Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering
KonneKt
ENCOURAGING SOCIAL INTERACTION IN CHILDREN’S HOSPITALS Graduation project Job Jansweijer, Princess Máxima Centre for Paediatric Oncology Children on cancer wards often live in temporary isolation. Job Jansweijer designed a modular toy to bring these children into contact with other patients in the hospital. The set of foam elements can be played with on the windows of hospital isolation rooms. KonneKt consists of shapes that can be attached to the window, and children can play with each other from opposite sides of the glass.
The set’s modular design enables children to play a variety of games, and different meanings can be ascribed to the shapes. Children can use KonneKt to play established games, such as chess, for example, but they can also build fantasy worlds and challenging obstacle courses. The possibilities are virtually unlimited. IDE.TUDELFT.NL/KONNEKT
reInVent tHe toIlet NEW SANITATION SOLUTIONS FOR INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA
eXo-l
NO MORE ANKLE SPRAINS Graduation project and TU Delft start-up Marcel Fleuren, Erasmus MC Rotterdam An athlete who wanted to break the world record has failed, and is sitting on the pavement with tears in his eyes. It’s always sad to see something as simple as a sprained ankle destroy an athlete’s dream. From now on, athletes will be able to keep running, thanks to industrial design engineer Marcel Fleuren. His invention, the EXO-L, is an ankle brace that prevents ankle sprains, while allowing athletes freedom of movement. The product is the result of collaboration between
technical and medical experts at Erasmus MC Rotterdam. TU Delft’s valorisation department helped Marcel Fleuren to patent his invention and is currently supporting his ongoing research. The EXO-L was recently launched on the market. Thanks to this, athletes and other sportsmen are one step closer to having their dreams come true with the support of this artificial ligament. IDE.TUDELFT.NL/EXO-L
International research and education project Dr. Jan Carel Diehl and Dr. Johan Molenbroek, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Imagine what it must be like to live in an Indian informal settlement (slum) without clean and safe toilets. Dirty toilets — or no toilets at all — make informal settlements very unhygienic places, with associated health and social problems. In response to the worldwide ‘Reinvent The Toilet Challenge’, initiated by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, our researchers and students are working on the future of sanitation suitable for urban informal settlements in India. They propose a community-based sanitation system
that processes water on-site and converts human waste into energy at an omni-gasification plant. The system is self-sustainable and provides a healthy, clean, profitable and affordable public toilet system for communities. The project involves the development of a water-diverting toilet, as well as the design of features for empowering women, branding and sustainable business modelling. IDE.TUDELFT.NL/REINVENTTHETOILET
Factory In a day
HYBRID PRODUCTION LINES OF HUMANS AND ROBOTS
e-QuarIuM
European research project Prof. Jo Geraedts and Dr. Martijn Wisse A century ago, Western Europe was full of factories. This has changed significantly in recent decades, as manufacturers set up shop in other parts of the world where labour is cheaper, for example for the production of clothes in India and smartphones in China. We expect that, in the future, manufacturers will return to Western Europe, as it is becoming easier and more economical for small and medium-size businesses to set up hybrid production lines in which flexible robots work in harmony with their human counterparts. The ‘Factory In a Day’ project targets small and medium-size businesses that want to scale up through the use of robots. It enables their operators to programme robots in one day in order
to manufacture or handle specific products. This means that batches can be small and production can almost be ‘on demand‘. For example, ‘Factory In a Day’ companies might make pancakes on Monday and sandwiches for the local supermarket on Tuesday. With ‘Factory In a Day’, small and mediumsize business owners have no need to own a complete manufacturing plant; they can simply lease task-specific equipment in combination with smart robots that can be trained by nonexperts. Our robotics experts analyse each situation and provide all of the required hardware and software, along with guidelines for the workflow that needs to be followed in order to install the production line for a small batch. IDE.TUDELFT.NL/FACTORYINADAY
ENERGY VISUALISATION AND ADVICE SYSTEM European research project Prof. David Keyson and Robert Stuursma, SusLabNWE Industrial Design Engineering, along with eleven European scientific partners, participates in the energy-efficiency research project SusLabNWE. Much of the problem of energy-efficiency has to do with awareness. People who live in wellinsulated houses are less conscious of the energy they use than people who live in poorly-insulated homes.
