<p>In recent years, advances in industry have improved technological capabilities, leading to increased functionality and complexity in products. During maintenance of complex products, it is rare to have work instructions for all components, and the absence of such instructions has led to occupational accidents, including those endangering lives. Consequently, in tasks such as disassembly for complex machinery maintenance, workers often need to determine the disassembly sequence themselves. Therefore, this study focuses on the eye movements of workers during product disassembly to discover insights that facilitate smooth disassembly operations. To analyze the characteristics of eye movements relevant to determining disassembly sequences, experiments were conducted where workers wore eye trackers and disassembled a model car with the objective of extracting specific components. Quantitative and qualitative analysis revealed a tendency for workers to begin disassembling from components they focused on, and to proceed to remove parts similar to those dealt with in the preceding steps.</p>

DOI： 10.1299/jsmedsd.2024.34.3409

CiNii Research

<p>This is a study on the packaging of soba noodle products by Kitadate Seimen Co., Ltd. Based on the package designing of five soba and other products, revamped in 2020 to target female customers in their 20s and 30s, we proceeded to redesign two high-end products, namely “Hachiwari Soba” and “Sarashina Soba,” in 2021. The challenge was to design packaging appropriate for a high-end product that can be used for gifting. It had to also retain elements of the package designs of the preceding five products, while also differentiating the two products. Therefore, we conducted a series of experiments on the brush logo and color scheme, and created product packaging based on the results. An evaluation using the SD method was then carried out, which indicated that the manufacturer’s and buyers’ perceptions complemented well, thus resolving the issue.<br>
</p>

DOI： 10.11247/adrjssd.28.1_1_88

CiNii Research

<p>On the basis of mathematical functions or numerical algorithms, we can generate various geometrical shapes in terms of a relatively limited number of parameters. This is the basic idea of so-called algorithmic design. In the current study, a general formulation of the approach is proposed. We introduce an idea of shaping function that is formally independent of specific designs. The proposed approach is considered to have the generality to be applicable to structure design problems of different types. An optimal design approach based on the shaping function is also proposed. Example designs of truss structure are conduncted; the feasibility and applicability of the proposed approach are discussed.</p>

DOI： 10.1299/jsmedsd.2023.33.3506

CiNii Research

<p>Underwater robots typically employ propellers as their propulsion system; they also have steering mechanisms and additional actuation devices to be used for such as maintaining their intended posture. On the other hand, many of the aerial drones are equipped only with four propellers; still they have enough ability to freely fly in the air. Suppressing the number of propellers also contributes to their cost-effectiveness. In this report, we present a design of a quad-thruster-type underwater drone that has a corresponding movement capabilities to the aerial drones. The proposed underwater drone is capable of maintaining its posture in motion in every direction: forward, backward, left, right, upward, and downward. Unlike conventional underwater robots relying on steering mechanisms, this drone takes advantage of the negative buoyancy in order to attain such motion capabilities. This study involves a fundamental investigation into the stable translational movement of the proposed underwater vehicle, focusing on posture control such as hovering behavior. The conceptual design, the embodiment design and the detailed design of the proposed underwater vehicle are explained. This study will also introduce the characteristics of the proposed ROV design and innovative ideas based on preliminary experiments.</p>

DOI： 10.1299/jsmedsd.2023.33.2302

CiNii Research

Emergency signage is key to helping occupants of a building find a safe route in situations involving circulation and
evacuation. This study acknowledged existing problems with interpretation of emergency signage and the fact that
emergency signage is often overlooked because of which the recent years witnessed an increase in disaster incidents
caused by signage misconception. Thus, the study examined interpretation factors in the current design of emergency
sign age to provide a design reference for emergency signage that positively promotes accuracy of individuals’ perception
of information conveyed. An examination procedure called “interpretation of direction information experiment” was
conducted to investigate the effectiveness of emergency signage and multidimensional signage by evaluating a set of
questionnaire responses, an additional in in-depth interview process was also included. A “descriptive response of signage
meaning experiment” and a “direction selecting experiment” were additionally conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of
emergency signage and multidimensional signage through stimulation of emergency evacuation tests. Data were first
collected and then analyzed to indicate and identify significant points for the improvement of emergency signage by using
the repeated analysis of variance (ANOVA). An analysis through the eye eye-tracking data method was also conducted. The
descriptive response of signage meaning test revealed that multidimensional design approaches for emergency signage
promoted a successful rate of information perception and comprehension recorded at an average of 9 94.25 %. The analyzed
eye-tracking data showed that multidimensional signage positively benefited participants’ perception of directional
information by decreasing the time needed to perceive the information at an average of 31.57% compared to the average
time span recorded for the British format of emergency signage. The overall results indicated a design reference for
signage development to improve occupants’ ability to navigate and find a designated safe location as well as assist viewers
in their way finding process, respectively.

