picture of disadvantages and advantages to keep for further concepts.</p><p>The concept development included three steps; each step implied further development in level of detail. Starting with a range of concepts covering all different possibilities of access to the storage space, and ending up with a couple of concepts developed in detail with costs and knowledge of productions methods.</p><p>The result became a standard application; a hatch with gas dampers. The reasons why this became the result was because of the low cost, simplicity and functionality. Small modifications of existing moulds and no new components or production methods needed.</p><p>Conclusion of the result is that it fulfils the requirement specification and thereby is a proper result. The conceptual design phase generated many different concepts, from these concepts a result satisfying the requirements emerged.</p>

<p>This thesis examines innovation and design processes in small established companies. There is a great interest in this area yet paradoxically the area is under-researched, since most innovation research is done on large companies. The research questions are: How do small established companies carry out their innovation and design processes? and How does the context and novelty of the process and product affect the same processes?</p><p>The thesis is built on three research papers that used the research method of multiple case studies of different small established companies. The innovation and design processes found were highly context dependent and were facilitated by committed resources, a creative climate, vision, low family involvement, delegated power and authority, and linkages to external actors such as customers and users. Both experimental cyclical and linear structured design processes were found. The choice of structure is explained by the relative product and process novelty experienced by those developing the product innovation. Linear design processes worked within a low relative novelty situation and cyclical design processes worked no matter the relative novelty. The innovation and design processes found were informal, with a low usage of formal systematic design methods, except in the case of design processes for software. The use of formal systematic methods in small companies seems not always to be efficient, because many of the problems the methods are designed to solve are not present. Customers and users were found to play a large and important role in the innovation and design processes found and gave continuous feedback during the design processes. Innovation processes were found to be intertwined, yielding synergy effects, but it was common that resources were taken from the innovation processes for acute problems that threatened the cash flow. In sum, small established companies have the natural prerequisites to take advantage of lead-user inventions and cyclical design processes. Scarce resources were found to be the main factor hindering innovation, but the examined companies practiced several approaches to increase their resources or use existing scarce resources more efficiently in their innovation and design processes. Examples of these approaches include adopting lead-user inventions and reducing formality in the innovation and design processes.</p>

<p>There are a vast number of research and studies undertaken within the domain of user-centered design concerning the design process of an artifact, but still there are questions being raised of the relatively new and successful field of mobile design. During recent years mobile technology have surpassed the standardized thoughts of how to prototype and evaluate such a ubiquitous device. The paper addresses this predicament by discussing aspects of fidelity differences in an early design process of a mobile design. The example being presented refers to a design study of an iPhone-application, where two different types of prototypes were created and user tested, a low-fidelity paper prototype and a mixed-fidelity interactive prototype. The paper sets focus on the various differences between these fidelities closely related to the case. It also reflects on how mobile design approaches can mature during the early stages of a design process.</p>

The EEC (Electron Energy Corporation) in conjunction with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is researching the magnetic bearings for an alternative to conventional journal or ball bearings. The purpose of this research was to design and develop a high-temperature (1000ºF) hybrid Magnetic Bearing using High Temperature Permanent Magnets (HTPM), developed by the EEC for high performance jet engines at high speeds that supply loads of 500 lbf. Another objective is to design and build a test rig fixture to measure the load capacity of the designed bearing. The permanent magnet bias of the Homopolar radial magnetic bearing reduces the amount of current required for magnetic bearing operation. This reduces the power loss due to the coil current resistance and improves the system efficiency because the magnetic field of the HTPM can suspend the major portion of the static load on bearing. A high temperature radial magnetic bearing was designed via an iterative search employing 3D finite element based electromagnetic field simulations. The bearing was designed to produce 500 lbf of force at 1000ºF and the design weight is 48 lbs. The bias flux of the Homopolar radial bearing is produced by EEC HTPM to reduce the related ohmic losses of an electromagnetic circuit significantly. An experimental procedure was developed to measure actual load capacity of the designed bearing at the test rig. All the results obtained from the experiment were compiled and analyzed to determine the relation between bearing force, applied current and temperature.

This thesis critically reflects on co-operative design workshops that I have conducted. The basic method used in these workshops draws on the participants’ embodied knowing. In the over twenty workshops that are analysed here a wide range of participants have been involved: family members, employees, persons with disabilities, and other stakeholders like manufacturers, service providers and civil servants. The topics have varied, but they have mostly been related to ICT products and services. Most of the workshops were conducted within various research projects. In order to analyse this diverse range of workshops I use several different theories and concepts. I articulate and analyse the design aspects of the activities by using established design theories and concepts. The conceptual tool design space, meaning all possible design proposals, is used for understanding the design process. I also use theories from other fields in order to analyse three different aspects of the workshops: the participants’ activities, the designers’ responsibility, and the process. To analyse the way that the participants co-operatively create knowledge, theories of interpersonal actions are used; to analyse the work done by the designer/conductor, theories of frames are used; and to analyse the process, the theory of actualisation and realisation is used. During the workshops the participants co-operatively make scenarios, props and video prototypes in order to create proposals for desired interactions with future artefacts. Contributions include accounts of critical situations during the workshops and suggested strategies for dealing with them. Some implications are relevant to the design field in general, for example the importance of a process where the participants trust each other, learn from each other and work effectively with difficult issues by creating multiple proposals that facilitate understanding of the design space. I also offer arguments about why it is better to see activities, props and prototypes as mainly constitutive rather than as only representative. Video prototypes on DVD and seven publications are included in the thesis.

The cooperative design approach, which research and practice have proven to be successful in several ways, is based on understanding users and their contexts through a variety of methods. This approach of working closely together with the users, however, is not the same thing as letting the users decide themselves what to design. Rather it means that designers in an interdisciplinary research team, working in close collaboration with the users, will use their design skills and collected knowledge about the users to produce good designs. Though cooperative design has proven successful, there are ways in which it could be improved. Cooperative design derived as a result of criticism about the lack of focus on users in the design process. In this sense, cooperative design has been the critical view, whereas socio-cultural perspectives such as gender, values and power relations have been either suppressed, deliberately or not, or not taken into consideration to the full extent that they could be. In contrast, three important elements of cultural studies research are meaning, identity and power. Research in this field examines the relationship between people and context, and between cultural and social practices, as well as on forces that change or preserve power structures. One aim of this thesis is to emphasise the importance of these issues within cooperative design. The focus of my thesis is to, through a phenomenological approach and a critical view of the different cooperative design projects I have participated in, discuss issues that have either been part of the projects’ structure, or have been imposed on the projects by circumstances that perhaps could not be foreseen. Three main issues that need further investigation to understand how they affect the design process are discussed: language and meaning, the individual in the group-oriented activities of cooperative design, and finally power relations and structures. I use myself as the subject through which the socio-cultural and critical viewpoints are shown. My aim is to show that there are aspects of the individual researcher in the cooperative design process that impact the design space and design. Through a critical discussion of the projects and related issues, this thesis argues that the cooperative design process can involve data and methods that we do not always know how to handle. As a result, we can miss important aspects of the research or end up in difficult dilemmas. Therefore, we need to better understand on what grounds we make design decisions in the cooperative design process, investigate what effect the individual has in group-oriented design processes, and examine how culture, language and power structures guide us and how we use methods such as triangulation. I believe that researchers need to evaluate our cooperative design process from the outside, with the goal of improving these processes. / QC 20100519