Background Research in Design

1. Background Research in
Design
How to Select and Assess Precedents
3.007 Introduction to Design
Mohan Rajesh Elara and Ricardo Sosa

2. Design Brief
You have been asked to “design an
innovative pet robot for elderly”. Where
do you start?

6. http://faculty.washington.edu/pkahn/articles/robotic_pets2.pdf

8. 2011–2012 APPA National Pet Owners
Survey
U.S. pet-ownership estimates
• Dogs
• 78.2 million—Number of owned dogs
• 46 percent—Percentage of households that own at least one
dog
• 60 percent—Percentage of owners with one dog
• 28 percent—Percentage of owners with two dogs
• 12 percent—Percentage of owners with three or more dogs
• 1.7—Average number of owned dogs per household
• 21 percent—Percentage of owned dogs who were adopted
from animal shelters
• $248—Average annual amount spent by dog owners on routine
veterinary visits
• 78 percent—Percentage of owned dogs who are spayed or
neutered
• Even—Proportion of male to female owned dogs
• Cats
• 86.4 million—Number of owned cats
• 39 percent—Number of households that own at least one cat
• 52 percent—Percentage of owners with more than one cat
• 2.2—Average number of owned cats per household
• 21 percent—Percentage of owned cats who were adopted from
an animal shelter
• $219—Average annual amount spent by cat owners on routine
veterinary visits
• 88 percent—Percentage of owned cats who are spayed or
neutered
• 80 percent vs. 65 percent—The difference in number of owned
female cats and owned male cats, respectively
http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/pet_overpopulation/facts/pet_ownership_statistics.html

9. http://www.americanpetproducts.org/press_industrytrends.asp

10. http://www.dementiadog.org

11. Total pets across globe = 704 M
Total dogs across globe = 432 M
Total cats across the globe = 272 M
http://www.wspa.org.uk/Images/Pet%20ownership%20and%20trade%20-%20Global%20report_tcm9-10875.pdf

12. http://www.ava.gov.sg/NR/rdonlyres/FFAA9E10-0EB9-43C7-B328-3A591BDC2535/12332/Attach14PetsStarterKitEnglish.pdf
https://www.avma.org/KB/Policies/Pages/Guidelines-for-Responsible-Pet-Ownership.aspx

13. http://www.idexx.com/pubwebresources/pdf/en_us/smallanimal/education/bn-research-pet-owner-bond.pdf

14. https://s3.amazonaws.com/pnmresources/pID-163/topic-53957/APPA%206.27.2013%20Ppt.%20Slides%20(1%20Per%20Page).pdf

16. Direct precedents

17. Which one is better?

18. Who is the target user?

19. History, Precedents and Inspiration - AIBO

20. History, Precedents and Inspiration - PLEO

21. History, Precedents and Inspiration - PARO

22. “Paro has the appearance of a baby harp seal. Previous attempts to develop
cat-robot and dog-robot (Shibata et al., 1999) demonstrated the inadequacy
of these models in supporting interaction dynamics. The physical appearance
of these robots turned out to be unsuccessful in meeting human being
expectations during the interaction. The unlikeness from real cats and dogs
was so evident to compromise any possibility of engagement with the
robots. The baby seal model was therefore attempted. The choice was
inspired by the idea to reproduce an unfamiliar animal that could barely
create expectations in the human agent during the interaction. The design of
Paro tried to balance the need to guarantee the likeliness with a real baby
seal with the capability to stimulate exploration and sustain interaction. In
this perspective a considerable effort was devoted to the design of eyes and
gaze and all the facial expressions in general. The body is equally harmonious
and balanced in all its parts. In designing Paro, a particular attention was
devoted to create an impressive tactile experience…”

24. Other relevant precedents

25. History, Precedents and Inspiration - LEONARDO

26. History, Precedents and Inspiration –LittleDog

27. History, Precedents and Inspiration - HiBot

28. History, Precedents and Inspiration – SMARTBIRD

29. History, Precedents and Inspiration - ROBOFISH

30. Design Brief
So, where do you start to “design an
innovative pet robot for elderly”?

31. http://behance.vo.llnwd.net/profiles9/303006/projects/6450845/62929ced511b045d6c218e3827681b55.jpg

32. http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8450/7959214622_d6e1c7d66f_b.jpg

34. Defining the Problem – Key Questions
The engineering design process starts with the
problem at hand:
• What is the problem or need?
• Who has the problem or need?
• Why is it important to solve?
• [Who] need(s) [what] because [why].

35. Defining the Problem - Tools

36. User, Context and Precedents
For an engineering design project,
background research focuses on two
major areas:
• Users and context
• Precedents

37. Tools for User and Context Needs
Usage Data
Formal Observation
InterviewFocus Group
Survey

38. Tools for Precedent Analysis
Existing Products
Academic Prototypes /
Publications
Patents
Bio-Inspired

39. Establishing the Design Requirements
Specify Requirements: Design requirements state the
important characteristics that your solution must meet to
succeed. One of the best ways to identify the design
requirements for your solution is to analyze the concrete
example of a similar, existing product, noting each of its
key features.
Design Brief – A Tool for Establishing Design
Requirements
• A description of the target user.
• A definition of the problem to be solved. [Who]
need(s) [what] because [why].
• A description of how existing products are used and
why they fail to address the problem.
• A list of all the requirements for the proposed design.
Types of Design Requirements
Cost - Purchase, Use, Repair,…
Geometry - Size, Curvature,…
Physical Characteristics - Weight, Density,
Colour, …..
Input - Energy, Gas, Labor,….
User Requirements - Use, Learning,
Training, …..
Aesthetics - Style, Colour, Texture,…..
Performance - Accuracy, Strength,
Speed,…..
Output - Pollution, Side effects, Power,….
Environmental Requirements -
Temperature, Corrosion,….

40. Impact of Early Design Decisions

41. Identifying Novelty

42. DOUBLE MYTH:
No right/left brain localisation
No engineering/architecture distinction

43. Thank You