energy use, and motivates them to live in a more energy-efficient way. An animated fish acts as the interface for all of the energy systems in the house. When the fish is happy, the household is performing well ‘energywise’. The water starts to look clear and the plants grow. If the fish is sad, this indicates that the household could be doing better. The playful interface shows users what should be done in Most people simply do not know order to stop wasting energy, without what energy-efficiency actually means having to analyse the energy data because most of their use is based on themselves. habit. E-quarium is a virtual tool that IDE.TUDELFT.NL/E-QUARIUM makes people more aware of their
actIVe cues
DESIGN FOR DEMENTIA
A result of the Creative Industry Scientific Programme (CRISP) Hester Anderiesen Most people become less active as they grow older. Older people living in nursing homes find it especially difficult to keep on moving. Nearly half of nursing home residents have dementiarelated diseases, and this group is the least active of all. This is hardly surprising; they simply forget what they were doing and remain immobile. They are no longer able to initiate activities themselves; as a result, 90% of this group hardly move at all. Active Cues was developed in an attempt to change this. It provides the elderly with an interactive game table that stimulates movement and brain activity.
The projected games encourage them to move their hands (to catch butterflies), to play with others (by throwing a ball to each other) or practice language by completing well-known proverbs. The light cues function as triggers, so they don’t forget what they are doing, which is often the case with other, more mainstream, games. As a result, Active Cues helps the elderly become more active and sociable. Active Cues is a result of CRISP, a unique research programme with over 65 partners from companies and universities in the creative industry. IDE.TUDELFT.NL/ACTIVECUES
desIgnIng our Future FLEXIBLE PRODUCTION PLANTS, A DEVICE THAT PREVENTS ATHLETES FROM GETTING SPRAINS, AN UMBRELLA THAT WITHSTANDS THE STRONGEST WINDS, COMMUNITY SANITATION CENTRES FOR SLUMS IN INDIA, GAMES THAT HELP PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA: THESE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE PRODUCTS DESIGNED BY TU DELFT’S INDUSTRIAL DESIGN ENGINEERS. THEIR WORK MAKES THE FUTURE BETTER FOR ALL OF US, WHEREVER WE ARE AND WHATEVER WE DO.
In 1969, the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) founded the faculty of Industrial Design Engineering (IDE) to educate students to design products and services for people around the globe. The faculty has come a long way. Today, IDE has 25 full professors, 120 scientific staff members and over 120 PhD candidates. The faculty has over 5,000 alumni, and 2,000 industrial design engineering students are enrolled in our Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes. IDE is one of the eight faculties of the Delft University of Technology. TU Delft’s industrial design engineers live and work all over the globe, not just in the Netherlands. Our faculty is internationally oriented, with three English-language Master’s programmes and an increasing number of international students. The faculty’s culture is diverse, preparing students for a global future. The programme is practical. Our students work on individual projects as well as group projects with organisations and businesses, benefiting all of us.
FeasIBIlIty, VIaBIlIty and desIraBIlIty
The building of the faculty of Industrial Design Engineering on the TU Delft campus
Interactive installation of an education project
Applied research done by students
is possible to manufacture and deliver them using available or emerging technologies. Likewise, an innovative new product won’t sell if nobody wants it or knows how to use it.
toMorroW’s IndustrIal desIgn engIneers Industrial design engineers operate in an ever-more dynamic and complex world. Technologies are changing rapidly and offer a range of new possibilities. In 2007 there were only a few mobile internet users — today, nearly everybody uses a smartphone to stay connected 24/7. At the same time, society is facing major new challenges: the world’s population is increasing rapidly and people are living longer, resources are becoming scarce and the burden on healthcare systems is expanding exponentially.