DOI： 10.20668/adada.25.3_39

CiNii Research

This study examined the benefits of additional extrinsic cues on meat packaging and the influence of informative content labels on consumer’s perception based on product quality. A total of 227 participants were shown various fresh meats packaging labels, termed “product infographic labeling” in the experimental stages of both design and content created as ordinary labeling. We conducted a survey, which was followed up with interviews to help analyze customer behavior and other ideas and beliefs. In addition, we conducted tests and collected and analyzed data to indicate and identify significant points showing additional extrinsic cues pertaining to product information by using repeated analysis of variance (ANOVA) and additional analysis through the eye-tracking data method. The analyzed eye-tracking data showed that visual attention was significantly devoted to an additional infographic label. When these additional data were analyzed through the ANOVA method we discovered that the infographic approach on meat packaging positively influenced consumer’s perception of product quality. Furthermore, the research discovered that the proportionality ratio of an area of interest on meat packaging affects how consumers interpret and process product quality. Additionally, an infographic labeling approach for meat packaging can decrease average time consumption on consumers’ purchasing behavior of meat products by 53.55%. As a result, we provide a design reference for meat product labeling and positioning placement to promote consumers’ perception of product quality. These findings lend valuable data that highlight how infographic labeling design has a greater impact on general product evaluation and quality expectations.

DOI： 10.20668/adada.25.2_30

CiNii Research

Publishing type：Research paper (bulletin of university, research institution)  

<p>Nowadays, Sustainability is a key issue that all countries are facing. Hence, users will be required to their own properties in everyday life. In order to design the support approach, we attempt to invenstigate the differences of viewpoint feature between expert and norvice user in product disassembly. In this study, an experiment was conducted that participants disassembled a bycicle with using an eye-tracking device.</p>

DOI： 10.11247/jssd.67.0_90

CiNii Research

<p>For machinery maintenance, there are more things to consider regarding disassembling operations than assembling ones. Therefore, disassembling machines is a difficult operation, and making a mistake in the disassembling process may cause damage to machines and the injury of operators. In order to avert these problems, parts list and operation manuals have been used. However, operation manuals don’t cover all parts, operators have to find the disassembly process by themselves. It’s a difficult task for unskilled operators. This study aims to develop a method for inference disassembling process to support unskilled operators. We introduce the positional relations matrix to find parts that prevent removal of a target part in disassembly direction. Moreover, multiple parts can be removed as a unit by considering connecting relations. This process is repeated until find the shortest steps for removing the target part. An algorithm was proposed by adopting these considerations. To verify the developed method a case study was conducted using the method, and it showed that the inferred process can help for disassembling by unskilled operators.</p>

DOI： 10.1299/jsmedsd.2020.30.2201

CiNii Research

Publishing type：Part of collection (book)  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-030-02209-9_8

Publishing type：Part of collection (book)  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-030-02209-9_9

This research focuses on the role of technology for creative thinking in design. It can be stated that the human thinking space is expanded by the help of technology, and thus humans can generate ideas that they did not have before and their ability of imagination is improved. This research aims to generate three-dimensional geometrical shapes, with a computer, which are so complicated that they cannot be visualized easily in the human mind but are deemed interesting. This research tries to develop a method for designing three-dimensional geometrical shapes in which the parameters of shapes recorded in a computer are mathematically extrapolated to create more complicated shapes. In an experiment, subjects were asked to create new shapes in accordance with this method. The results indicate that new geometrical shapes generated by mathematical extrapolation, which cannot be visualized by the human mind alone, are considered by the subjects as interesting as those created by themselves.

DOI： 10.11247/jssdj.65.2_51

CiNii Research

<p>In this paper, the future direction of innovation and creative thinking are discussed. First, we distinguish “quantitative innovation”, which emphasizes convenience for consumers and efficiency for society, from “qualitative innovation”, which brings about changes in lifestyle and culture. In modern society, it is necessary to shift from quantitative to qualitative innovation. Second, innovation design is defined as the act of bridging science and technology with society through products. This definition suggests the following three possible starting points for design: first, “needs-led” design begins with recognition of societal changes; second, “seeds-led” design begins with discovery or development in science and technology; and third, “product concept-led” design begins with generation of a product idea aimed at bridging needs and seeds. One-hundred cases of postwar Japanese innovations were mapped onto a two-dimensional plane with the type of innovation and starting point of design as the two axes. As a result, many qualitative innovations were classified as “product concept-led” design. We also discuss creative thinking that contributes to qualitative innovation, and we conclude that creative thinking using synthesis, concept blending, a combination of product and situation, and a metaphor based on synthetic, creative thinking is effective for creation of qualitative innovation.</p>

