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? 3. http://faculty.washington.edu/pkahn/articles/robotic_pets2.pdf 4. 20112012 APPA National Pet Owners Survey U.S. pet-ownership estimates Dogs 78.2 millionNumber of owned dogs 46 percentPercentage of households that own at least one dog 60 percentPercentage of owners with one dog 28 percentPercentage of owners with two dogs 12 percentPercentage of owners with three or more dogs 1.7Average number of owned dogs per household 21 percentPercentage of owned dogs who were adopted from animal shelters $248Average annual amount spent by dog owners on routine veterinary visits 78 percentPercentage of owned dogs who are spayed or neutered EvenProportion of male to female owned dogs Cats 86.4 millionNumber of owned cats 39 percentNumber of households that own at least one cat 52 percentPercentage of owners with more than one cat 2.2Average number of owned cats per household 21 percentPercentage of owned cats who were adopted from an animal shelter $219Average annual amount spent by cat owners on routine veterinary visits 88 percentPercentage of owned cats who are spayed or neutered 80 percent vs. 65 percentThe difference in number of owned female cats and owned male cats, respectively http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/pet_overpopulation/facts/pet_ownership_statistics.html 5. http://www.americanpetproducts.org/press_industrytrends.asp 6. http://www.dementiadog.org 7. 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 8. 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 9. http://www.idexx.com/pubwebresources/pdf/en_us/smallanimal/education/bn-research-pet-owner-bond.pdf 10. https://s3.amazonaws.com/pnmresources/pID-163/topic-53957/APPA%206.27.2013%20Ppt.%20Slides%20(1%20Per%20Page).pdf 11. Direct precedents 12. Which one is better? 13. Who is the target user? 14. History, Precedents and Inspiration - AIBO 15. History, Precedents and Inspiration - PLEO 16. History, Precedents and Inspiration - PARO 17. 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 18. Other relevant precedents 19. History, Precedents and Inspiration - LEONARDO 20. History, Precedents and Inspiration LittleDog 21. History, Precedents and Inspiration - HiBot 22. History, Precedents and Inspiration SMARTBIRD 23. History, Precedents and Inspiration - ROBOFISH 24. Design Brief So, where do you start to design an innovative pet robot for elderly? 25. http://behance.vo.llnwd.net/profiles9/303006/projects/6450845/62929ced511b045d6c218e3827681b55.jpg 26. http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8450/7959214622_d6e1c7d66f_b.jpg 27. 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]. 28. Defining the Problem - Tools 29. User, Context and Precedents For an engineering design project, background research focuses on two major areas: Users and context Precedents 30. Tools for User and Context Needs Usage Data Formal Observation InterviewFocus Group Survey 31. Tools for Precedent Analysis Existing Products Academic Prototypes / Publications Patents Bio-Inspired 32. 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,. 33. Impact of Early Design Decisions 34. Identifying Novelty 35. DOUBLE MYTH: No right/left brain localisation No engineering/architecture distinction 36. Thank You