| dc.description.abstract | Having multiple modes on one product has been prevalent among modern technological
products, such as washing machines that have washing and spinning modes and car
transmissions with sport and economic modes. Multiple modes can enable products to convert
from one form to another. From users’ perspective, modes satisfy different needs in different
situations. From a designer’s perspective, the different needs must be interpreted in creating
different system configurations. Designing a multimodal product requires accommodating
users’ dynamic needs with a changeable configuration.
Despite the prevalence of multimodal products on the market, engineering design lacks a
common understanding of modality (defined as the property of having multiple modes) and a
methodology that systematically guides the design process of multimodal systems. This
research work aims to close these gaps. This thesis and its research are also dedicated to
provoking the consideration of modality in future product design.
The research approach of multimodal products originated from the design project of a
swimming-climbing underwater robot introduced in Liu et al. (2013). However, its idea
generation inspired the considerations of the general design methods for mechatronics products.
It is believed that the latter research topic results in more impact on academia and industry.
To ensure the research work is rooted in the most up to date research context, the research
approach is based on Pahl and Beitz’s systematic design approach, which was gradually formed
in the 1970s and intensively applied and developed until now. As Figure 1 demonstrates, the
research consists of two major studies: conceptual design and product architecture design.
Shown in the blue and green bars, the two studies cover three phases of Pahl and Beitz’s design
process. The two studies and one case study correspond to the three referenced papers.
Study 1 searches for the concept of mode in a broad scope of engineering sciences and then
examines the findings in the existing design models used in the conceptual design phase. It
focuses on the purpose of modality and the elaboration of functional models. This study mainly
deals with the linkage between users’ needs and the functions that the product should fulfil.
Study 2 continues the exploration of modality in the embodiment design phase. At the same
time, it extends the knowledge achieved in Study 1 to investigate the interactions between
multimodal systems. The study on product architecture also investigates how a multimodal system is decomposed into subsystems and how multimodal systems are used to construct a
larger system.
A qualitative case study that confirms the assertions about modality follows the two studies,
examining the origin design task of a swimming-climbing underwater robot. At the end, an
experiment is conducted on real designers to test and evaluate the proposed design methods.
The entire research approach successfully answers three research questions (RQs):
• RQ1: What is mode in a product?
• RQ2: What are the significances of modality?
• RQ3: How should the design processes involve the modality thinking?
RQ1 exposes how designers should understand and describe modes of a product. A formal
definition of mode is still missing, notwithstanding the phenomena of modality are pervasive
in various contexts, and often interwoven with multi-functionality, multi-technology, users’
preference, requirements, reconfiguration, and so on. RQ2 scrutinizes the benefits of modality
compared to single-modal products. RQ3 demands a generalized methodology so that designers
in various disciplines can elaborate modes.
Specific to the focused design phases, each of the two studies answers the three RQs from its
own approach to the design process. The research work gives a comprehensive explanation of
what a mode is and how multiple modes are designed. The introduced methodology ultimately
complements the design theory. | nb_NO |