At the faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, students and researchers learn to approach these challenges Industrial design engineers are allproactively. We encourage them to be rounders: our researchers, students curious, tolerant, cooperative, deterand alumni build bridges between mined, inspiring and creative. They people, business and technology. can see through complex problems Industrial design engineers know how and identify viable solutions. Industrial to make a product user-friendly and design engineers know what people how to successfully launch a design want now and what they might need on the market. They form the essential and desire in years to come. Our link between the stakeholders in the industrial design engineers design for design process, all working together the future — our shared future. to create innovative products and IDE.TUDELFT.NL services. Industrial design engineers use advanced research and design methods to analyse what the market wants from a new product or service. They assess the context, the technical potential and the ways in which it can be made profitable. After all, great business ideas can only be turned into successful products and services if it
aWaKenIng curIosIty: learnIng By doIng INDUSTRIAL DESIGN ENGINEERS ARE BOTH SPECIALISTS AND GENERALISTS: THEY FORM THE KEY LINK BETWEEN BUSINESS, TECHNOLOGY AND PEOPLE. OUR STUDENTS LEARN TO USE SCIENTIFIC TOOLS, METHODS AND MODELS TO BUILD BRIDGES BETWEEN THESE DIFFERENT WORLDS. IN SHORT, THEY LEARN BY DOING.
Discussing automotive designs The Delft Design Guide features design methods used at IDE
Students learn to work in teams
Our alumni, researchers and students realise that it’s essential for them to be all-rounders, as this enables them to communicate with technology experts, the business world and other stakeholders. In the three-year Bachelor’s programme they use design methods and tools to learn about the fundamentals of design, such as ergonomics, marketing, emerging technologies and styling. They further hone these skills in one of our three two-year Master’s programmes. Moreover, they learn to generate knowledge by using academic research and design skills. In the Design for Interaction Master’s programme, students become specialists in user-centred design, developing their abilities to create innovative userdesign interactions with a focus on experience, behaviour and well-being.
In the Integrated Product Design Master’s programme, they become experts in integrated design and engineering, creating innovative products and product-service combinations for both consumers and professional users. Students in the Strategic Product Design Master’s programme become experts in relating design activities to their broader business contexts. In the Medisign specialisation, Master’s students can specialise in designing innovative medical applications. In addition to their design expertise, they learn about human anatomy, medical technology and healthcare systems.
sHarIng KnoWledge The Industrial Design Engineering educational programmes are practical and flexible, with specialised workspaces and project group work.
Our faculty has an international orientation: our Master’s programmes are taught in English and we have many international students. Our designers know how to deal with different cultures and perspectives, and work on projects tackling global issues. Industrial Design Engineering plays a key role in society. We are keen to share our educational and research expertise with others. We provide master classes on the latest scientific methods and designs, publish extensively in design and academic journals, and collaborate with industry and technical universities in the Netherlands and internationally. Online education (OpenCourseWare) is another way of sharing our knowledge. For example, the online course on the ‘Delft Design Approach’ features a collection of design methods developed, tested and used at our faculty.
MaJor cHallenges, great oPPortunItIes Whatever our objective, we design for the future — even if we can’t always predict what that future will look like. We are aware of the many challenges that lie before us, and encourage students to identify opportunities using innovative scientific design methods. Excellent design education is all about providing the methods and tools to stimulate innovation and transform the student’s natural curiosity into a powerful design tool. Students explore their own solutions by creating prototypes in our workspaces. Our students learn by doing. IDE.TUDELFT.NL/EDUCATION
“as an Ide graduate, you are of great value in all product business areas.” Eline Vrijland–van Beest Founder & Managing Director NightBalance BV
Taco Carlier Founder / Product Developer VANMOOF
My educatIon ProVIded Me WItH tHe attItude, tools and tecHnIQues to eMPatHIse WItH PeoPle.
