Concept Opportunity Diagrams: A Visual Modeling Method to Find Multifunctional Design Concepts

Abstract

A transforming product is a system that has different functionality when physically changed or reconfigured into a different state. This increased functionality allows diverse customer needs to be met in a single product. Transforming devices have become more prevalent in recent years, as customers desire both increased capabilities and reduced complexity to reduce waste in our society. When designing a multifunctional product that transforms from one state to another, it can be difficult to conceptualize a design that does not reduce effectiveness or provide a compromise in either state. Transformational Design Theory has been developed and shows basic principles and facilitators that enable transformation to occur within a product space. An illustrative example is a chair designed to flip over to be used as a table. Flip is one of the 19 facilitators that are found in transformation design. This is also an example of expose/cover, a transformation design principle. Certain principles and facilitators are more prevalent than others in different design domains (such as tools, storage, organisms etc.). If we know the states that exist within the transformer, concept opportunity diagrams can be used to determine the opportunities for transformation within each state. When the diagrams are paired with a constituent relationship chart specific to each domain, new design concepts may be facilitated. This technique creates a cognitive process for designers where they process a series of questions when creating the concept opportunity diagram. The diagram will help them understand the unanticipated additional design space of each state. The Constituent Relationship Chart is a tool that allows them to apply their knowledge of these states to the facilitator hierarchy so that prospective facilitators can directly contribute to originally unforeseen design concepts. This paper presents this twofold process known as the Transformer Diagram Matching Method and shows the results on a fully functioning prototype of an office supply transformer. Although the proposed process is detailed, it allows the designer to find a large number of quality concepts they would not have foreseen otherwise. Our original concept generation processes produced thirty eight ideas, but this process added another thirty two ideas to the design space. The paper indicates specifically how this method can be integrated in with the standard transformational design process as well as suggests strategies for implementation within other design techniques.

Exploring the Collective Categorization of Biological Information for Biomimetic Design

“…Transformation in mechanical products provides unique benefits that products otherwise cannot, e.g., an umbrella that folds to enhance portability, an aircraft that changes its wing shape to adapt to different modes of flight. A number of design researchers (Singh et al 2009, Camburn et al 2010, Kuhr et al 2010) have examined existing transformable products and developed techniques to assist in designing transformable products. In particular, Singh et al (2009) examined transformation in biological systems and were able to draw analogies between transformation in nature and engineering products.…”

“…Singh et al also identified analogous biological phenomena for each principle and facilitator. Camburn et al (2010) and Kuhr et al (2010) developed techniques and tools to support the design of transformable products. Camburn et al (2010) derived a set of indicators to identify when implementing transformation in products may be beneficial.…”

“…Camburn et al (2010) derived a set of indicators to identify when implementing transformation in products may be beneficial. Kuhr et al (2010) developed a method to help designers examine the functional states of single-function devices and apply relevant transformation facilitators.…”

Matrix-Based Conceptual Solution Generation Approach of Multifunction Product

“…In [9], the transformation design is refined to be simpler, easier to learn and follow, and more effective in drawing out untapped potential from the design process. In addition, a research presents a twofold process known as the Transformer Diagram Matching Method and shows the results on a fully functioning prototype of an office supply transformer [2]. The process takes transformation design methodology a large step forward by bridging its two ways of design together, directive and intuitive.…”

“…But few computational tools are specialized for the multifunction product. Therefore, it is more and more important to specially investigate the design approach of the multifunction product [1,2]. The multifunction product is defined as complex function product by Feng et al [3].…”