The research paper delves into the importance of point cloud data obtained from 3D scanning technology ensuring quality control in industrial settings. It presents a new heuristic approach that utilizes the wavelet algorithm and other techniques to detect and characterize induced forming defects accurately. The proposed approach offers more flexibility, ease of use, and better results based on descriptive and prescriptive analyses from DRM. The results demonstrate that the wavelet algorithm was successful in identifying and characterizing forming defects in point cloud data.

This study explores the application of image generative AI to support design process by creating inspiration boards. Through an evaluative study, we compare the diversity, quantity, fidelity, and ambiguity of boards generated by image generative AI and traditional methods. The results highlight how generative AI produces a quantity of images, it exhibits limited diversity compared to traditional methods. This suggests a tendency for supporting interpolation rather than extrapolation of ideas, in turn providing insights on best practice and into the optimal stage for its application.

The paper presents a novel approach to visualize the impacts of design heuristics in sustainable product development. Focusing on the integration of ecological sustainability, our research introduces a multivariate visual approach, combining Sunburst Charts and Radial Heat Maps. The methodology, based on a description standard for design heuristics, enhances knowledge sharing and provides an intuitive tool for designers. A dynamic three-series radial heatmap facilitates comparisons across different product properties, fostering informed decision-making in product development.

We present a new spatial skills assessment tool, the Virtual Reality Mental Rotation Assessment. Results suggest that the gamified immersive experience enabled increased levels of engagement and motivation and the instrument was likely not biased in favor or people with past virtual reality (VR) experience. Using VR did not appear to introduce additional problems beyond those present in a traditional spatial test, as moving one's body to change perspective did not correlate with improved performance. Our findings have implications for training and assessing spatial skills in engineering.

Decentralized E/E architectures (EEAs) are facing challenges and bottlenecks in implementing new features and technologies. The shift towards centralized EEAs has many challenges and needs to be handled pragmatically by considering concurrency with the existing EEAs. To address the challenges of architectural shift, the paper showcases the quantitative comparison of EEAs and visualizes the flow of shifting sub-function and hardware blocks using the Sankey diagram. The observations from the diagram as a result will support OEMs to analyse and take decisions on the shift while developing EEAs.

This study presents a search method for a solution space that aligns with a designer's design intent. The proposed method uses multiobjective optimization to determine the size of the narrowed solution space and the weakness of the constraint relationships between the design variables. The suitability of the proposed method is tested by applying it to the design problem of an electric motor for an EV, aiming to provide designers with solution spaces that offer a high degree of freedom in the later design stages and that have weaker constraint relationships among the design variables.

This paper explores self-tracking as a social practice with significant relationships to human memory. The history of data and memory is fraught with a concern that specifics of qualia are subjugated to datafication. Yet, historical perspectives linking paper diaries and digital tracking show that rich accounts can be preserved in media. Cognisant of both perspectives, this paper argues that rather than delegating reflection to algorithms, users engage critically. Using original research data, this paper demonstrates how users unite the sociotechnical affordances of devices, data visualisations, and personal narratives to communicate memory in mediated forms. In doing so, they bridge semantic and autobiographic memory, combining subjectivity and objectivity. A datafied narration of everyday life emerges, affirming unique and vital stories. Often directed toward future goals, the mnemonic value of self-tracking in the present is overlooked. Yet whether recalling unfortunate accidents, sporting success, work, holidays, or illness experiences, participants use data as a scaffold to build stories and affirm identity. This paper asserts that memory and storytelling is an essential anchor for practices of digital self-tracking.

Considering the prevalence of digital interaction within the Generation Alpha, this study focuses on the digital wellbeing of elementary school-aged children in South Korea. By taking into account the multi-faceted nature, this study frames the issue that exists within children's digital wellbeing as a complex problem and aims to have a better comprehensive understanding of the system using a designerly and systems thinking approach. Thus, this study conducts a Systematic literature review and thematic analysis to get grasp of the current situation which then is translated using a systems thinking-based visualization tool to convey the causal relationships that exist within the system. Therefore, the outcome of this study presents a concept map that consolidates the findings to communicate a holistic perspective of children's digital wellbeing which can be used in design activities and decision-making processes which contribute to future design solutions and conversations.

As part of the digital transformation towards Industry 4.0, the tasks of staff on the shop floor are changing. Despite increasing automation, complex assembly steps still have to be carried out by humans, especially when it comes to complex products rich in variants, whose assembly cannpt be fully automated for various reasons. Due to increasing individualization and the steadily growing complexity of products, providing the right information at the right time and in the right place is becoming more important. In this context, the visualization of information via novel technologies such as augmented reality plays a crucial role towards an efficient and error-free production process. This paper compiles existing challenges when using augmented reality as a visualization form for an assistance system. On the one hand, the challenges found originate from a systematic literature review and are organized according to predefined categories. On the other hand, these challenges are complemented and compared through findings gained from expert interviews, which are conducted with employees of two European commercial vehicle manufacturers in the field of production. The analysis of the two methods highlights the need for further research.

AR/VR applications are a valuable tool in product design and lifecycle. But the integration of AR/VR is not seamless, as CAD models need to be prepared for the AR/VR applications. One necessary data transformation is the tessellation of the analytically described geometry. To ensure the usability, visual quality and evaluability of the AR/VR application, time consuming optimisation is needed depending on the product complexity and the performance of the target device.

Widespread approaches to this problem are based on iterative mesh decimation. This approach ignores the varying importance of geometries and the required visual quality in engineering applications. Our predictive approach is an alternative that enables optimisation without iterative process steps on the tessellated geometry.

