No abstract

No abstract

Knowledge about materials is a fundamental element in product design education. It involves learning engineering concept about the technical properties and selection tools. More important, this concerns developing a sensitivity to the sensorial and experiential qualities of materials. We propose Material Tinkering as a practical and creative approach to develop this sensitivity through experiential learning. Integrated with envisioning and abstract conceptualization, it leads to richer and more complete projects. The paper uses a case study. This case is an experimental educational activity applying the tinkering approach to self-produced materials, i.e. DIY materials. This method fosters students' creativity and educates them to understand, evaluate, and design the experiential, expressive, and sensorial characteristics of materials, i.e. the concept of Materials Experience, Tactual Experience, and the Expressive-sensorial dimension of materials. In conclusions, we suggest strategies to facilitate Material Tinkering.

In this paper we report our study on the user experience of robot vacuum cleaner behavior. How do people want to experience this new type of cleaning appliance? Interviews were conducted to elicit a desired robot vacuum cleaner personality. With this knowledge in mind, behavior was designed for a future robot vacuum cleaner. A video prototype was used to evaluate how people experienced the behavior of this robot vacuum cleaner. The results indicate that people recognized the intended personality in the robot behavior. We recommend using a personality model as a tool for developing robot behavior.

BackgroundDespite the detrimental effects of physical inactivity for older adults, especially aged residents of residential care settings may spend much time in inactive behavior. This may be partly due to their poorer physical condition; however, there may also be other, setting-related factors that influence the amount of inactivity. The aim of this review was to review setting-related factors (including the social and physical environment) that may contribute to the amount of older adults’ physical inactivity in a wide range of residential care settings (e.g., nursing homes, assisted care facilities).MethodsFive databases were systematically searched for eligible studies, using the key words ‘inactivity’, ‘care facilities’, and ‘older adults’, including their synonyms and MeSH terms. Additional studies were selected from references used in articles included from the search. Based on specific eligibility criteria, a total of 12 studies were included. Quality of the included studies was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT).ResultsBased on studies using different methodologies (e.g., interviews and observations), and of different quality (assessed quality range: 25-100%), we report several aspects related to the physical environment and caregivers. Factors of the physical environment that may be related to physical inactivity included, among others, the environment’s compatibility with the abilities of a resident, the presence of equipment, the accessibility, security, comfort, and aesthetics of the environment/corridors, and possibly the presence of some specific areas. Caregiver-related factors included staffing levels, the available time, and the amount and type of care being provided.ConclusionsInactivity levels in residential care settings may be reduced by improving several features of the physical environment and with the help of caregivers. Intervention studies could be performed in order to gain more insight into causal effects of improving setting-related factors on physical inactivity of aged residents.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12877-017-0487-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.