The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of indoor air quality in preventing the spread of airborne transmissive diseases. Offices are some of the largest hotspots for disease transmission. To address this issue, a joint venture between FLEX/design and Euromate, called ‘X-Lair,’ aims to design an air purifier specifically targeting the reduction of airborne disease transmission. This project focuses on developing an air purifier solution that not only effectively reduces the spread of airborne diseases but also considers user experience and implementation in office environments. While primarily designed for placement above desks, the proposed solution has the potential to be applicable in various contexts. Extensive literature research, user tests, empirical studies, interviews, and mind- mapping techniques have been employed to explore the research domain, identify design drivers, and establish a list of requirements. An iterative design approach, including tests with smoke and computational fluid dynamic analysis, have guided key design decisions. Additional tools such as Midjourney and virtual reality have facilitated the elaboration and visualization of ideas in their intended environment. The final design proposal of the Personal Air Filter features a suspended configuration above desks, providing a large capture area to effectively filter the user’s breath. Plume propagation is considered by locating the air intake at the edge of the hood. An integrated lamp ensures comfortable ambient lighting, enhancing the device’s aesthetic appeal in office settings and improving employee well-being. A user interface, including a smartphone application, allows for convenient control of ventilation speed and lighting intensity. Smart features like the ‘smart mode’ enable autonomous operation, while interconnectivity between multiple devices enhances overall effectiveness and reduces noise. A functional prototype was developed to validate the device’s efficacy and user experience. Smoke tests demonstrated the Personal Air Filter’s effective smoke capture at both 100 and 200 m3/h, indicating the potential for downsizing the device without compromising its performance. Special attention should be paid, however, to ensure that the Personal Air Filter operates at an acceptable noise level below 45 dB, taking into consideration the need for a quiet and comfortable office environment. Furthermore, user tests emphasized the need for a smartphone application and adjustable height for the Personal Air Filter. In summary, the design of the Personal Air Filter represents a significant advancement in improving indoor air quality and promoting the well-being of office employees. The Personal Air Filter has the potential to become a unique and effective solution for mitigating the spread of airborne transmissive diseases.

The subject of this thesis report is a new concept design recommendation for Zodiac Aerospace with respect to better hygiene and cleanliness in aircraft lavatories during long haul flights.An integrated design research approach is taken to solve the issue of poor hygienic behaviour in the lavatory. This includes an analysis of the current standards and practices surrounding aircraft lavatories, a review of existing products, an analysis of relevant stakeholders, observational research onboard active flights and finally a concept design which aims to improve passenger hygiene. Research indicates that the small form factor of the lavatory makes it challenging for passengers to behave in a hygienic manner. The new design emulates the cubicle based layout of public restrooms, where wash basins are shared. Each lavatory increases in size by removing their wash basins and situating them in the cabin, where they are shared by passengers. Provision of separate lavatories for men and women enables the use of urinals for men and additional space for women and passengers with reduced mobility. Aircraft lavatories can be kept clean on long haul flights by creating new lavatory services and layouts which expand the space within the lavatory. Airlines can improve passenger hygiene and therefore satisfaction by providing lavatories which are larger and cater to more specific needs, such as standing and sitting urination. The new design is also of benefit to the process of manufacture and maintenance as it simplifies the existing product significantly and reduces the time it takes to clean and disinfect the aircraft between flights.

The objective of this thesis is to enhance existing harness designs, with a focus on reducing discomfort and enhancing overall performance. The contextual analysis, literature review, and desktop research yielded crucial insights and identified areas of improvement. Supplementary interviews were conducted with the user group. Initially, anthropometric data was sourced from existing databases like DINED; however, it lacked specificity to kitesurfing and the stances taken during kitesurfing, and some measurements relevant to the design of a kitesurf harness were missing, such as the torso length. To address this, an analysis of individual scans was done, followed by 3D scans of persons in kitesurfing stances. It was found that the main factors leading to discomfort are the movement of the harness on the body, the pressure on the ribs, and the lack of pressure distribution. The main design goals stated are improved pressure distribution within the variation of movements and body types. The findings of this thesis offer valuable insights into the potential for enhancing kitesurfing harnesses in terms of comfort, safety, and overall performance. By taking into account both the engineering and ergonomic aspects, this research contributes to the ongoing evolution of kitesurfing equipment, catering to the diverse needs and preferences of kitesurfers. The final design is a modular kitesurf harness increasing the repairability, maintainability and upgradeability. The project includes anthropometric design guidelines for a kitesurf harness and multiple prototypes to test the concept. Resulting in a set of recommendations and designs that the Mystic team can take into consideration in the future steps towards developing the ultimate harness.

