Recursos formales de la naturaleza como fuente de inspiración en diseño de producto

[ESP] La biomímesis es la ciencia que estudia la naturaleza como fuente de inspiración para resolver aquellos problemas humanos que la naturaleza ha resuelto con millones de años de experiencia. Desde un punto de vista formal, la naturaleza ofrece también una gran cantidad de formas y texturas que pueden servir de inspiración para el diseño de productos. Si se realiza una mirada más profunda, se puede comprobar que estamos rodeados de geometrías que se repiten ofreciendo formas bellas y armoniosas que provocan emociones a quien las contempla. Se propone un modelo de clasificación que sirva como punto de partida de una base de datos que se utilice como recurso de inspiración para cualquier tipo de diseño. [ENG] Biomimicry is the science that studies nature as inspiration to solve human problems which nature has solved with millions of years of experience. From a formal point of view, nature also offers a lot of shapes and textures that can serve as inspiration for product design. If a deeper look is done, it is proven that we are surrounded by repeating geometric figures that offer beautiful and harmonious shapes that provoke the emotions of the beholder. A classification model that serves as inspiration for any type of design is proposed.Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería de Telecomunicación (ETSIT), Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica (ETSIA), Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Industrial (ETSII), Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura y Edificación (ETSAE), Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería de Caminos, Canales y Puertos y de Ingeniería de Minas (ETSICCPIM), Facultad de Ciencias de la Empresa (FCCE), Parque Tecnológico de Fuente Álamo (PTFA), Vicerrectorado de Estudiantes y Extensión de la UPCT, Vicerrectorado de Investigación e Innovación de la UPCT, y Vicerrectorado de Internacionalización y Cooperación al Desarrollo de la UPCT

The Eco Office: Dynamic and Homeostatic Facades inspired by BIOMORPHIM, BIOMIMICRY, and BIOPHILIA

"Come forth into the light of things, Let Nature be your teacher.” ~ William Wordsworth The focus of this dissertation research is to extend and increase an understanding of sustainable building envelope design strategies, with specific focus on transfer of light, air, and heat, within a tropical site setting/context. Biomimetic architecture is a process that is primarily driven by inspiration from natural systems and organisms. Designs and patterns found in nature are often resolved at the “macro” as well as at the “micro/nano” molecular levels, which prompts further investigation into present-day advancements in material science and nanotechnological concepts. Nanotechnology is a way of looking closer at systems and material structures and properties; the translation from biomimetic architecture to the nano-molecular scale of materials thus promotes sustainability in buildings, by providing ways and means to incorporate new technologies and novel material systems into the architectural design of building facades, that will further aid with the successful implementation of passive design strategies, in order to establish comfortable interior lighting, ventilation, and thermal conditions. Extensive literature reviews and material research are utilized for the bio-tonano design process and analyses. Performance of design modules created has been tested using design simulations and reiterative analysis processes. “Taking cues from Nature – creation of responsive (environment and human responsive) architecture” – is the idea that is the primary motivation behind the research focus. The key goal of this research is to propose alternative futures in building envelope design, for a site in Honolulu, which would serve as a digital prototype for similar such investigations into integrating nature-inspired macro and nanotechnology structures and materials into building systems design. Psychophysiology (the mind-body-interaction) and experimental testing is used as part of the final testing and analysis, to assess people’s responses to nature-inspired design and emerging building technologies

Designing Sound for Social Robots: Advancing Professional Practice through Design Principles

Sound is one of the core modalities social robots can use to communicate with the humans around them in rich, engaging, and effective ways. While a robot's auditory communication happens predominantly through speech, a growing body of work demonstrates the various ways non-verbal robot sound can affect humans, and researchers have begun to formulate design recommendations that encourage using the medium to its full potential. However, formal strategies for successful robot sound design have so far not emerged, current frameworks and principles are largely untested and no effort has been made to survey creative robot sound design practice. In this dissertation, I combine creative practice, expert interviews, and human-robot interaction studies to advance our understanding of how designers can best ideate, create, and implement robot sound. In a first step, I map out a design space that combines established sound design frameworks with insights from interviews with robot sound design experts. I then systematically traverse this space across three robot sound design explorations, investigating (i) the effect of artificial movement sound on how robots are perceived, (ii) the benefits of applying compositional theory to robot sound design, and (iii) the role and potential of spatially distributed robot sound. Finally, I implement the designs from prior chapters into humanoid robot Diamandini, and deploy it as a case study. Based on a synthesis of the data collection and design practice conducted across the thesis, I argue that the creation of robot sound is best guided by four design perspectives: fiction (sound as a means to convey a narrative), composition (sound as its own separate listening experience), plasticity (sound as something that can vary and adapt over time), and space (spatial distribution of sound as a separate communication channel). The conclusion of the thesis presents these four perspectives and proposes eleven design principles across them which are supported by detailed examples. This work contributes an extensive body of design principles, process models, and techniques providing researchers and designers with new tools to enrich the way robots communicate with humans

