Data-Enabled Design: Hands-on Teaching Activities to Onboard Design Students in the Use of Sensor Data as a Creative Material

This contribution presents two hands-on teaching activities introducing the use of sensor data to design students. We designed two sequential workshops to educate on why and how to use data as a creative material in the design process and provide students with the technical means to quickly prototype connected data-collecting probes. Workshop 1 (Human Sensors) consists of a role-play exercise where teams of students simulate the collection of data in-situ by acting out various sensor types. In workshop 2 (Coffee Cup Challenge), students build their own data-collection artefacts using sensors. Modular, both activities can be adapted to any similar course that uses sensor technologies and data to conduct user research and extract insights to be used in the design process. We describe the activities in detail, provide generalizable materials, and reflect on their use, supported by student reflections and insights from our teaching practice

Fontana: Triggering Physical Activity and Social Connectedness through an Interactive Water Installation

Promoting healthy and active lifestyles is an important objective for many governing agencies. The design of active urban environments can be an effective tool to encourage more active behaviors and water features can attract people, improving their experience of the urban space. To explore the potential of these concepts, we designed Fontana; an interactive public installation that aims to stimulate physical activity and social connectedness in the urban outdoor space, using the multidimensional attractiveness of water. We focus on the use of embedded interactive technology to promote physical activity, using water as a linking element between users. Adopting a research-through-design approach, we explored how such installations can nudge people into an active behavior while additionally strengthening social connectedness, using inclusive design principles. We report on insights gathered through this case study and findings of a preliminary user test, discussing the implications of this work for design researchers and practitioners

Investigation on the aerosol performance of dry powder inhalation hypromellose capsules with different lubricant levels

HPMC capsules are made by a dipping process and a surface lubricant for the mould pins is an essential processing aid for removing dried capsules shells. For the purpose of this study, the level was determined by quantifying methyloleate (MO) a component found in the lubricant but not in the hypromellose capsules. Here we investigated the influence of the lubricant, low (10.81 μg/capsule = 60 mg/kg MO), medium (15.97 μg/capsule = 90 mg/kg MO) and high (23.23 μg/capsule = 127 mg/kg MO) content on powder (binary mixture of salbutamol: lactose, 1:50 w/w) aerosolization properties was investigated. Results indicated significantly lower emitted dose from capsules with 60 mg/kg MO. Furthermore, the 90 and 127 mg/kg MO level of lubricant capsules produced almost double the Fine Particle Dose & Fine Particle Fraction compared with the low level of lubricant. The data indicates that lubricant level within capsules has an influence on deposition profiles and amount of drug remaining in capsule and inhaler device after actuation. It is suggested lubricant levels greater than 60 mg/kg MO per capsule are required to minimise powder retention within capsules and maximise deposition profiles. AFM (atomic force microscopy) data suggest that internal surface roughness may be related with this phenomena