Astrid van Roij–Lubsen Concept Developer Waag Society
“the Ide process helps to steer multi-disciplinary teamwork in order to get to innovations that are customerdriven, unique in the market and technically feasible.” Nicole van Wakeren– van Leeuwen Global Innovation Project Manager AkzoNobel Decorative Coatings BV
“I gained a lot of “It’s a good thing theoretical knowledge, for a designer to but learned even more be confronted with multiple design about teamwork and how to build successful problems. they force creativity.” project teams.”
“My education helped me to broaden my scope and impact within different design disciplines; working from initial design strategy to product delivery, and crossing the boundaries between physical and digital design.” Joeske Schellen Head of Colour and Material Technology Design Microsoft
Adrian van Hooydonk Head of Design BMW Group
as an IndustrIal desIgn engIneer, you PartIcIPate In tHe trIangle oF tecHnIQue, BusIness and tHe (end)user.
Femke Braaksma Team Leader Rijkswaterstaat
Jeroen van Erp Creative Director Fabrique Member of the Creative Industry Topteam
It’s great tHat Ide MaKes students aWare oF tHe Value oF creatIng socIetal and econoMIc releVance tHrougH tHeIr desIgns. IDE.TUDELFT.NL/ALUMNI
For tHe BeneFIt oF socIety and scIence OUR RESEARCH IS DIRECTED TOWARDS FINDING SOLUTIONS TO CURRENT AND FUTURE SOCIETAL PROBLEMS, SUCH AS RESOURCE SCARCITY AND THE AGEING POPULATION. THE INDUSTRIAL DESIGN ENGINEERING PHILOSOPHY IS TO COLLABORATE WITH OTHER ORGANISATIONS, AND TO SHARE OUR METHODS, RESEARCH AND DESIGNS FOR THE BENEFIT OF BOTH SOCIETY AND SCIENCE.
A clear understanding of people’s needs enables designers to create products that really matter. Design goes deeper than the product’s appearance — it’s about how the product works and interacts with the user. What’s more, a well-designed product can influence its user’s behaviour, such as by helping to achieve a healthier lifestyle. Changing the future often starts with changing behaviour. We work in the nexus of people, technology and business. We continue to build knowledge in these areas. At the same time we expand our practice of doing design and the methodologies that support us in this practice. Consequently, we generate insights and foresights that create valuable new ways to tackle our future societal challenges.
generates insights and foresights on how to design products that fit seamlessly into a circular economy and how to reduce energy consumption and achieve energy-efficient use.
Four unIQue researcH tHeMes
use energy more efficiently at home. The ‘Unlocking People’ research theme concentrates on helping people to change their behaviour.
The Kinetic Display reflects your image like a 3D-mirror
In Western Europe, we will soon have a large population of elderly people who need good care. At the same time, we need to avoid an astronomical rise in the costs of healthcare. Technology not only helps to facilitate the work of medical staff, it can also be used to make life easier for lonely or disabled people. The ‘Care For Our Health’ research theme focuses on caring for our ageing population while dealing with the rapidly rising costs of healthcare.
A result of the Interactive Technology Design course
ACTIVE CUES: TAKE A LOOK AT INSIDE COVER
People find it difficult to change their behaviour. Even if change would be beneficial, they tend to stick to their By creating insights about people, their old habits. By creating new products, lives and society, and developing fore- we can encourage people to embrace sights on how technology can improve change and to take better care of our future, we enable designers to be themselves and others. One example is the SusLab project’s E-quarium, inspirational yet realistic leaders that which encourages people to can help make the future better.
Industrial Design Engineering has four unique research themes: Care For Our Health, Let’s Re(d)use, Meaningful Interactions and Unlocking People.
The Material Library hosts a collection of tangible material samples for design reference
Technology can change lives. For example, Active Cues, a visual game with lights, encourages people with dementia to play with others, and helps them to remember what they were doing. The ‘Meaningful Interactions’ research theme results in products and services that enable people to interact in a meaningful way.
