IB DTech Semester 1 Final

Adjustability

The ability of a product to be changed in size, commonly used to increase the range of percentiles that a product is appropriate for.

Example: An office chair is adjustable in regards to its height, comfort, etc.

Alertness

The level of vigilance, readiness or caution of an individual.

Fatigue

A person's sense of physical or psychological tiredness.

Cognitive Ergonomics

How mental processes, (memory, reasoning, motor response and perception), affect the interactions between users and other components of a system.

Functional Data

Functional data includes dynamic data measurements while performing a required task e.g. reaching abilities, manoeuvring and aspects of space and equipment use.

Comfort

A person's sense of physical or psychological ease

Ergonomics

The application of scientific information concerning the relationship between human beings and the design of products, systems and environments

Human Information Processing System

An automatic system that a person uses to interpret information and react. It is normally comprised of inputs, processes (which can be sensory, central and motor), and outputs.

Human error

Mistakes made by users, some of which can result in catastrophic consequences for people, property and the environment, as they are considered key contributors to major accidents

Dynamic data

Human body measurements taken when the subject is in motion related to range and reach of various body movements. E.g. crawling height, overhead reach and the range of upper body movements.

Human factors

A scientific discipline concerned with understanding how humans interact with elements of a system. It can also be considered the practice of designing products, systems or processes to take account of the interaction between them and their users. It is also known as comfort design, functional design and user-friendly systems.

Structural Data

Refers to measurements taken while the subject is in a fixed or standard position, e.g. height, arm length.

Physiological factor data

Human factor data related to physical characteristics used to optimise the user's safety, health, comfort and performance

Percentile Range

That proportion of a population with a dimension at or less than a given value. For a given demographic (gender, race, age), the 50th percentile is the average

Primary data

Data collected by a user for a specific purpose.

Perception

The way in which something is regarded, understood or interpreted.

Clearance

The physical space between two objects.

Biomechanics

The research and analysis of the mechanics of living organisms. Biomechanics in Human factors includes the research and analysis of the mechanics (operation of our muscles, joints, tendons, etc.) of our

human body. It also includes Force (impact on user's joints), Repetition, Duration and Posture.

Interval Data

Interval data are based on numeric scales in which we know the order and the exact difference between the values. Organised into even divisions or intervals, and intervals are of equal size.

Range of sizes

A selection of sizes a product is made in that caters for the majority of a market.

Ratio data scale

A ratio scale allows you to compare differences between numbers.

For example, use a rating scale of 1-10 to evaluate user responses.

Qualitative data

Typically descriptive data used to find out in depth the way people think or feel - their perception. Useful for research at the individual or small (focus) group level.

Quantitative data

Data that can be measured and recorded using numbers. Examples include height, shoe size, and fingernail length.

Static Data

Human body measurements when the subject is still

Environmental Factors

A set of psychological factors that can affect the performance of an individual that come from the environment that the individual is situated.

Secondary Data

Data collected by someone other than the user.

Workplace environmental factors

These factors can be considered to maximise performance of a user

in a role and reduce the risk of accidents. They can be categorised as:

• Management (policies, safety education)

• Physical environment (noise, temperature, pollutants, trip hazards, signage)

• Equipment design (controls, visibility, hazards, warnings, safety guards)

• The nature of the job (repetitiveness, mental or physical workload, force, pressure)

• Social or psychological environment (Social group, morale)

• The worker (personal ability, alertness, age, fatigue)

Ordinal Data

A statistical data type that exists on an arbitrary numerical scale

where the exact numerical value has no significance other than to rank a set of data points. Deals with the order or position of items

such as words, letters, symbols or numbers arranged in a hierarchical

order. Quantitative assessment cannot be made

Nominal Data

Nominal means 'by name' and used in classification or division of objects into discrete groups. Each of which is identified with a name e.g. category of cars, and the scale does not provide any measurement within or between categories.

Psychological factor data

Human factor data related to psychological interpretations caused by light, smell, sound, taste, temperature and texture.

Anthropometrics

The aspect of ergonomics that deals with body measurements,

particularly those of size, strength and physical capacity.

Circular economy

An economy model in which resources remain in use for as long as possible, from which maximum value is extracted while in use, and the products and materials are recovered and regenerated at the end of the product life cycle.

Clean technology

Products, services or processes that reduce waste and require the minimum amount of non-renewable resources.

Combined Heat and Power (CHP)

A system that simultaneously generates heat and electricity from either the combustion of fuel, or a solar heat collector.

Converging technologies

The synergistic merging of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information and communication technologies and cognitive science.

Cradle to Cradle

A design philosophy that aims to eliminate waste from the production, use and disposal of a product. It centres on products which are made to be made again

Cradle to Grave

A design philosophy that considers the environmental effects of a product all of the way from manufacture to disposal.

Dematerialization

The reduction of total material and energy throughout of any product and service

Design for the environment software

Software that allows designers to perform Life cycle analysis (LCA) on a product and assess its environmental impact.

Eco-Design

A design strategy that focusses on three broad environmental categories - materials, energy, and pollution/waste.

Embodied Energy

The total energy required to produce a product.

End-of-pipe Technologies

Technology that is used to reduce pollutants and waste at the end of a

process.

Energy distriution

The method with which energy is transported from a source to where it is used.

Energy storage

The method with which energy is stored for later use.

Energy utilization

The method with which energy is used.

