PSS design research

Reflection 3:Who killed the electric car?

This video showed us the how electric car had been ‘killed’ and the real reason behind it. Most vehicles are petroleum based. But the problem is that fossil fuels are non-renewable resources because they take millions of years to form. And reserves are being depleted much faster than new ones are being made. It was a very good intention to bring electric cars into the market. They are much cheaper and of course more environmental friendly. As the production and use of fossil fuels raise environmental concerns, it seems electric cars provide us a solution to the problem. But why electric car was hold up? There are several reasons, but the real reason is that some people were so selfish that they ‘killed’ electric car for their own benefits.

The very first electric car invented was named EV1, it was revolutionary. But it disappeared after all. It did have some limitation. It was created for rent only, and needed to be charged frequently. But many people who’ve used the car found it much better than car consume gasoline for everyday use. General Motors, who invented EV1, realized it was a threat to their existing products and stopped the production of EV1.

The real murderers are the oil corporation and the government. It is well known that oil industry is highly profitable. There is no doubt that oil corporation will protect their benefits. But what was the government’s role in this? From passing the clean air acts, we could assume the government was supportive of electric cars. But when Oil Corporation started to lobby against the electric car, the government turned their side.

Despite all the shocking facts showed in the video. There is still a bright future for renewable resources. People now are starting to concern the environment and the future of the planet more than ever before. And a global movement toward the generation of renewable energy is therefore under way to help meet increased energy needs.­

Project 2: Peer Comments

Jin Yueyue
i think the idea is great. it's environmentally friendly that to reuse the freezer package. your product service system is very useful, it's more convenience than the current one.
for your poster, it would be better to show the location of medical center on the map.


Yuliang Gu
your pss design is very practical.  the plate rental system really helps to reduce the amount of disposal plates use. usually it is very difficult to collect plates by human in than situation.
your research has strongly support your design. by using this machine, it will constraint people from throwing their plate away. i really like it.

Frankie Ho
I really like your concept that to install a GPS on bike. and i really like your idea that to use energy generated by bike to charge the gps. it's a good way to encourage people to do more exercise.
i think you can put more bikes in the station.

 
Ke Zhang
I think this idea is pretty good,located it in shopping center is more convenience for parents to rent a toy than went to library. Nice idea ~!
but the shape could be more interesting to attract children attention, and the dimension maybe  to high for children.


Ben Chan
your PSS looks very playful. it makes recycle glass bottles more interesting. the machine is very simple to use.
it's very useful. i think it would be better to show where the machine located on the map.

Project2: PSS

  

For this project, I propose to design a solar energy powered scooter rental system. It is mainly designed for schools or universities with relatively large campus. To get to different class venues, some people choose to walk to their destination, and many people will choose to drive. The exhaust emitted will do harm to the environment. And this scooter rental system is believed to be a potential solution. This system provides solar energy powered scooters for rent at every building on the campus and train station. The system makes it much easier and more convenient to go to different class venues. And more importantly, it’s environmental friendly.

Compare to the other systems, it is more flexible with the travelling route and it’s more environmentally friendly, because it using solar energy, therefore the Greenhouse Gas emission will sharply reduce. Also it will reduce the need of individual space, has less restriction on road, no petrol cost.

A university student arrives at the train station and using their id to rent a scooter at charging point, by insert their id card to (UN) lock the scooter and use it travelling between station and buildings. When they arrive at their destination, they put scooter back to the charging point around building.

After they finished their class, they travel in the campus.

Once they log out. They pay for the time of use of scooter

The money will spend on maintenance the product and service.

For this product service system, a trip starts when you release a scooter and ends when you dock it at any charging point.

For the casual users, the first 10 mins are free and members get first 20 min for free. After that, it will charge $1/30 min.

A card reader will installed at one of the handle of scooter. Once you insert you personal id, it will un lock the scooter and you can just pull off scooter from the docking point.