More and more (young) working adults in the Netherlands experience burnout-related stress symptoms. Although the focus of office environments is more focused on vitality, this trend keeps rising. Products that already focus on awareness of well-being turn out to not be sustainable or even intrusive. Employees on the other hand seem to be burdened by occupational pressure while most people are like-minded when it comes to prioritising well-being over work. Micro-breaks are necessary for keeping a steady energy level and most importantly required during stressful periods with high workloads. The product solution is a simplified communication tool with only one purpose, communicating micro-breaks. The tools consist of a little display and are all connected. Every workplace or employee has such a product and by connecting it to your work computer or telephone, micro-breaks can be communicated with people in the same team. Different kinds of breaks can be communicated, depending on the team and facilities of the company. When team members are invited to participate in a micro-break they can simply accept, decline, or ignore the invitation. The product aims to bring structure to taking breaks in a work environment and provides reminders during busy and stressful periods. In addition, the solution supports social interactions to lower the threshold for taking breaks. Ultimately to create a healthy working atmosphere in various environments.

More and more (young) working adults in the Netherlands experience burnout-related stress symptoms. Although the focus of office environments is more focused on vitality, this trend keeps rising. Products that already focus on awareness of well-being turn out to not be sustainable or even intrusive. Employees on the other hand seem to be burdened by occupational pressure while most people are like-minded when it comes to prioritising well-being over work. Micro-breaks are necessary for keeping a steady energy level and most importantly required during stressful periods with high workloads. The product solution is a simplified communication tool with only one purpose, communicating micro-breaks. The tools consist of a little display and are all connected. Every workplace or employee has such a product and by connecting it to your work computer or telephone, micro-breaks can be communicated with people in the same team. Different kinds of breaks can be communicated, depending on the team and facilities of the company. When team members are invited to participate in a micro-break they can simply accept, decline, or ignore the invitation. The product aims to bring structure to taking breaks in a work environment and provides reminders during busy and stressful periods. In addition, the solution supports social interactions to lower the threshold for taking breaks. Ultimately to create a healthy working atmosphere in various environments.

In this master's thesis in collaboration with het Nederlands Oogheelkundig Gezelschap (NOG), or the Dutch ophthalmic society, I developed an industrial design concept to improve the ergonomic working conditions of Ophthalmologists. 25% of Dutch Ophthalmologists (surgical eye doctors) have suffered from musculoskeletal injuries (MSIs) during their careers, according to research by NOG. As a result of my research, including interviews with 14 Ophthalmologists currently employed in Dutch medical institutions, I concluded that 5 out of the 7 musculoskeletal injuries, experienced by Ophthalmologists, are in the back, shoulders and neck area. The concluded causes of these MSIs are equipment that does not accommodate for doctor/patient height differences, and neglect of personal health in favour of patient satisfaction. Height Matcher is a redesign of the ophthalmic examination unit, integrating patient chair and equipment table, and upgrading their capabilities. The repositioning of components also allows the ophthalmologist to do standing examinations. The concept was validated through various user tests and expert interviews. By extending the height range that the unit can be set to, speeding up its adjustment, and introducing a separate eye height measurement, height Matcher enables the ophthalmologist to maintain an ergonomic posture during examination, without sacrificing patient satisfaction or comfort. With the concept, an ophthalmologist will have their eye height measured at the start of their career. This is done by a second person, ensuring proper posture and measurement. They measure the sitting and standing eye heights. When the ophthalmologist goes to work in the outpatient clinic, the two eye heights are dialled into the data profile using the interface panel on the examination unit. The equipment table moves to bring the eyepiece to the ophthalmologist’s eye height. When the patient comes in, the ophthalmologist can adjust the patient’s chair forwards/backwards and up/down depending on the patient’s proportions. If the ophthalmologist wants to examine the patient in standing position, they press the mode change button, to transition from sitting to standing mode. The patient chair and slit lamp table move up proportionally, to maintain their relative distance, for seamless working. The doctor examines the patient as usual, with good ergonomic posture for both.