The contribution presents an approach that uses surface-based prediction and enables predictions of the perceived visual quality of the geometries. This contains the investigation of different geometric complexity metrics gathered from literature as basis for prediction models. The approach is implemented in a geometry preparation tool and the results are compared with other approaches.

Companies design, develop, and market new systems of products and services, through the process of translating beneficiaries’ needs into design specifications, where beneficiaries are those who generate value when using the new product or experiencing the new service enabled by the product. Successful new systems of products and services attract potential beneficiaries. This study explores how to identify the stakeholder engagement requirements of a new system at its early stage of development.

The study proposes a procedure and a tool - a new visual representation called the stakeholder-value map - to show the system development team how stakeholders are to interact with the system's key elements, and hence inform the timing of stakeholder involvement, for realising the value proposition of the new system. A working theoretical construct is also emerged from the study: for a new system to have a higher chance of market adoption, one can first visualise the ‘route’ of value-creation, from the lowest value-level product/service elements to the highest value-level service elements; then, identify the requirements for stakeholder engagement in the new system development.

Additive manufacturing (AM) processes are now integrated in industry. Therefore, new methods to design AM parts taken into consideration capabilities and limitations are necessary. It is very difficult for teachers to effectively guide students with ideas emerging from generative design tools. AM requires significant preparation and compromises. Topological optimization is also used depending on requirements. A significant impact on the final part quality is related to the part orientation and geometric dimensions. Therefore, this white paper focuses on detailed design steps to prepare future technicians and engineers to design for additive manufacturing. Active teaching pedagogy guideline is proposed. Students have to think in 3D and use analysis tools to create and validate the optimised design. They use immersive tools to review constraints and model diagnostic algorithm to generate data. Present approaches with design guidelines and tools enable to create AM rules based on it. Questionnaire shows that students need explicit knowledge information. Features recognition and geometry diagnostic are mandatory for complex model. Immersive tool helps to evaluate post-processing. They can now relate AM product-process relationship.

Emerging visualisation tools based on eXtended Reality (XR) platforms offer designers new possibilities and benefits, attracting increasing interest from academia and industry. However, as the users and consumers of these tools, practising designers' perceptions of XR visualisation tools need to be further verified as they shape the tools' acceptance and integration in the industry. This paper investigates industrial designers' acceptance of VR visualisation tools using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 12 designers from 3 countries to discuss their attitudes, motivations, experiences, and expectations regarding adopting VR visualisation tools as professional tools. The study highlights key opportunities to promote VR integration in industrial design as the tools' practical capabilities to support design performance and the social influence of stakeholders and peer designers on the professional use of VR. The main barriers lie in designers' expected effort to learn and use the tools and the investment and upkeep of VR systems and facilities in the industry. The paper concludes with recommendations for reaping benefits and overcoming barriers.

We investigate reverging - the phase between the diverging and converging steps in a creative process - in the context of a visual thinking agency. Creative facilitation literature advocates for such a phase, aimed at revisiting and rearranging ideas generated during diverging, to prepare for converging. However, in practice this step is often neglected or not performed well, resulting into a sense of increased complexity or lack of client ownership.

Two studies were used to investigate reverging in context: a preliminary study consisted of interviews and observations to better understand reverging in current visual thinking practices. The follow-up study focused on co-creating a tool to solve the problem identified in the preliminary study.

While the preliminary study revealed the need to involve clients in both diverging and reverging phases, the follow-up study resulted in the creation of the Whiteboard Canvas. The tool was tested in practice and several benefits of reverging in visual thinking practices emerged.

The tool empowers visual thinking practitioners to involve their clients more actively in reverging, resulting into a more deliberate creative process and an increased sense of client ownership.

One difficulty with sketching pedagogy is the tendency to assess growth according to outcomes, as opposed to processes. We assessed eye gaze patterns between advanced and intermediate design sketchers and anticipated correlations between eye-gaze practices and sketching proficiency. Participants sketched two different objects using analogue materials, a potted plant from memory, and a MacBook from observation.

The study utilised Tobii 3 adjustable eye-tracking glasses and Tobii Pro data processing software. Twenty-five design sketching students and six design sketching instructors participated in the study.

Metrics measured include the quantity of reference line gazes, eye movement during line creation (targeting vs tracking), eye fixation duration, work checks per minute and subject gazes per minute.

The results show a difference in gaze patterns between intermediate and advanced sketchers, both in terms of practice and consistency. Eye-tracking sketching behaviours has revealed a new understanding of how teaching gaze habits could lead to improved methods of design sketching instruction.

Using the EEG features extracted from the EEG signals, the presented study investigates differences in the cognitive load posed on engineers while 3D CAD modelling in two different conditions, depending on the visual representations used as stimulus - a 2D and a 3D technical drawing of parts. The results indicate a higher cognitive load during the 2D drawing task. In addition, common indicators of the ongoing spatial information processing were recognised - a suppression of parietal and occipital alpha power, a higher frontal theta, and differences in theta power between the hemispheres.

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) can provide new air mobility faster and avoid city traffic with the growth of new technologies. But they need to be co-developed with the city infrastructure. Thus, understanding the working scenarios of UAM and how they will interact with the city and the other modes of transport systems is vital. Storyboarding helps policymakers, city planners, designers, and investors better understand the product's contextual interaction over time. This process allows the design team to be implicit or express a design that is easy to understand, reflect upon, or modify.