Return scooter to any charging station. Push the front wheel into docking point. When the red light is indicate the scooter is charging and you will log out from your account.

The lock are connect with electric. There is a button, when pushing front wheel into docking point, the button will be pushed in. The lock and charger will pop out. Then the scooter will be locked and charging.

If you just want to make a quick stop, you can remove your card, and the scooter will be locked but still reserved under your account.

Design Lifecycle - Improving Product lifetime

MATERIAL

Aluminium ： Main Body casting & exterior visual components;
ABS： button assembly & chrome plated aesthetic finish; 
Nylon： electronic housing/heat resistant components; 
Rubber： Feet;
Galvanised Steel Plate ： internal plate components;
Polypropylene ： Base plate/chassis, some small internal components;
Mica sheeting： heat insulation/heating element wrapping
Electronic components ： wrapped around front and back of toasting compartment.

MANUFACTURE PROCESS

 Aluminium and Steel：sheet forming, cold working, stamping
Aluminium Main Body ： Injection moulded, washed and painted/anodised
Nylon ： injection moulded
ABS ： Injection moulded 
Polypropylene ： Injection moulded



IMPROVEMENT

Project 1: Focus Group Feedback

Summary of what my peers in my focus group said regarding my product:
No product graphics
Too much writing on poster. use images to tell a story. 
No ergonomic details 
Need to consider if crumbs goes into packaging. 
Refill pack: where is going to put in the market. 
How to refill.(From top or bottom?)
Graphics for exterior of packaging to make clear what the product is.
Show the actual size of the product
Show more about who target market is. 


Recommendations
Graphics make product more obvious How To Use.
Add more information about the market position and transportation.
Colour should match with the product.
Use more images to present.
Add more manufacturing detail.

Project 2 concepts

Peer comments

Yuliang Gu
 it's a good idea since it would  solves the problem of over pouring  really make it easier for the users! Good job!i really like the poster layout. it conveys the message very clearly. 

Frankie Ho
  
i think this design is a good solution for children to open vitamin bottle. the shape and graphic is very attractive. it would be better to show the product holding by a hand to show the size.
good job. the colour, chlidren will love it. 

Henry Treloar
good work on your design solution. good rendering and layout. the information are communicate very clearly.This is an interesting solution to problems of spilling drink. i like the colour of your design, it's very eye catching.

Shenea Huang

1. the shape and the colour is very fits the target market. children can play with it when they are taking bath. the design is very playful and interesting. the poster is clearly represent what the product is for and how to use. 
2. the packaging itself is very simple and the poster has clearly layout. great job.
3.  

Ben Chan
I really like how the use of colour and the shape of this packaging.it's very attractive and totally fits the target market, it makes open and having the jelly more easier.

I really like the design!

Studio 3B project1

Cormack Innovation awards

Rational

For this project, we are designing a product for children under 12. So I decided to design a butter stick.

Children has less control on handling things, it’s difficult to cut off the firm butter. Spread and large pack butter is very difficult for portion control, children are easy to overtake energy than the amount they need. And Individual packed butter increase production cost.

I did some research before doing this project. In the market, most individual packed butter contains 7g per serve. For the large packed butter, the serving size normally is 15g. The recommended intake for adults and children ages 7 to 12 should include two to three servings from the dairy food group.

In the experiment, one piece of toast needs about 4 to 6g, depended on the size of toast. So in this design 4g is chosen as 1 serve.

Therefore, for the design solution:

1. This solution allows children enjoy the taste of butter with portion control.

2. Allow user to spread butter without using knife.

3. In this design solution, butter sticks packaging working on the same principle of glue stick.

In the fridge, butter sticks are placed onto a plastic tray. This prevent the butter stick fall down on the floor.

Compare to the other existing packaging for butter, this packaging stands out due to its unique shape and function.

It is able to refill. For the refill pack, 3 of butter sticks are packed into a box.