In this master's thesis in collaboration with het Nederlands Oogheelkundig Gezelschap (NOG), or the Dutch ophthalmic society, I developed an industrial design concept to improve the ergonomic working conditions of Ophthalmologists. 25% of Dutch Ophthalmologists (surgical eye doctors) have suffered from musculoskeletal injuries (MSIs) during their careers, according to research by NOG. As a result of my research, including interviews with 14 Ophthalmologists currently employed in Dutch medical institutions, I concluded that 5 out of the 7 musculoskeletal injuries, experienced by Ophthalmologists, are in the back, shoulders and neck area. The concluded causes of these MSIs are equipment that does not accommodate for doctor/patient height differences, and neglect of personal health in favour of patient satisfaction. Height Matcher is a redesign of the ophthalmic examination unit, integrating patient chair and equipment table, and upgrading their capabilities. The repositioning of components also allows the ophthalmologist to do standing examinations. The concept was validated through various user tests and expert interviews. By extending the height range that the unit can be set to, speeding up its adjustment, and introducing a separate eye height measurement, height Matcher enables the ophthalmologist to maintain an ergonomic posture during examination, without sacrificing patient satisfaction or comfort. With the concept, an ophthalmologist will have their eye height measured at the start of their career. This is done by a second person, ensuring proper posture and measurement. They measure the sitting and standing eye heights. When the ophthalmologist goes to work in the outpatient clinic, the two eye heights are dialled into the data profile using the interface panel on the examination unit. The equipment table moves to bring the eyepiece to the ophthalmologist’s eye height. When the patient comes in, the ophthalmologist can adjust the patient’s chair forwards/backwards and up/down depending on the patient’s proportions. If the ophthalmologist wants to examine the patient in standing position, they press the mode change button, to transition from sitting to standing mode. The patient chair and slit lamp table move up proportionally, to maintain their relative distance, for seamless working. The doctor examines the patient as usual, with good ergonomic posture for both.

This graduation report describes the design of an ice cooled liquid circulation cooling vest for INUTEQ, a company specialized in personal cooling. The new design, the INUTEQ ICE, is made for warehouse and factory workers. They need cooling vests, because they work in large buildings with flat roofs. Large buildings cannot be cooled by air-conditioning anymore and the sun can heat them up to tropical temperatures. Additionally, the temperature may, in some cases, be increased by the production processes inside. Working in the heat can decrease productivity, performance, comfort and safety. The physical work these people perform also increases their chances of heat related illnesses such as: heat rash, heat cramps or heat exhaustion. In some cases, overheating can even lead to a heat stroke. One of the solutions to cool people down is with cooling garments. The INUTEQ ICE is an improvement on traditional liquid circulation garments, which cool by running the water through silicone tubes. The new design makes use of open cell foam pads to increase the heat exchange between the cold water and the body. The developed cooling pad technology was found to have a nearly three times as high cooling capacity per unit area compared to liquid circulating cooling technology currently on the market. In the same experiment, the cooling capacity per unit area of the new pad technology was found to be similar to existing 6.5°C PCM packs and higher than 15°C and 21°C. The design has the potential to cool for longer than the 6.5°C PCM packs. Contrary to evaporation and air based cooling vest, the INUTEQ ICE is able to be used underneath enclosed clothing and in other high humid environments. The project contained three phases, an analysis phase, a development phase and an evaluation phase. In the analysis phase, relevant information about cooling garments and the target group is gathered. This information is brought together in a list of requirements. In the development phase, the cooling pad technology is developed and the cooling method is defined. The development phase ends with the first concept of the INUTEQ ICE. In the evaluation phase, a working prototype was made and user tested in the appropriate context, which provided useful insights towards the final concept. The evaluation phase also contains the previously mentioned cooling capacity test and recommendations to continue the project. The end result of the project is a promising final concept, with working prototype. The INUTEQ ICE has the potential to become a product that, in humid environments, performs better than alternative cooling garments. With further development it can be used by different target groups, not only factory and warehouse workers. It seems likely that a finished version of the INUTEQ ICE can add value to INUTEQ’s product range.

