PhD Theses (Design)
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Browsing PhD Theses (Design) by Subject "DESIGN"
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Item (A) Study on Characteristic Design Element for Cartoon and Animation: in Indian Context(2020) Saha, BhaskarThe thesis looks into the acceptance of cartoon and animation as a medium of infotainment by Indian viewers – both children as well as their guardians and of Indian character elements are identified, user can add value in communicating the spirit of Indian ethos. Design of a character plays an important role for every story. A character gets implemented in various means of entertainment like film, series, gaming, movements, comics, books, etc. All these means helps the character to achieve the attention of the people and popularity. Cartoon character design is connected to media imaging and based on marketing strategies. Country isn't simply environmental or physical yet is, indeed, similar to a person, that is, a living element with a body, life, brain, soul and with a one of a kind of disposition and virtuoso. In this point of view to be on an Indian way, it is intentionally and eventually open to and tuned in to the spirit and psyche of India. In this thesis it has been focused on the creation of cartoon characters having the Indian back drop and to find out the unique elements prevalent in India. With the help of these unique elements create cartoon character design which signifies the Indian tradition culture, style with aesthetic attire. Indian states house specific cultural and language population. This thesis work has confined on Six culturally rich states to find out elements of cartoon characters which can be called easily Indian cartoon characters. Character configuration is regular to all fields in the visual media industry, regardless of whether in film, publicizing, games or print. Creator thinks of characters and visual arrangements that pass a message to a target audience which they would be able to relate to their entertainment needs and intellectual capability. The gesture poster of the character may differ from studio to studio but the basic principles remain common. While making the character, the designer is given an idea regarding the look, style and story of the character and then the designer concentrates on the works related to the given idea . It was hypothesized that identification of design elements revealing Indianness through cartoon characters and animation representing India in a socio culturally provincialized discourse would facilitate its communicative expression. The aim of the thesis is to look into the possibility of design elements from the prevailing practices at various art forms, ornamentation and decoration responsible for communicative expression of Indian-ness can be used as guidelines for cartoon characters and animation representing Indian ethos. First level of study was conducted on students and their guardians to know their liking about cartoon animation films or series. The outcome confirmed that students were mostly influenced by the foreign cartoons (as easy available to view in comparison of Indian made ones) and they use to copy their favorite cartoon characters in their daily lives. It led to think when kids behavioral changing look place after watching cartoon, series of e-learning sources material may be made available to make subject matter more attractive. Guardians showed interest towards Indian-ness and they want to give their children the flavour of Indian tradition, culture, aesthetic and ethnicity through the animated cartoon design. The question raised if a series of Indian identity cartoon character is developed and used in appropriate to infotainment using modern techniques be beneficial in today's context. From this first level of understanding a philosophical thinking led the main experimental work to design cartoon elements having Indianness flavour. The base of this main experiment was the unique elements of Six culturally enriched provincial characteristics by detailing the elements and define Indianness through it. The whole thesis work is presented in four chapters. Chapter I: INTRODUCTION: ANIMATION AND CARTOON CHARACTER DESIGN - SETTING GOAL OF BETTER COMMUNICATION The chapter presents a brief review on the animation cartoon character in the industry and prevailed practices abroad and in India, the possibility of a strategy to study in the context of expressing Indian ethos through specifying character ideology as a contributing factor in effective communication. Chapter II: PERCEPTION PREVAILED ON FOREIGN ANIMATION AND INDIAN KIDS This chapter experiments children's liking of animated cartoon characters and views of their guardians that motivates looking into the need for designing cartoon character in a new way with specific reference to Indian viewers. Chapter III: ELEMENTS OF CARTOON CHARACTER REFERENCE TO PERCEPTION OF INDIAN-NESS The third chapter is focused on unique design elements for cartoon character. This study works on potential design elements and unique features for Indian cartoon character design. 209 volunteers or participants who participated in the main experiment were taken from National level (Kendriya Vidyalaya) Schools going children. This experiment was conducted in two phases like such as first part was based on existing cartoon characters and the base of the second part was developed design cartoon character. After the completion of experiment, through statistical analysis the result of the main experiment was justified. Chapter IV: DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSION This chapter sums up the content of the study and discusses experimental results with the statistical points highlights the literature reviews. This chapter describes the detailing of the unique elements used to develop cartoon character having Indianness. This chapter also gives an overview of the limitation and recommendation. The research approach of this thesis was story telling through cartoon character putting interest in kids or