Current State of Applying Smart Materials in Consumer Durables: A Literature Survey

Smart materials have drawn substantial attention and interest in a broad range of applications, due to their unique and superior characteristics. However there is a blurry image over the potential applications of smart materials in consumer durables. This has stalled further research and decision making in initiating the development of consumer...

Application of shape changing smart materials in household appliances: A fragmented and inconsistent uptake

Shape changing smart materials (SCSM) have a wide range of applications, supporting product functions through material features. Surprisingly, their application in consumer durables such as household appliances is not as expected. This phenomenon could be related to a possible SCSM knowledge gap among designers, or unidentified design...

Testing virtual use with scenarios

To enhance the effectiveness of engineering simulations in product development, this thesis presents a new approach that enables designers to include human responses and reactions to artefact behaviour in their investigations. It does so without requiring deployment of real human subjects or investing in interactive virtual environments. The new...

A survey of artifact-simulation approaches from the perspective of application to use processes of consumer durables

In this paper, approaches for artifact-behavior simulation are reviewed. The motivation behind the survey is to explore available knowledge for the development of a new form of computer support for conceptual design to simulate use processes of consumer durables. The survey covers the simulation of artifacts both as discrete systems and as...