(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2016-01-15)
Zhang, Xiaotian
Feedback from users is an invaluable part of the product design process. Prototypes of varying levels of detail are frequently used to solicit feedback for attributes related to the physical and user experience aspects of a product. Using Tangible Augmented Reality Technologies to achieve natural interactions have significance in product design. TAR is one of Augmented Reality related technologies which enable the superposition of physical model in real environment and digital model on the screen many have possibility to solve this kind of problems. This study is to investigate whether usability input from AR/TAR technologies representations of a product with physical interface elements is similar to input based on a product/prototype. If AR/TAR technology inputs are found to be similar from the real product, it can be an evidence to indicate that AR/TAR can be a useful tool for collecting highly accurate inputs on a product concept focusing on physical controls. User testing was conducted with 20 participants. And, the conclusion shows the two AR methods are statistically significantly different with real product, but Tangible AR does not have a statistically significant difference with real product. The results of the data analysis strongly support that Tangible AR is doing effectively simulating the real product prototype in the user study.
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2015-09-03)
Cheuk, Jennifer
Body cleansing is an integral part of people's everyday life. Between five and seven percent of people over the age of 65 experience problems when using the bathroom. Some investigators have postulated that disability in older persons can further occur when there is a gap, mismatch, or poor fit between personal capabilities and environmental demands. Current bathing fixtures do not support people with limited ability, and so the current bathing environment perpetuates bathing disability. Furthermore, because assistive bathing technology is meant for one particular user, it can impede other users when they need to bathe. A consequence of this is that the assistive bathing technology could be abandoned. The purpose of this study is to design and evaluate a bathtub for body cleansing regardless of an individual's physical ability and allow for all stakeholders to use the tub within the same space.