children. Recognition of cartoon character elements through the assessment of these unique elements, influenced by socio-cultural and economic perspectives of Indianness. It engages the recognition as well as the development of the existing basic cartoon characters socio cultural and specific expression of human body components with specific reference to eye the most expressive.Item (A) study on customized visual image representation from the target group for social awareness communication (In Indian Context)(2023) Das, BappaThe thesis is a qualitative attempt to investigate varied information components (emphasizing human image representation) and their layout patterns in social awareness campaign posters from an artist researcher’s understanding of visual communication point of view. Visual communication enriches through presentation in combination of visuals and text, and their varied combinations. Users’ acceptance relevance specifically concerns when a poster is supported by the visuals depict through photographs of human endorsement of a service theme and product for promotion, and thus a poster presentation of a message gets a desired acceptance. In this issue, the present work investigates if the human figures presented in some Government sponsored social awareness (India current context specific) campaign posters are providing a good sense of acceptance by the target users while decoding and accepting the message. An image creates more impact than written words, and we become more dependent upon visual media for coping today’s life of technology domination. The power of a visual image is proven to be essential for emotion creation and influencing our decision of accepting. The thesis key points are: • Celebrity image of an awareness campaign and relevance to local target group. • For national campaign, a single grid framework can be considered when in the cosmopolitan city area, celebrity images and others area bilingual campaign can be made with target group human figure representatives. • The human figure represents may be considered this specific field of expertise that link to the campaign content and context in long run. Further experimentations on a schematic composition for a national awareness campaign, to cater different people including urban and rural diversity, with the same campaign text in varied language and visual images can have a practical clarity where other relevant elements/ components having authoritative and endorsement value may follow the identical position.Item (A) Study on Design Elements in Craft Practices with Special Reference to Textile and Basketry of Northeast India(2007) Barua, UtpalAbstract not found.Item (A) Study on the Perception and Acceptance of Wrist- Worn Wearable Fitness Tracker and Development of Intervention Models for Enhancing the Acceptance and Prolonged Use of the Devices, Ensuring a Healthy Ageing(2022) Sarkar, SwatiThere is a significant societal change in the world with the growth in the ageing population. Older adults are likely to accumulate some health sternness with age, often leading to the functional disability with time. Assistive devices are an excellent resource in such cases, but independence is compromised to some extent. However, prevention is better than cure; if disabilities in older age can be prevented, assuring freedom, one can enhance the essence of living irrespective of any generation. With proper maintenance of physical fitness and psychological well-being, it is possible to eradicate the sufferings associated with older age. Also, adequate health care before even hitting the older age ensures healthy ageing. Physical activity has been considered an essential health factor. Monitoring and promoting physical activity in day-to-day life can tremendously improve health outcomes. There is a significant positive effect on physical and cognitive health in people irrespective of age. Studies have revealed that despite the age stereotypes, the benefits of exercise are brilliant even in very old age. Nowadays, young people are pretty conscious about health and fitness, but older adults often do not indulge in physical activity; a more considerable fraction of the more ageing adult population involves them in sedentary lifestyles with the negative stereotype of ageing. However, wearable fitness trackers play a significant role in motivating people to indulge in a healthy lifestyle. With the increase in health awareness among people, the use of fitness devices has significantly increased. Wearable Fitness Technology is an innovative technology that has already established its benchmark in the world market. There are various categories of people intending to avail of this facility. These devices positively motivate users to indulge in fitness regimes and derive health benefits. Also, these devices can provide basic information regarding the vital physiological changes in the body, which might require professional attention. These devices are already motivating the younger users to indulge in fitness regimes and hence derive health benefits; the ageing population is the most challenging group to be encouraged into the fitness regime. Although wearable fitness trackers’ sales are significant, it faces challenges in their sustainable usage. Reports say users tend to abandon wearable devices in less than six months. The market survey of these wearables reveals a gradual increase in their sales. However, the sustainable engagement and adherence to these products diminish with time. With the advancement in Wearable Technology, researchers have received opportunities with a new wave of research. However, most research has focused on establishing these devices' reliability and accuracy; very little research focuses on providing adoption and acceptance interventions. The existing technology acceptance models have been studied and analysed to understand the underlying cause of lack of adherence and unsustainability in their usage. It has been observed that there lie some gaps and missing links in the existing models while studying people’s perception towards