The goal of this thesis is to design a kite seat with optimal ergonomic fit for beginners in kite schools. Before designing, it is important to understand the context and create anthropometric guidelines for the target group. The seat will be used for sit-kitesurfing, which originates from the sport kitesurfing. Its target group focuses on people with a physical disability such as SCI, amputees or spina bifida. The difference with kitesurfing is that the setup exists of a seat mounted on an aluminium frame. This frame goes onto a specially designed board for this purpose. The project has been set up in cooperation with the Willem Hooft Foundation. This is an organisation aimed at improving the accessibility of adapted watersports, with a focus on kitesurfing. Research shows that accessibility to sports in general is lower for people with a physical disability. However, this is expected to be even lower for sit-kitesurfing. Currently, the availability of adapted courses is limited and people are left to themselves. This means buying all the gear before even trying the sport and learning the sport without qualified instructors. Improving the accessibility is done in cooperation with kiteschools offering adapted courses, where beginners can try out the sport in a safe environment. What stops most kiteschools from offering these courses is the relatively high cost of the specialised gear. Currently, the biggest part of the costs consists of the kite seats. At least four out of seven different seat sizes are necessary to organise kite courses. Replacing those four to seven seats by a single, adaptable seat will greatly reduce the cost for kiteschools. Next to the financial aspect, there are practical and ergonomical benefits. An example is the time-consuming and difficult task of changing the right seat size to the frame. Ergonomically, the fit of these seats is often not optimised for the beginning kitesurfer of the target group. The context, literature and desktop research resulted in key insights and points of improvement. Where information was still lacking, additional user or expert interviews were performed. Anthropometric data has been gathered through existing datasets on DINED. However, this information was not specific for the target group. Additional manual measurements and 3D-scans are performed with 9 people fitting the target group. This pointed out the differences between the target group and the existing datasets, but also provided lacking anthropometric data such as thigh width and location of the trochanter. Next to that the difficulties became clear, as everybody is different. The main design goals gathered from the research are improving pressure distribution through an optimal and tight fit. Challenges are the varying location of the trochanter, shape of the buttocks and the thighs. The final design is an adjustable seat, reducing the amount of needed kite seats from at least four to one. This will greatly decrease investment costs, effort, time and storage. The project’s outcome includes anthropometric design guidelines for a kite seat and a 1:1 prototype to test the concept.

Boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy have a different life from most children. As they grow up, their muscles lose strength progressively. Around the age of 10, they lose their ability to walk, in their teens they slowly lose their arm function, in their twenties they often need respiratory support and their life expectancy is usually between 30 and 40 years old. To support Duchenne boys’ physical functioning and contribute to their independence, a passive exoskeleton has been developed to support their arm function. The exoskeleton is designed to be physically most beneficial for boys with Duchenne between 10 and 17 years old, which is therefore defined as the target group. It is expected that, as the boys in this target group mature, both their physical and emotional needs regarding medical aids, such as exoskeletons, will change. However, the exoskeleton is not yet able to mature with the user, to accommodate for those changing needs. The design goal of this project is therefore to redesign the exoskeleton to increase its ability to mature, both physically and emotionally, with Duchenne boys from 10 to 17 years old. In order to understand the requirements needed to meet the design goal, both physical and emotional needs of Duchenne boys are researched through a literature study and user research. Literature shows that the boys can physically benefit from the exoskeleton from the moment of wheelchair confinement (around the age of 10), but do not usually use arm supports until a much later age, or not at all, indicating a lack of perceived relevance for the target group. It also shows that there is a high variety in disease progression, so it cannot be predicted when the exoskeleton needs to be altered to fit and support the user physically. User research shows that there are three phases of growing up with Duchenne (Naïve Playful Kid (10-12 years old), Anxious Self-Conscious Teen (12-15 years old) and Constrained Reluctant Adolescent (15-17 years old)), who differ on topics such as confidence level, attitude towards their disease, responsibility, social life, relation with their parents, and relation towards healthcare products. Products can have a positive influence on emotional development if they can improve independence and individual functioning. Products can have a negative influence if they feel like an imposition, if the user has no control or choice over them, and if the introduction or alteration of the products confirm further muscle decline. For the exoskeleton to fit with the physical and emotional maturing process, it should therefore achieve the following design goals. The use of the exoskeleton should be made more relevant for each of the three emotional phases of growing up; the user should be able to focus on positive progress and anticipate on negative decline; the exoskeleton should accommodate for an increasing responsibility and independency of the user; and the user should feel like he has a sufficient amount of control and choice over the exoskeleton. For the exoskeleton to achieve these goals, a new concept is proposed, which consists of three components. Firstly, the exoskeleton is given an added functionality of controlling devices in the user’s house, by making movements. Secondly, an interface containing a coding platform enables the user to decide which devices are controlled with which movements, and through a communication platform he can ask questions and share experience. Thirdly, a service in which an expert regularly checks the exoskeleton’s hardware (physical fit and support) and software (controlling functionality). The concept increases the ability of the exoskeleton to mature with its user, because it ensures the exoskeleton fits well with the needs of all different ages in the target group and because the target group expects the concept to remain interesting for a longer period of time. They expect this because of the amount of possibilities and adaptabilities the interface provides, but also because of the combination of fun and extra independence the extra controlling function provides directly when using the concept. Furthermore, the expert service ensures the physical fit and support of the exoskeleton is regularly checked and updated, without confronting the target group negatively regarding their physical decline. By implementing the concept, the exoskeleton is expected to continue to be relevant for boys with Duchenne and give them a more positive experience as they mature from children to adults.

Sitwaking is an adaptive sport derived from wakeboarding, targeting wakeboarders with a physical disability. Although the sport is growing each year, the accessibility level of the sport is low. Investment costs are high and existing products are targeted towards experienced riders. Relative to wakeboarding, a different setup is required to practice the sport. A sitwaker is seated in a seat, which is attached to a normal wakeboard with an aluminum frame. At the front of the board, a footpad is installed to strap the rider’s feet. The project has been set up in cooperation with the Willem Hooft Foundation. This is an organisation aimed at improving the accessibility of adapted water sports. It builds forth on a concept design for an adjustable sitkite seat, developed by Marinke Callens. For her project, she did extensive research on the ergonomic aspect of the seat, creating an anthropometric database through measuring the target group and making 3D-scans, to create the shape of the seat. By doing this, she improved pressure distribution and optimized the fit. Her project ended with a fruitful concept. The aim of this thesis is to take this concept to the next step, validating the incorporation of the research in her design. This is done by creating a design and making a working prototype of an adjustable sitwake seat for beginners with a physical disability, which is easy and quick to adjust. The switch from sitkiting to sitwaking is done to create a more controllable test environment and because the market is easier to penetrate. The end product should be used by both sitwakers and sitkiters. Furthermore, the lifespan of the seat should be extended as long as possible. This is done through a hands-on approach with several iteration cycles. This thesis is approached with the double diamond method. The classic approach consists of four parts: Discover, define, develop and deliver. The outcome of the discover and define phase brought valuable insights from extensive desk research, qualitative interviews with the target group, observations and testing comparable products. This led to a list of requirements and wishes. Through rapid prototyping and design by doing, concepts were brought to life to check for feasibility and evaluate with users. This hands-on approach resulted in valuable insights to increase the validity of the design. The result of the project is a fiberglass seat, adjustable in width and optimized for usability. Emphasis is put on minimizing the footprint and extending its life span. The seat was tested in context to ensure its usability. Optional straps are integrated to ensure the safety of use for both beginning sitwakers and sitkiters. The final design of the sitwake seat is tailored to the user, lowering the barrier to learning this new sport by decreasing the costs.

