Mounting a smartphone on a steering-wheel to facilitate ease of visibility of the navigation screen: A systematic product design approach

BACKGROUND: Both professional and personal car drivers use smartphones as In-Vehicle Infotainment System (IVIS) and generally mount it wherever they feel convenient. Inappropriate or sub-optimal positioning of navigation devices increases off-road eye-glance duration and fixation frequency. OBJECTIVE: The current research aimed to develop a smartphone holding device to facilitate the mobile-phone’s easy mounting on the steering wheel’s hub, ensuring the screen’s visibility at a comfortable viewing angle in a vertical upright position irrespective of the steering wheel’s rotation. METHODS: A systematic product design methodology was adopted to develop the final product. The morphological chart was adopted for generating the different concepts of the smartphone mounting device. A Pugh chart was used for screening the various concepts generated in the previous step. Finally, a prototype of the selected best concept was made. User acceptance was assessed by taking feedback from users, and System Usability Scale (SUS) was used for usability evaluation. RESULTS: The developed innovative mounting device was light-weight and easy to use (SUS score 83.5). The final prototype was very effective in changing the angle of the smartphone to facilitate easy visibility at a comfortable viewing angle through the use of a ball and socket mechanism at the base. A ball bearing system was used in the mobile-phone holder for maintaining vertical stationary position during steering wheel rotation. CONCLUSION: As the device is useful for mounting the smartphone on the steering wheel’s hub, it might reduce driver distraction.

PERANCANGAN LAMPU LANTAI DENGAN INSPIRASI GAYA DESAIN MEMPHIS DI ERA TAHUN 1981 DENGAN METODE MORPHOLOGICAL CHART

Desain produk adalah sebuah proses menghasilkan ide, mengembangkan konsep, mengevaluasi ide, hingga merealisasikan ide tersebut menjadi produk. Produk yang dipilih dalam rancangan ini adalah lampu lantai. Lampu telah menjadi kebutuhan hidup manusia dan selalu digunakan untuk setiap kegiatan manusia karena adanya penerangan yang diberikan. Namun, saat ini lampu bukan hanya sekedar alat penerangan biasa tetapi juga menjadi tambahan nilai estetika dalam desain yang digunakan. Salah satu gaya desain yang kembali diminati sekarang adalah gaya desain era post-modern tahun 1981 yaitu Memphis. Gaya desain Memphis merupakan gaya desain tahun 1981-1987 yang berasal dari Italia yang bertentangan dengan desain-desain modern yang minimalis, simpel, dan tidak mencolok. Proses desain perancangan ini menggunakan metode morphological chart yaitu metode diagram yang dapat digunakan untuk menghasilkan ide dan konsep desain baru dengan menggabungkan desain produk Memphis dan preferensi pribadi penulis. Metode ini menghasilkan 5 ide desain baru dengan 1 desain pilihan dari gabungan antara ide produk Memphis yang sudah ada dengan bentuk-bentuk dari preferensi pribadi penulis.

Headgear for Weakening Impact from Concussion in Rugby Games: Design and Development

Rugby headgear is one of the important protective tool for protecting rugby players from head injury. However, there are still some professional or amateur rugby players who are not concerned about the use of headgear as a protective device. Rugby headgear has been created to protect the heads of rugby players in particular to avoid minor injuries such as wounds because rugby is a sport that requires strong physical movements and abusive techniques. At the same time, the ability of rugby headgear to protect against the occurrence of brain injury is questionable. Therefore, the objective of this project is to propose a conceptual design of rugby headgear by taking into account factors to prevent or reduce the potential of brain injury. The methodology used was a survey of professional and amateur rugby players to determine the need for the design of the headgear, conceptual map for the idea of development, House of Quality (HoQ) in assessing the needs of rugby players, Morphological Chart in determining the concept, Pugh's Selection Method in finding the most appropriate design. Headgear that is round and cover most of the heads has been selected as a conceptual design with sorbothane as core material. Valco strap was used as fastener and sponge in the head for the comfort to the player’s head

Product-Service System Business Modelling Methodology Using Morphological Analysis

This study aims to establish a structured business modelling methodology for successful implementation of Product-service system (PSS). The morphological analysis is applied in investigating the possible patterns of the PSS business model. To systematically collect the business model patterns, we have collected a set of predefined building blocks which can be used in business modelling. These building blocks are collected through investigation of actual PSS business model cases. By mixing and matching various building blocks, various innovative business model alternatives can be designed. To demonstrate our morphological chart, real case example of hair dryer company is illustrated. Moreover, we introduce a web-based system, which supports our business model idea generation procedure using morphological chart.