Towards co-designing with users: A mixed reality tool for kansei engineering

Abstract

Some costly and complex technical products, such as walking assistance devices, require ad-hoc design processes to address the very specific needs of each user. However, the depiction of customer/user requirements in the early stage of design stands difficult due to their subjective nature and the separation between the user and the designer. To bridge these gaps, we introduce the definition of a new modular digital toolbox based upon mixed reality system and kansei engineering techniques. The hardware consists in modular Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs), custom made by 3D printing and powered by a 3D game engine. The interactive content is displayed in mixed reality, simultaneously to the user and the designer. Kansei data are collected through questionnaires and psychophysical measurements, during multiple collaboration phases. The modularity of the system allows the evaluation of various TUIs, 3D content behaviours and the best fitting type of display.