ON THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL ROBOTS IN COGNITIVE MULTITASKING AND ITS APPLICATION

[Objective] I clarify the impact of social robots on cognitive tasks, such as driving a car or driving an airplane, and show the possibility of industrial applications based on the principles of social robotics. [Approach] I adopted the MATB, a generalized version of the automobile and airplane operation tasks, as cognitive tasks to evaluate participants' performance on reaction speed, tracking performance, and short-term memory tasks that are widely applicable, rather than tasks specific to a particular situation. Also, as the stimuli from social robots, we used the iCub robot, which has been widely used in social communication research. In the analysis of participants, I not only analyzed performance, but also mental workload using skin conductance and emotional analysis of arousal-valence using facial expressions analysis. In the first experiment, I compared a social robot that use social signals with a nonsocial robot that do not use such signals and evaluated whether social robots affect cognitive task performances. In the second experiment, I focused on vitality forms and compared a calm social robot with an assertive social robot. As analysis methods, I adopted Mann-Whitney's U test for one-pair comparisons, and ART-ANOVA for analysis of variance in repeated task comparisons. Based on the results, I aimed to express vitality forms in a robot head, which is smaller in size and more flexible in placement than a full-body humanoid robot, considering car and airplane cockpit's limited space. For that, I developed a novel eyebrow and I decided to use a wire-driven technique, which is widely used in surgical robots to control soft materials. [Main results] In cognitive tasks such as car drivers and airplane pilots, I clarified the effects of social robots acting social behaviors on task performance, mental workload, and emotions. In addition, I focused on vitality forms, one of the parameters of social behaviors, and clarified the effects of different vitality forms of social robots' behavior on cognitive tasks.In cognitive tasks such as car drivers and airplane pilots, we clarified the effects of social robots acting in social behaviors on task performance, mental workload, and emotions, and showed that the presence of social robots can be effective in cognitive tasks. Furthermore, focusing on vitality forms, one of the parameters of social behaviors, we clarified the effects of different vitality forms of social robots' behaviors on cognitive tasks, and found that social robots with calm behaviors positively affected participants' facial expressions and improved their performance in a short-term memory task. Based on the results, I decided to adopt the configuration of a robot head, eliminating the torso from the social humanoid robot, iCub, considering the possibility of placement in a limited space such as cockpits of car or airplane. In designing the robot head, I developed a novel soft-material eyebrow that can be mounted on the iCub robot head to achieve continuous position and velocity changes, which is an important factor to express vitality forms. The novel eyebrows can express different vitality forms by changing the shape and velocity of the eyebrows, which was conventionally represented by the iCub's torso and arms. [Significance] The results of my research are important achievements that opens up the possibility of applying social robots to non-robotic industries such as automotive and aircraft. In addition, the newly developed soft-material eyebrows' precise shape and velocity changes have opened up new research possibilities in social robotics and social communication research themselves, enabling experiments with complex facial expressions that move beyond Ekman's simple facial expression changes definition, such as, joy, anger, sadness, and pleasure. Thus, the results of this research are one important step in both scientific and industrial applications. [Key-words] social robot, cognitive task, vitality form, robot head, facial expression, eyebro

Piano-Playing Robotic Arm

This project explores the intersection of robotics and technology with music. The study looks specifically at the expressive aspects of a human performer and how to translate and represent that in a robotic system. By analyzing live performances of multiple performers and talking with professional performers, the team built an understanding of human gesture in performance. This was demonstrated by the creation of a robotic piano-playing system, including an industrial arm and custom-built hand. To fully understand the interpretation and performance of music, the team implemented a set of machine learning techniques, which included training a recurrent neural network (RNN) to analyze audio signals and reproduce musical input

Design and semantics of form and movement

Contemporary cognitive science and neuroscience offer us some rather precise insights into the mechanisms that are responsible for certain body movements. In this paper, we argue that this knowledge may be highly relevant to the design of meaningful movement and behavior, both from a theoretical and practical point of view. Taking the example of a leech, we investigate and identify the basic principles of "embodied movement" that govern the motion of this simple creature, and argue that the development and adoption of a design methodology that incorporates these principles right from the start, may be the best way forward, if one wants to realize and design movements with certain desirable characteristics

ICS Materials. Towards a re-Interpretation of material qualities through interactive, connected, and smart materials.