the Wearable Fitness Trackers. In order to fill those voids, respective models have been developed which incorporates the micro-determinants that can assist in the development of a modified version of such devices to ensure sustainable engagement towards these devices. This study also includes the design development of the conceptualised model of Wearable Fitness Trackers that may include the exclusiveness within the scope of inclusiveness to ensure the customer engagement that too on a wide range of people.Item Aesthetic continuum of contemporary folk paintings of india: case study of five traditional practices(2013) Thakurta Roy, ShatarupaIndian folk artistry is uniquely recognized all over the world not only for rich aesthetics but also as indicators of age-old habitual belief. They comprise of tacit knowledge that is protected by passing on through generations. Apart from the act of customary decorations on ephemeral foundations, Indian painters-storytellers cum singers perennially depict life and death, victory and defeat, good and evil, in the regional folk paintings. The roving minstrels for over two thousand years have disseminated moral values through their painted scrolls and performance to the rural society that has equally reached past the overseas audiences. By counting contemporary folk art only as a community practice that strictly adheres to a tradition, may undermine the folk artist as a creative individual who significantly contributes to the tradition to keep it alive. The present study shifts its focus from the conventional ethnographic approach and instead, probes into the responsiveness of present day folk artists who use their freedom of experimentation to move forward. The contemporary form of Indian folk art primarily focuses on a wide dispersion of the otherwise localized content and hence making it more significant and worthwhile of analytical studies. Regional folk paintings from five adjoining states in India have been selected for the field study. It shows the paintings distinctively vary in their styles in different regions but connect through the common literary sources. It gives a larger picture of how the country as a whole is integrated by a common cultural profile in spite of immense ethnographic diversity. The mainstream academic style of art synergized with the principle of vernacular folk and tribal art to boost nationalism and modernism in Indian art scene. Social reformers of pre and postcolonial era particularly realized the role and significance of folk art in the revival of indigenous culture. 20th Century technological empowerments lead to a notable change in Indian popular taste causing a temporary decline to Indian folk art and culture. The research traces how the tradition survived this crisis in spite of trivial patronage and reached its contemporary form. The realization hypothetically reformulates effective means of sustenance of a cultural practice, the practitioners and other stakeholders.Item An Analysis of Textiles designs of the Tai-Phake and Tai-Khamiyang communities(2014) Ghoshdastidar, Jabeen RahmanThe tradition of Ethnic textile design plays a pivotal role in modern contemporary fashion and fabric industry. The inventions and innovations involved in this industry, especially in the context of design, pattern and color are continuously evolving with the advancement of technology each and every day. Generally the traditional knowledge of any discipline is not organized, and therefore should be researched and converted into a science. The knowledge of traditional textiles specially needs to be leveraged and re-created with conversions, transformation and amalgamated for value added editions so as to remain imbibed within the realm of the upcoming generation. More so, to remain alive as a living tradition. Silk in Assam is not just a culture but a tradition, not just history but a way of life, that fits into the socio economic structure of the people, and woven around the society just like the thread around the cocoon, to be established as a legend in world history. The journey of the textile fabric in Assam and North East India is equally important and interesting, since Assam has been the innovator of many aspects related to this industry, especially the culture of (The Golden thread), white Mulberry silk, (commonly called the and , the thermal yarn. Textile designing is a technical and creative field that has the capability of bridging the gap between fashion design, home d़cor and furnishing. Without it, even the most contemporarily raved about Automobile industry, would not be complete because the upholstery is always of such fabricated material. Early transports, from the carriage, rickshaw, to zamindari Tonga all were directly related to the fulfillment of human contentment and a purposeful lifestyle. Fabrics (like plays an inevitable part in our daily life. Each morning we climb out of the bed sheets and blankets, and step into a robe and slippers. After a wash we dry ourselves with towels, and get properly dressed, with clothing of our choice. During the entire day we use and are dependent on varied woven materials, including the vehicle tyres that are reinforced with strong woven chords. Thus the importance of textile in our day to day life is multifaceted.Item Assistive design intervention to reduce Occupational Ergonomic stress among Women Handloom Weavers of Assam(2014) Pandit, SangeetaAbstract not availableItem Automobile Design : Approaches to understanding visual form(2011) Jaafarnia, MohsenAutomobile Design: Approaches to understanding visual Form. by Mohsen Jaafarnia Doctor of Philosophy in Design Department of Design, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati India Supervisor: Professor Ravi MokashiPunekar Today, body designs of vehicles such as personal cars differ from brand to brand. The challenges of globalization have led to situations wherein manufacturers are prone to introduce an already existing model into new markets, especially emerging ones in developing countries. When such new markets get crowded with