DOI： 10.7222/marketing.2018.027

CiNii Research

<p>In order to maintain machines, there are more things to consider regarding disassembling operations than assembling ones. Therefore disassembling machines is a difficult operation, and making a mistake in the disassembling process may cause damage to machines and the injury of operators. In order to prevent these problems, parts list and operation manuals have been used. However, to deal with various situations, operators must have significant experience. If the machines have a million parts, the parts list includes one million lines, and many operation manuals are necessary. In order to solve these problems, a method is proposed for 3D visualization of connecting relations and illustrating the disassembling process. The description of connecting relations between parts was systematized; then, a method of inferring disassembling process was developed. Three conditions were considered for the inference of the disassembling process; parts should not fall off, parts should not become suspended, and some parts can be removed collectively as a unit. The disassembling process in which all parts meet these three conditions is inferred in this method. The method was implemented on a computer. A case study was conducted using the system, and it showed that a beginner operator can disassemble parts safely and smoothly by referring to the inferred process.</p>

DOI： 10.1299/jsmemecj.2018.g1200103

CiNii Research

<p>In contemporary manufacturing, it is necessary to design innovative products continuously. Thus, a methodology to create innovative product ideas is proposed. It can be used to create product ideas by synthesizing a product and a situation that is different from the situation in which the product is conventionally used. The design methodology, by focusing on situations, was systemized from a relationship between products, functions, and situations. In order to investigate the effectiveness of the design methodology by focusing on situations, an experiment in which the subjects create new product ideas was conducted. The subjects were divided into two group: an experimental group was given situations, and a control group was not given situations in advance. Then, the subjects thought of an existing product's function and created new product ideas. The ideas were evaluated preliminarily from the viewpoints of originality and practicality. In the evaluation, product ideas created by both groups were evaluated higher than 0. This suggests the effectiveness of the methodology. The fact that the value of practicality of the product ideas created by the experimental group was higher than the one of the control group might imply that the situation in which product will be used was imagined more concretely. On the other hand, the value of originality was lower than for the control group, indicating that the expansion of the thought space was inhibited in the case of focusing on situations.</p>

DOI： 10.1299/jsmemecj.2018.g1200104

CiNii Research

Synthetic design thinking is needed to create innovative products. We propose an educational method for creative design that can enhance a person’s ability to generate a new products’ concept that are not extensions of existing ones. The method starts with a person coming up with a concept based on ‘intuitive synthesis’ in which the metaphor of a ‘product like a living thing’ is instinctively created; details are confirmed by ‘analyzing and investigating’ the concept’ s characteristics, followed by an ‘experience’ of the product and the scene in which it will be employed using a virtual reality device. Based on this method, a design engineering school was carried out. Students enthusiastically joined this program, and their outcomes were pioneering previously non-existent products.

DOI： 10.4307/jsee.65.5_59

CiNii Research

In late years, technical development expands the range of the thing which we can create. We focused on the advantages of Blender, three dimensional computer graphics software, and Sverchok, parametric tool for generating topography, to design new creative shapes and design them, passing over the range we can imagine. We designed some hollow shapes that were not able to imagine before they were created. This study showed the possibility that new shapes can be designed by mathematical extrapolations onto 3DCG model.

DOI： 10.11247/jssd.63.0_17

CiNii Research

The field of design has widened to dynamic objects such as moving logos. Our aim is to develop a method for designing an extremely creative motion from a designer's vague idea. In this study, we focus on mimetic (reality-symbolic) words. These words can be understood as potential representations of vague images and ideas that are difficult to describe verbally. People often incidentally coin new mimetic words (inventive mimetic words) that extend from existing mimetic words. We believe that creative motions can be designed based on an inventive mimetic word. We develop a method and a tool for designing a new motion from an inventive mimetic word. First, an inventive mimetic word is decomposed into stems. Second, known mimetic words that are similar to each stem are searched. Third, motions related to the known mimetic words are extracted from the database that was developed in our previous study.

