Adaptation and implementation of a process of innovation and design within a SME

A design process is a sequence of design phases, starting with the design requirement and leading to a definition of one or several system architectures. For every design phase, various support tools and resolution methods are proposed in the literature. These tools are however very difficult to implement in an SME, which may often lack resources. In this article we propose a complete design process for new manufacturing techniques, based on creativity and knowledge re-use in searching for technical solutions. Conscious of the difficulties of appropriation in SME, for every phase of our design process we propose resolution tools which are adapted to the context of a small firm. Design knowledge has been capitalized in a knowledge base. The knowledge structuring we propose is based on functional logic and the design process too is based on the functional decomposition of the system, and integrates the simplification of the system architecture, from the early phases of the process. For this purpose, aggregation phases and embodiment are proposed and guided by heuristics

Making a financial time machine:a multitouch application to enable interactive 3-D visualization of distant savings goals

Financial planning and decision making for the general public continues to vex and perplex in equal measure. Whilst the tools presented by a typical desktop computer should make the task easier, the recent financial crisis confirms the increasing difficulty that people have in calculating the benefits of deferring consumption for future gains (i.e. Saving). We present an interactive concept demonstration for Microsoft SurfaceTM that tackles two of the key barriers to saving decision making. Firstly we show an interface that avoid the laborious writing down or inputting of data and instead embodies the cognitive decision of allocation of resources in a physical gesture based interface, where the scale of the investment or expenditure correlates with the scale of the gesture. Second we show how a fast-forward based animation can demonstrate the impact of small increments in savings to a long term savings goal in a strategy game-based, interactive format. The platform uses custom software (XNATM format) as opposed to the more usual WPFTM format found on Surface applications. This enables dynamic 3-D graphical icons to be used to maximize the interactive appeal of the interface. Demonstration and test trial feedback indicates that this platform can be adapted to suit the narrative of individual purchasing decisions to inform educate diverse user groups about the long term consequences of small financial decisions

An aesthetics of touch: investigating the language of design relating to form

How well can designers communicate qualities of touch? This paper presents evidence that they have some capability to do so, much of which appears to have been learned, but at present make limited use of such language. Interviews with graduate designer-makers suggest that they are aware of and value the importance of touch and materiality in their work, but lack a vocabulary to fully relate to their detailed explanations of other aspects such as their intent or selection of materials. We believe that more attention should be paid to the verbal dialogue that happens in the design process, particularly as other researchers show that even making-based learning also has a strong verbal element to it. However, verbal language alone does not appear to be adequate for a comprehensive language of touch. Graduate designers-makers’ descriptive practices combined non-verbal manipulation within verbal accounts. We thus argue that haptic vocabularies do not simply describe material qualities, but rather are situated competences that physically demonstrate the presence of haptic qualities. Such competencies are more important than groups of verbal vocabularies in isolation. Design support for developing and extending haptic competences must take this wide range of considerations into account to comprehensively improve designers’ capabilities

AI-Generated Fashion Designs: Who or What Owns the Goods?

As artificial intelligence (“AI”) becomes an increasingly prevalent tool in a plethora of industries in today’s society, analyzing the potential legal implications attached to AI-generated works is becoming more popular. One of the industries impacted by AI is fashion. AI tools and devices are currently being used in the fashion industry to create fashion models, fabric designs, and clothing. An AI device’s ability to generate fashion designs raises the question of who will own the copyrights of the fashion designs. Will it be the fashion designer who hires or contracts with the AI device programmer? Will it be the programmer? Or will it be the AI device itself? Designers invest a lot of talent, time, and finances into designing and creating each article of clothing and accessory it releases to the public; yet, under the current copyright standards, designers will not likely be considered the authors of their creations. Ultimately, this Note makes policy proposals for future copyright legislation within the United States, particularly recommending that AI-generated and AI-assisted designs be copyrightable and owned by the designers who purchase the AI device

Emerging technologies for learning (volume 1)

Collection of 5 articles on emerging technologies and trend