Children are able to use this product without parents’ help, and this package can give them a portion control.

As temper evidence is very important, therefore first time a consumer buy this product, it sealed with a thin layer of plastic.

The graphic is cute to attract children’s attention. It also contains nutrition Information, Ingredient, and instruction of how to get one serve of butter.

Reflection2：The 11th hour

The one and a half hours documentary named ‘The 11^th Hour’ shows us that the earth we are living on is in danger and it is due to the damage we made to the planet.

The video is basically formed of three parts. The first part shows us how the ecosystem has been changing and what environmental problems and disasters we are facing. The second part specifies the reasons why the earth is in danger now and in the third part, we are told of several potential solutions to the problem we are now facing. The video is fascinating because it points out the problems that are happening around us but some of us probably haven’t even noticed. It concerns everyone on the planet.

The video mentioned that the reason why human being survived is not because ‘we were very big or we were gifted with special senses. The key to our survival is human brain.’ We have the ability to identify how what we do can affect the future. However, we are actually harming the planet, the only home.

We need to deal with climate change, ocean crisis, damage to rainforest and other issues. As in the video, one of the scientists said, ‘Climate change is not only a reality but also a concern for the future.’ We have to think about the next generation.

Some people think we are disconnected with nature and we have complete control over the world. The big reason why people think that we are separated from the nature is culture, which is based on the assumption that we are the superior species. We think the economy is the most important thing and forget that ‘if we offend the nature, we are going to pay a pay for that’.

The growth rate of population is increasing too fast. The reason why the population is increasing exponentially is that instead of depending on the sun like we did in ancient world, we create food, clothes, transportations and all other things. And ‘there are too many of us using too many resources too fast’.

At the end of the video, we are provided of some possible solutions, which are produced from different aspects such as political, economic and technological. And as a designer, I should pay more attention to sustainable designs. It is a good way to develop a better habitat and save the earth. By using sustainable products, you are saving the earth already before you know it.

It is everyone’s responsibility to protect the environment and make it a better place to live i

Video reflection: How it's made + Giving packaging a new life

How it's made

This series is about how to make different packaging. It well explained the methods of production and steps of manufacturing process. After watching these videos, I find out that lots packaging material can be recycled in order to minimize production wastes. For example, glass and aluminum, the cut out part can be recycled.

Firstly I was surprised by the speed of production. These machines operated with no required of human, all it need is one person to monitor. It’s very interesting to see that during the manufacture process such as making corrugated cardboard, glass bottles, metal containers and can were mostly machine operated and did not require much human contact. All the process was done by machine from pressing, steaming, stacking, perforating, scoring, colouring, gluing to folding. . I realized that packaging can easily be manufactured with high quality and speed.

Glass bottle which can be recycled endlessly and it cost less energy than using metal and plastics.

The most important point that I find out in these videos is the benefit of using tetrapak. Even the recycling process is very complicated, but it is made from 100% recycled material. Tetrapak container is now use alot in packaging drinks and foods, It is formed by three different materials which are plastic, paperboard, and foyer. Tetrapak can keep the drink and food fresh for one year without fridge.

  

As a designer, it’s very important to think about the manufacturing process that making the everyday product.

Giving packaging a new life  

 By watching this video, it let me know what kind of material can be recycled and how the wastes are recycled. Before watching this video I always thought recycling is very simple and it would be a really long process, that machines involvement is required only after the trash is sorted manually by human. 

The technology used is really new to me. The thing that amazed me most is the use Optical Sorting System that can identify which kind of plastics the packaging is made from and sort it into categories. In last few years, Germany had been very successful in recycling waste. But large amount of energy require during the recycling process will be a problem, because it will increase the cost of recycling.

Although, the recycling technology is very progressive, there still have some material can not be recycled. So as industrial designers, We need to incorporate with this approach when we designing product. i realized that  the package need designed green and easy to recycle or disposal.