DOI： 10.11247/jssdj.63.2_49

CiNii Research

Human ambition for design is to create objects that resonate with deep feelings. Recently, the field of design has been widened from static objects including pictures and architecture to dynamics object including music, animation and motion. In our previous study, we had proposed a method of designing a creative and emotional motion that might resonate with deep feelings. In this method, the motion is designed by blending motions which are called “base motions”. Base motions are based on motion of natural objects. In the present study, we focus on mimetic (reality-symbolic) words. Mimetic words express appearance and movements. These words can be understood as potential representations of those motions that are difficult to describe verbally. We attempt to create a database of base motions by focusing on mimetic words. First, we created a tool to obtain motion data by capturing a video of a natural object and extracting its movements. A total of 160 base motions were collected using the tool. Experiment 1 was conducted to classify mimetic words from the viewpoints of their similarities. Then, the representative word in each classified group was recognised as a head word of the database. Experiment 2 was conducted to relate each representative mimetic word to the base motion. As a result, a database of 160 base motions that were related to the corresponding mimetic words was constructed. Experiment 3 was conducted to examine generalities associated with evaluating the appropriateness of expressing each base motion with related mimetic words. Finally, a case study that used constructed database was conducted, and the feasibility of the database and the method was confirmed.

DOI： 10.1299/transjsme.2014dsm0210

CiNii Research

We are developing a method to design a creative and emotional motion that might resonate with deep feelings by combining base motions. However, how base motions should be selected was not discussed. In this study, we attempt to support selecting base motions by focusing on mimetic word. Mimetic word express sound, motion, and phenomena. Hence, we believe mimetic words can express deep feelings. Further, we created a database of base motions from the motion of natural objects; mimetic words are related to those base motions.

DOI： 10.11247/jssd.59.0_43

CiNii Research

In this study, we propose a method for the
design of a creative and emotional motion. This method is
based on the hypothesis that a creative motion that is
beyond the ordinary human imagination can produce
emotional impressions that resonate with deep feeling.
The proposed method involves an analogy with natural
objects, the blending of motions, an emphasis on rhythmic
features, the movement of the entire design object, as well
as the addition of sound. All of this is implemented by a
computer system that we have constructed. An
experiments were performed that confirmed both our
hypothesis and our methodology.

DOI： 10.11247/jssd.58.0.40.0

CiNii Research

In this study, we develop a method for designing a motion that resonates with deep feelings. This study is based on the hypothesis that motion that is beyond ordinary human imagination can produce emotional impressions that resonate with deep feelings. The proposed method involves an analogy with natural objects, the blending of motions, and an emphasis on rhythmic features. A computer system that implements the proposed method was constructed and three ways of motions, with an emphasis on their rhythmic features, were implemented. An experiment to analyze the impression from the motions was conducted and the effectiveness of the proposed method and the hypothesis was verified.

DOI： 10.11247/jssdj.58.21_3

CiNii Research

In this study, we develop a method for designing an emotional and creative motion that resonates with deep feelings. This study is based on the hypothesis that motion that is beyond ordinary human imagination can produce emotional impressions that resonate with deep feelings. The proposed method involves an analogy with natural objects, the blending of motions, and an emphasis on rhythmic features. In order to design an emotional and creative motion, we attempt to construct a computer system that implements the proposed method. An experiment to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method and the validity of our hypothesis is performed. We compare the impressions produced by the motions that are created in three ways, with an emphasis on their rhythmic features.

DOI： 10.1299/jsmedsd.2010.20._2211-1_

CiNii Research

We propose a method for designing emotional and creative motion that extends beyond images currently generated by human imagination and resonate with the deep feelings that within us. We develop a method that involves 'analogy to natural object' and 'emphatic blending of motions'. We have developed this method by focusing on rhythmic features, and we will illustrate an example of designing an emotional and creative motion using the proposed method. We carried out an experiment to examine impression from the emotional and creative motion.

DOI： 10.11247/jssd.57.0.d12.0

CiNii Research

We propose a method for designing emotional and creative motion that extends beyond images currently generated by human imagination and resonate with the deep feelings that reside within us. We discuss design from two perspectives: (1) the motion of natural objects are reflected in the sources of emotional motion and (2) creative and emotional motion, which resonates more with human feelings than do natural objects, is generated by extending beyond the motion of natural objects. We also focus on another perspective of the method for designing such motion, that is, whether or not the motion can be generated by using the traditional method. On the basis of these discussions, we develop a method that involves 'analogy to natural objects' and 'emphatic blending of motions'. We have developed this method by focusing on rhythmic features, and we will illustrate an example of designing an emotional and creative motion using the proposed method. We conducted the experiment to evaluate the designed motions and verified the effectiveness of the proposed method.

DOI： 10.11247/adrjssd.15.1_60

CiNii Research

Presentation type：Oral presentation (general)  

Presentation type：Oral presentation (general)