competition, manufacturers start customizing the designs developed elsewhere, to suit local preferences. An understanding of visual form- an important aspect of design semantics is a critical factor for the designer to influence the user's aesthetic decision in the purchase of products. Human, animal and insect life forms in the creation of man-made product forms are increasingly inspiring designers. This research attempts to understand the processes and approaches to understanding visual form based on semantics framework of Ferdinand di Saussure.Considering the external form of the car as the focus of study, the research reports the results of the analysis of the users response to the emotion set for the front face and body of carDs derived from five approaches viz. Repertory Grid Technique, Semantic Differential technique, Co-relation Technique, Relation Technique and technique of visual analysis of form. Based on the insights drawn from these studies it has attempted to derive a set of Dvisual keyD that corresponds to different emotional expressions that can help designers to derive expressive styles for cars. Attempt is made to validate the findings by generating concept drawings for a desired expression of car forms for two car manufacturers. Two approaches to generation of car form has been attempted: One method is based on drawing upon the graphical keysD derived from the experiments conducted as part of this research and the other is based on a bio-design method, that were used to semantically transfer common expressions to a carDs face. Such studies with respect to form preferences for automobile design offer diverse challenges. Factors include studies in form preference, cultural preference, economic influences, technology literacy, gender and regional preferences This thesis uses an empirical methodology involving user response to two-dimensional images. The data assimilated, based on a semantic framework, has attempted to outline a methodology for deriving Dvisual keysD as guidelines for automobile designers to generate expressive forms for cars. It has evolved an approach that covers the wide domains of history of the evolution of car forms; visual approach for form analysis of car forms; and user response to car face based on a semantic framework. The research work aims at understanding visual preference in the design of external form of cars amongst two targeted user groups (India and Iran). These objectives are met through: 1. Tracing and mapping factors that influenced the development of aesthetics in automobile form from a historical perspective. 2. Understanding Design elements involved in the aesthetic preferences of car face and car body designs from amongst potential and existing car users. 3. Identifying the design elements that contribute to the evoked feelings through analysis of visual form by professional.Item Cinema Is Missing: In Search of the Ontological Temperature of Being in Northeast India(2021) Madhukaillya, MrigankaThe present investigation looks at cinematic forms from Northeast India in order to understand whether this specific geo-body has been the locus of the creation of an indigenous cybernetic modelling of the world. As the title indicates, my position is that the cinematic medium as such was not fully used as a modelling tool; the thesis attempts to understand this situation by addressing it from a variety of angles: coming from the history and philosophy of cinema; from indigenous conceptions of time in relation to Indian and western ones; from technology, both analogue and digital; from design and cybernetics. The core question that this research asks pertains to the cybernetic potential of cinema. In other words, this research sets out to explore the localised control feedback loop or rhythm structure in cinema and liberate it from the singular closed loop system. As a product of Western Modernity, created in order to respond to the industrialized time of the production line, cinema has made its way into the Northeast imaginary in complex ways. In the course of the thesis, I analyze both mainstream movies from Assam and avant-garde attempts from both Assam and Manipur, in order to understand how the medium was received and explored, and to what ends. Furthermore, I make a case for the non-western turn in contemporary cinema, by looking at innovative ways in which Asian filmmakers have exploded the conventions of montage-based cinema. By touching upon my own practice with the media collective Desire Machine Collective, I attempt to compare the translation of different concepts of time into technical conventions. The analysis will lead us to explore the possibility of developing conventions to create an ontological cinema. In that sense, the implied negative assessment in the title is but an opportunity to reflect upon further possibilities of a changing medium in a radically changing world.Item Comparative study of users' Experiential Data collection Techniques for Human computer Interaction Design in cross cultural Setting(2009) Kumar, JyotiUser Centred Design (UCD) process employed in solving design problems in the area of Human Computer Interaction, has to rely on the data from the users to generate predictive usersD mental models of the interaction. These mental models become the basis of specifications and heuristics for the designers to conceptualize new interaction patterns and Graphic User Interfaces for software products. As computers become ubiquitous, the need for understanding usersD mental models from a deeper cognitive level, rather than the surface level as is currently being practiced, has become necessary. Designers need qualitatively rich data from the users about their experiences which often the users of a computing product are not capable of expressing. The difference between usersD and designersD mental models has increased due to cross cultural design situations where designers from one culture are designing interactive systems for users form another culture. This cross cultural design context requires data gathering techniques which are suitable to