The domain of materials for design is changing under the influence of an increased technological advancement, miniaturization and democratization. Materials are becoming connected, augmented, computational, interactive, active, responsive, and dynamic. These are ICS Materials, an acronym that stands for Interactive, Connected and Smart. While labs around the world are experimenting with these new materials, there is the need to reflect on their potentials and impact on design. This paper is a first step in this direction: to interpret and describe the qualities of ICS materials, considering their experiential pattern, their expressive sensorial dimension, and their aesthetic of interaction. Through case studies, we analyse and classify these emerging ICS Materials and identified common characteristics, and challenges, e.g. the ability to change over time or their programmability by the designers and users. On that basis, we argue there is the need to reframe and redesign existing models to describe ICS materials, making their qualities emerge

Head Impact Severity Measures for Small Social Robots Thrown During Meltdown in Autism

Social robots have gained a lot of attention recently as they have been reported to be effective in supporting therapeutic services for children with autism. However, children with autism may exhibit a multitude of challenging behaviors that could be harmful to themselves and to others around them. Furthermore, social robots are meant to be companions and to elicit certain social behaviors. Hence, the presence of a social robot during the occurrence of challenging behaviors might increase any potential harm. In this paper, we identified harmful scenarios that might emanate between a child and a social robot due to the manifestation of challenging behaviors. We then quantified the harm levels based on severity indices for one of the challenging behaviors (i.e. throwing of objects). Our results showed that the overall harm levels based on the selected severity indices are relatively low compared to their respective thresholds. However, our investigation of harm due to throwing of a small social robot to the head revealed that it could potentially cause tissue injuries, subconcussive or even concussive events in extreme cases. The existence of such behaviors must be accounted for and considered when developing interactive social robots to be deployed for children with autism.The work is supported by a research grant from Qatar University under the grant No. QUST-1-CENG-2018-7Scopu

Uso da otimização topológica no design e desenvolvimento de produto

The way to design products has won a new dimension with ripening of concepts such as Generative Design and Topology Optimisation, Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence and Additive Manufacturing. This development has opened space for new ways to create better and more sophisticated products that, in the organisations' competitiveness, it can be in the near future a nearly mandatory competitive standard. Whereas this opportunity window aims to explore the new and lead it to a product development routine, this dissertation has as goal, through a wide study, to explore a methodology that ought to serve as a guide for design and/or engineering professionals who would like to understand how to better use these concepts as a tool for products optimisation by computational methods. In order to understand its basic principles and how to perform a reliable data processing, an applied example for a case will also be shown as well as its difficulties and learnings obtained and, finally, a critical analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of using these tools. Therefore, this study will have as focus to explore the Topology Optimisation along with Biomimicry and provide a basis on how to apply these concepts in the product development.A forma de se projetar produtos tem ganhado uma nova dimensão com o amadurecimento de conceitos e tecnologias como o Design Generativo e Otimização Topológica, Cloud Computing, Inteligência Artificial e Fabrico Aditivo. Este avanço, tem aberto espaço para se criar melhores e mais sofisticados produtos, que face a competitividade entre organizações, pode vir a ser num futuro próximo um critério competitivo quase que obrigatório. Considerando esta janela de oportunidade para explorar o novo e levá-lo para a rotina no desenvolvimento de produtos, este trabalho de dissertação tem como objetivo, através de um estudo abrangente, explorar uma metodologia que possa servir como guia a profissionais de Design e/ou Engenharia que queiram entender como usar melhor ferramentas de otimização de produtos focada em otimização topológica através de métodos computacionais, de forma a compreender seus princípios básicos e como realizar um processamento de dados fiável. Um exemplo aplicado a um caso, assim como dificuldades e aprendizados obtidos. E por fim, uma análise crítica quanto as vantagens e desvantagens de se utilizar tais ferramentas. Portanto, o foco neste estudo é explorar a Otimização Topológica em conjunto com a Biomimética e fornecer uma base de como estes conceitos podem ser aplicados no desenvolvimento de um produto.Mestrado em Engenharia e Design de Produt