Green design

Designing in a way that takes account of the environmental impact of the product throughout its life.

Green legistation

Laws and regulations that are based on conservation and sustainability principles, followed by designers and manufacturers when creating green products.

Incremental solutions

Products which are improved and developed over time leading to new versions and generations.

Individual energy generation

The ability of an individual to use devices to create small amounts of energy to run low-energy products.

Legislation

Laws considered collectively to address a certain topic.

Life cycle analysis (LCA)

The assessment of the effect a product has on the environment through five stages of its life: pre-production; production; distribution (including packaging); utilization; and disposal.

Linear economy

An economy based on the make, use, dispose model.

Local combined heat and power (CHP)

CHP plants that generate heat and power for a local community - the plant is close enough to the community so that the heat generated can be dispersed through the community efficiently.

National and international grid system

An electrical supply distribution network that can be national or international. International grids allow electricity generated in one country to be used in another.

Non-renewable resources

A natural resource that cannot be re-made or re-grown as it does not naturally re-form at a rate that makes its use sustainable, for example, coal, petroleum and natural gas

Product cycle

Also known as the product life cycle, it is a cycle that every product goes through from introduction to withdrawal or discontinuation.

Product recovery strategies

The processes of separating the component parts of a product to recover the parts and materials.

Quantification of carbon emissions

Defining numerically the carbon emissions generated by a particular product

Radical solutions

Where a completely new product is devised by going back to the roots of a problem and thinking about a solution in a different way

Recondition

Rebuilding a product so that it is in an "as new" condition, and is generally used in the context of car engines and tyres.

Recovery of raw materials

Strategies for the separation of components of a product in order to recover raw materials.

Recycle

Recycling refers to using the materials from obsolete products to create other products.

Re-engineer

To redesign components or products to improve their characteristics or performance.

Renewability

The level at which a resource is renewable. The rate that a resource can be replenished.

Renewable resources

A natural resource that can replenished with the passage of time, or does not abate at all.

Repair

The reconstruction or renewal of any part of an existing structure or device.

Reserves

Reserves are natural resources that have been identified in terms of quantity and quality.

Resources

Resources are the stock or supply of materials that are available in a given context.

Re-use

Reuse of a product in the same context or in a different context

System level solutions

Solutions that are implemented to deal with the whole system, rather than just components.

The precautionary principle

The anticipation of potential problems in relation to the environmental impact of the production, use and disposal of a product.

The prevention principle

The avoidance or minimization of producing waste in relation to the production, use and disposal of a product.

Waste mitigation strategies

Strategies used to reduce the waste produced by a product or in the

production and disposal of a product.

Aesthetic models

A model developed to look and feel like the final product.

Animation

The ability to link graphic screens together in such a way as to simulate motion or a process.

Assembly drawings

A diagram that shows how components fit together to make a whole. Typically presented in an exploded view.

Bottom-up modelling

A designer creates part geometry independent of the assembly or any other component. Although there are often some design criteria established before modelling the part, this information is not shared between models. Once all parts are completed, they are brought together for the first time in the assembly.

Computer Aided Design (CAD)

The use of computers to aid the design process.

Conceptual modelling

A model that exists in the mind used to help us know and understand ideas.

Data modelling

A model that determines the structure of data.

Digital human

Computer simulation of a variety of mechanical and biological aspects of the human body

Fidelity

The degree to which a prototype is exactly like the final product.

Finite element analysis

The calculation and simulation of unknown factors in products using CAD systems. For example, simulating the stresses within a welded car part.

Formal drawing techiques

A type of drawing technique that has fixed rules, the most widely used being isometric projection and perspective drawing.

Fuse deposition modelling

A 3D printing technique that places melted layers of material on a bed to build up a 3D model.

Graphical models

A visualization of an idea, often created on paper or through software, in two or three dimensions.

Haptic technology

An emerging technology that interfaces the user

via the sense of touch.

Instrumented models

Prototypes that are equipped with the ability to take measurements to provide accurate quantitative feedback for analysis.

Laminated object manufacturing (LOM)

A system that virtually slices a 3D CAD model into thin layers, then cuts out each layer from a roll of material using a laser or plotter cutter. The layers can then be glued in the correct order to create a 3D model.

Mock-ups

A scale or full-size representation of a product used to gain feedback from users.

Motion capture

The recording of human and animal movement by any means, for example, by video, magnetic or electro-mechanical devices.

Parts drawings

Orthographic drawings of the components of an assembly containing details just about that component.

Perspective drawings

A set of formal drawing techniques that depicts an object as getting smaller and closer together the further away they are. The techniques drawings are one-point perspective, two-point perspective, and three-point perspective.

Physical modelling

The creation of a smaller or larger tangible version of an object that can be physically interacted with.

Projection drawings

Systems of drawings that are accurately drawn, the two main types are isometric projection (formal drawing technique) and orthographic projection (working drawing technique).

Prototypes

A sample or model built to test a concept or process, or to act as an object to be replicated or learned from. Prototypes can be developed at a range of fidelity and for different contexts.

Scale drawings

Drawings that are bigger or smaller than the real product, but exactly in proportion with product.

Scale models

A model that is either a smaller or larger physical copy of an object.

Selective laser sintering (SLS)

An additive manufacturing technique that uses a laser to fuse small particles of material into a mass that has a desired 3D shape.

Sketches

Rough drawings of ideas used to convey or refine the idea.