The purpose of this project is to conduct an applied human factors engineering research on the operator interface unit to reimagine the human-machine interaction of EUV lithography machines. The user research consists of interviews, observations, a survey, task analysis and incident report analysis. It highlights that the main OIU user groups are install engineers, field service engineers, upgrade engineers, and customer operators. The main differences between the user groups are that, from a machine perspective, the ASML users have infrequent, but long OIU-related use scenarios, and customer operators have more frequent, short OIU-related use scenarios. Additionally, the OIU use environment changes according to the type of user, the workspace around the OIU can be limiting, and the cleanroom can be a stressful environment to work in. Finally, results show that the majority of the users feel physical discomfort when using the OIU after a relatively short use duration. The design analysis presents a selection of key results that each impact the selection of the following set of design criteria for the future human-machine interaction: Provide textual & pointing input, space for input tools, provide visual output, optimize work posture, use all around machine, mobile device workflow, keep pathways clear, quickly accessible, and ASML aesthetics. The outcomes of the user research and the design analysis are developed into a design proposal by conducting research into technology advancements, adjacent industries, organizing brainstorm and co-creation sessions, and finally developing and choosing one concept to proceed with. The proposal is a system applying AR headsets, customer control room advancements, and a new digital platform. It allows the OIU to be removed from the machine and allocates new employee tasks to enhance efficiency. AR headsets enable the engineer to access the machine directly, have real-time work procedures, hands-free gesture and voice control, and improved remote collaboration. The AR headsets and adapted user interface allow the user to access and execute software actions during hardware tasks in the cleanroom. Additionally, longer, software actions can effectively be performed from the control room. This new approach improves the employee work conditions, minimizes cleanroom presence, improves work efficiency, accuracy and safety. The design proposal is a future vision and is expected to take about 10 years before fully developed. However, due to the urgent conclusions regarding current physical discomfort, it is recommended to pilot a short-term mobile workspace solution in addition to initiating the long-term vision development.

This thesis focuses on developing a centralized dishwashing service with the goal of reducing the amount of disposable tableware waste generated at Avinor Oslo Airport. Moreover, the project aims to help Avinor Oslo Airport achieve its objective of becoming a zero-waste airport by 2030. The research process followed the Triple-diamond model, facilitating a structured approach through mainly three phases: Understand, Ideate, and Develop. The ‘Understand’ involves the study of the literature review, analysis of existing practices, field research, and stakeholder interviews to gain an understanding of the context. During the ‘Ideate’ phase three concepts were developed and evaluated through iterative testing and feedback. Finally, at the ‘Develop’ phase, the final concept, Green Circles, is developed. Green Circles is a centralised dishwashing service for reusable takeaway containers, that allows passengers to drop the containers at drop-off machines at the boarding gates and airport exists. The implementation of Green Circles is expected to significantly reduce single-use tableware waste at Avinor Oslo Airport. The study highlights the importance of stakeholder engagement, convenient passenger experience, and efficient operational integration. Broader implications suggest that similar services could be adopted in other airports, contributing to the aviation industry’s sustainability efforts, such as those proposed by TULIPS.

This thesis focuses on developing a centralized dishwashing service with the goal of reducing the amount of disposable tableware waste generated at Avinor Oslo Airport. Moreover, the project aims to help Avinor Oslo Airport achieve its objective of becoming a zero-waste airport by 2030. The research process followed the Triple-diamond model, facilitating a structured approach through mainly three phases: Understand, Ideate, and Develop. The ‘Understand’ involves the study of the literature review, analysis of existing practices, field research, and stakeholder interviews to gain an understanding of the context. During the ‘Ideate’ phase three concepts were developed and evaluated through iterative testing and feedback. Finally, at the ‘Develop’ phase, the final concept, Green Circles, is developed. Green Circles is a centralised dishwashing service for reusable takeaway containers, that allows passengers to drop the containers at drop-off machines at the boarding gates and airport exists. The implementation of Green Circles is expected to significantly reduce single-use tableware waste at Avinor Oslo Airport. The study highlights the importance of stakeholder engagement, convenient passenger experience, and efficient operational integration. Broader implications suggest that similar services could be adopted in other airports, contributing to the aviation industry’s sustainability efforts, such as those proposed by TULIPS.