E-QUARIUM: TAKE A LOOK AT INSIDE COVER
Key cHallenges For our Future
An ageing population, resource scarcity, creating meaningful interactions and changing people’s behaviour are all key challenges. Research at IDE provides governments, organisations, businesses, students and scientists with the expertise to move forward on tackling these complex issues. Our researchers understand ergonomics, marketing, psychology and how people experience products. We are eager to share our expertise, because In the future, products and services taking part in the knowledge economy will have to be manufactured from eco- is one way to achieve a brighter future. friendly materials — they must be both IDE.TUDELFT.NL/RESEARCH durable and recyclable. ‘Let’s Re(d)use’
sHared BeneFIts INDUSTRIAL DESIGN ENGINEERS DESIGN FOR OUR FUTURE. OUR STUDENTS AND RESEARCHERS INSPIRE COMPANIES, ORGANISATIONS AND KNOWLEDGE INSTITUTES WITH THEIR VISION AND DESIGN SKILLS. THEY WORK ON LARGE PRACTICAL PROJECTS IN COOPERATION WITH COMMERCIAL AND OTHER SOCIETAL PARTNERS. COLLABORATING AND SHARING KNOWLEDGE ENHANCE THE RELEVANCE OF OUR KNOWLEDGE — AND THIS BENEFITS OUR EDUCATION, RESEARCH, PARTNERS AND SOCIETY.
Exploring human-robot interaction by prototyping fruit sorting and order picking applications
High performance sail simulator
Modular display design
Designers and researchers at Industrial Design Engineering work closely with professional practitioners, industry and knowledge institutes on many projects and new design methods. Our students and researchers are experts in combining business and technology, and understand how people think. Together with our partners, they create knowledge. Drawing on scientific research, they explore realistic solutions that are relevant for the market. This is our ‘Delft Approach’.
researchers collaborate to provide the creative industry with specific knowledge of product service systems. Industrial Design Engineering works with over 65 partners from companies and universities, with a combined budget of €20 million, unprecedented in this sector. This programme runs from 2011 until 2015.
Our researchers are also involved in major public-private partnership projects with businesses, governments and research institutes. The European research project Factory in a Day focuses on human-robot collaboration to step up the competitiveness of European production. Another example is CRISP, a unique research programme in which design
Our industrial design engineers are entrepreneurial by nature. We encourage our students to convert their creative ideas into marketable solutions and establish businesses. One example is the Senz Umbrella, designed to withstand the heaviest storms. This innovation evolved from a graduation project into an internationally successful business.
FACTORY IN A DAY: TAKE A LOOK AT INSIDE COVER
entrePreneurIal engIneers
The EXO-L ankle brace is also on its way to becoming an entrepreneurial success with the support of TU Delft. EXO-L: TAKE A LOOK AT INSIDE COVER
People in our faculty are highly motivated and energetic. They are social and service-minded. At the same time they love their knowledge base, take an analytical approach and have a firm grasp of business realities. Combined with their creative and imaginative side, they are naturally positioned to play an inspiring and responsible role at the forefront of societal development. IDE.TUDELFT.NL/BUSINESS
Partners and ProJects Creative Industry Scientific Programme (CRISP) Design United Factory in a Day Light.Touch.Matters Nature Inspired Design Products That Last Reinvent the Toilet SusLab NWE
DESIGNING OUR FUTURE The faculty of Industrial Design Engineering educates the designers and researchers of tomorrow. We encourage them to be curious, cooperative, determined, inspiring and creative. Our students, researchers and alumni can cut through complex problems and identify viable solutions. We teach them to communicate with partners, develop a strong business sense and always be attuned to the needs of those for whom they are creating products and services. Industrial design engineers know what is needed to make our planet a better place. They understand what it takes to develop products and services, both now and in years to come. Industrial design engineers design for the future — our shared future. IDE.TUDELFT.NL
ESTABLISHED IN 1969 TO
FACULTY OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN ENGINEERING LANDBERGSTRAAT 15 / 2628 CE / DELFT / THE NETHERLANDS +31 (0)15 2789 807 / IDE@TUDELFT.NL