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

A Design Thinking Framework for Human-Centric Explainable Artificial Intelligence in Time-Critical Systems

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has seen a surge in popularity as increased computing power has made it more viable and useful. The increasing complexity of AI, however, leads to can lead to difficulty in understanding or interpreting the results of AI procedures, which can then lead to incorrect predictions, classifications, or analysis of outcomes. The result of these problems can be over-reliance on AI, under-reliance on AI, or simply confusion as to what the results mean. Additionally, the complexity of AI models can obscure the algorithmic, data and design biases to which all models are subject, which may exacerbate negative outcomes, particularly with respect to minority populations. Explainable AI (XAI) aims to mitigate these problems by providing information on the intent, performance, and reasoning process of the AI. Where time or cognitive resources are limited, the burden of additional information can negatively impact performance. Ensuring XAI information is intuitive and relevant allows the user to quickly calibrate their trust in the AI, in turn improving trust in suggested task alternatives, reducing workload and improving task performance. This study details a structured approach to the development of XAI in time-critical systems based on a design thinking framework that preserves the agile, fast-iterative approach characteristic of design thinking and augments it with practical tools and guides. The framework establishes a focus on shared situational perspective, and the deep understanding of both users and the AI in the empathy phase, provides a model with seven XAI levels and corresponding solution themes, and defines objective, physiological metrics for concurrent assessment of trust and workload

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and User Experience (UX) design: A systematic literature review and future research agenda

PurposeThe aim of this article is to map the use of AI in the user experience (UX) design process. Disrupting the UX process by introducing novel digital tools such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to improve efficiency and accuracy, while creating more innovative and creative solutions. Thus, understanding how AI can be leveraged for UX has important research and practical implications.Design/Methodology/ApproachThis article builds on a systematic literature review approach and aims to understand how AI is used in UX design today, as well as uncover some prominent themes for future research. Through a process of selection and filtering, 46 research articles are analysed, with findings synthesized based on a user-centred design and development process.FindingsOur analysis shows how AI is leveraged in the UX design process at different key areas. Namely, these include understanding the context of use, uncovering user requirements, aiding solution design, and evaluating design, and for assisting development of solutions. We also highlight the ways in which AI is changing the UX design process through illustrative examples.Originality/valueWhile there is increased interest in the use of AI in organizations, there is still limited work on how AI can be introduced into processes that depend heavily on human creativity and input. Thus, we show the ways in which AI can enhance such activities and assume tasks that have been typically performed by humans

Wearable and interactive mixed reality solutions for fault diagnosis and assistance in manufacturing systems: Implementation and testing in an aseptic bottling line

Thanks to the spread of technologies stemming from the fourth industrial revolution, also the topic of fault diagnosis and assistance in industrial contexts has benefited. Indeed, several smart tools were developed for assisting with maintenance and troubleshooting, without interfering with operations and facilitating tasks. In line with that, the present manuscript aims at presenting a web smart solution with two possible applications installed on an Android smartphone and Microsoft HoloLens. The solution aims at alerting the operators when an alarm occurs on a machine through notifications, and then at providing the instructions needed for solving the alarm detected. The two devices were tested by the operators of an industrial aseptic bottling line consisting of five machines in real working conditions. The usability of both devices was positively rated by these users based on the System Usability Scale (SUS) and additional appropriate statements. Moreover, the in situ application brought out the main difficulties and interesting issues for the practical implementation of the solutions tested

A knowledge based approach to integration of products, processes and reconfigurable automation resources

The success of next generation automotive companies will depend upon their ability to adapt to ever changing market trends thus becoming highly responsive. In the automotive sector, the assembly line design and reconfiguration is an especially critical and extremely complex job. The current research addresses some of the aspects of this activity under the umbrella of a larger ongoing research project called Business Driven Automation (BDA) project. The BDA project aims to carry out complete virtual 3D modeling-based verifications of the assembly line for new or revised products in contrast to the prevalent practice of manual evaluation of effects of product change on physical resources. [Continues.

Aerospace medicine and biology. A continuing bibliography with indexes, supplement 186

This bibliography lists 159 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System in October 1978

Data distribution satellite

A description is given of a data distribution satellite (DDS) system. The DDS would operate in conjunction with the tracking and data relay satellite system to give ground-based users real time, two-way access to instruments in space and space-gathered data. The scope of work includes the following: (1) user requirements are derived; (2) communication scenarios are synthesized; (3) system design constraints and projected technology availability are identified; (4) DDS communications payload configuration is derived, and the satellite is designed; (5) requirements for earth terminals and network control are given; (6) system costs are estimated, both life cycle costs and user fees; and (7) technology developments are recommended, and a technology development plan is given. The most important results obtained are as follows: (1) a satellite designed for launch in 2007 is feasible and has 10 Gb/s capacity, 5.5 kW power, and 2000 kg mass; (2) DDS features include on-board baseband switching, use of Ku- and Ka-bands, multiple optical intersatellite links; and (3) system user costs are competitive with projected terrestrial communication costs