Products we use are getting smarter, generate mountains of data and are increasingly connected to the internet and to each other. Often, the data from these kinds of intelligent ecosystems are used afterwards to evaluate what people think of the product. Janne van Kollenburg and Sander Bogers, who receive their PhD from the Faculty of Industrial Design at Eindhoven University of Technology on Thursday 28 February, have developed a method that involves data in the creative process of designers from the beginning.
The 'Data-enabled Design method' enables designers to design better products that are optimally tailored to user needs. It also allows them to determine at an early stage which data are relevant. Any security and privacy concerns can thus be addressed at an early stage. "Data has become such an important part of a design, that you also have to start designing from the data a product collects," say Bogers and Van Kollenburg.
Smart Baby Bottle
In their duo thesis, Bogers and Van Kollenburg describe three example projects they developed in collaboration with Philips Design. For instance, they designed a prototype bottle cover that fits Philips Avent baby bottles. The cover records, among other things, the drinking time, the temperature of the milk and the amount of milk the baby drinks. The bottle cover was tested by several families.
Through the data, the design team gained insight into how different parents and caregivers feed their babies and new ideas emerged to support them in this. Because the prototypes could be monitored and adjusted remotely, feedback from participating parents could be gathered quickly and trying out new ideas was easy.
This eventually gave rise to the Smart Baby Bottle, which can give parents personalised advice when feeding their child. For example, the bottle can give personalised tips on how best to switch to one less feeding a day.
New generation of design
As a result of the PhD research, a Data-enabled Design team has now been set up within Philips Design. Bogers and Van Kollenburg have also developed a teaching programme for Industrial Design students at TU/e. Besides the methodological insights, the example projects themselves have also had a great impact. The Smart Baby Bottle has been presented at major technology fairs and will very soon be marketed by Philips Avent. Other innovations have been described in three patents that are now in further development at Philips.
The full thesis can be read here.
Source: TU Eindhoven
Photo: Philips