different cultures and are sensitive to cross cultural differences in users. Current practices of extracting data from the users are more concentrated on getting the functional and operational requirements of the users rather than experiential information. This requires search and validation of new data gathering techniques for use in experiential design process. This thesis recognises userDs experiences with interactive system as a conglomeration of instances of aesthetic, affective and intellectual experiences that the users undergo with the elements of interactive systems like, icons, menu items, error messages etc. An interaction designer has to make design decisions pertaining to theses different elements of the interaction design. Three categories of such design decisions have been identified, decisions pertaining to the DelementalD, DcompositionalD and DtransitionalD levels of interaction. At elemental level, designer takes decisions about the DelementsD of interaction, that is, the icons, buttons, images, graphic elements etc. At compositional level, it is the visual balance and the gestalt of composition of screen that the designer is concerned about and at transitional level, designer has to decide about the transition between the screens. Designers need suitable techniques to gather experiential data from users pertaining to the three levels of design decisions in order to take informed decisions. In this thesis four user data gathering techniques identified from literature, namely - Mind Tape, Think Aloud, Repertory Grid and Semantic Differential - have been investigated through experimentation involving over 290 users across three different cultures - Indian, Chinese and Danish for their ability to gather experiential data in cross cultural situations. The four techniques have been compared for their ability to mine data from the users at a deeper experiential level. Results indicate that though Mind Tape technique is resource demanding, it yields good experiential data at the Transitional level. Repertory Grid Technique on the other hand is more versatile and can be used to aid all levels of design decisions. Based on the empirical and qualitative analysis of the experimental results, this thesis proposes a new combinatorial use of the four techniques. HCI designing heuristics are proposed.Item Crafting A Change - Service Design Perspective for Sustained Behaviour Change(2020) Mahamuni, RaviServices and technologies are continuously evolving, and new solutions are continually being designed, tested and implemented. However, it is often that service users and stakeholders are either slow in adopting new service interventions or may not be using the services regularly or are even resistant to use them. Behavioural theories have been rejuvenated in recent years by economists looking for ways to explain numerous biases in economic choices. Taking into account the role of behaviour change early in the process of problem-solving can help understand and facilitate stakeholders’ behaviour and increase the chances of new solutions being adopted and becoming successful. It is especially true in the Service Design life cycle. However, Service Designers are not fully utilising behavioural knowledge due to a lack of coherent and actionable guidance. The CraftChange Framework is a simple, pragmatic integrated framework for combining Service Design with behaviour change. The CraftChange Framework enables designers to address the concerns of relevant stakeholders to increase the likelihood of a service getting implemented. It enables the Service Designer to be mindful about sustainability concerns and a human touchpoint’s soft concerns during the Service Design life cycle and design for the progression of service users’ long-lasting behaviour change.Item Data Entry Errors in Rural Context : Evaluation and Design of Efficient Error Limiting Intelligent Interface for Rural and Semi-urban Indian Data Entry Operators(2016) Salve, ShrikantWith the rise of Rural- Business Process Outsourcing (Rural-BPOs) in India, employment opportunities as data entry operators have increased greatly for the rural / village youth. However, it is a challenging task for rural-BPOs working in a developing country like India to maintain expected high quality during data entry. One of the reason of extra effort is lower usability factor of software employed for data entry. There is also lack of expertise in designing user interfaces for such data entry software, especially failing to address localized field constraints that can, if incorporated, ensure high quality of transcription with low rate of errors. There may be cultural issues / challenges like differences between local spoken language and input language (English) by data entry operators working at rural-BPOs. Therefore, to address the above challenges we have conceived, prototyped and developed ELIIDE - tool after studying existing literature, data collection and considering usability aspects of rural-BPOs. ELIIDE- tool is supported with intelligent features like- (i) display of autocomplete suggestion for text field by ranking strategy based on likelihood, (ii) predictive text entry widget, (iii) radio button with most likely options and (iv) dynamic drop-down split-menu. The interface uses local Marathi language to communicate with user / operator. The communication happens in terms of error and feedback messages. The experiments were conducted to compare two user interfaces, one of them newly designed interface (ELIIDE- tool) and second - the existing user interface used currently by the rural operators. The participants included 224 professionals (rural-BPO operators and polytechnic students training to become BPO operators) who volunteered for the study. Results highlight there is significant difference between intelligent user interface and existing user interface in terms of errors, speed and time. It has also been observed that ELIIDE tool can positively affect operators subjective experience. Therefore, we conclude that, intelligent user interface design features do affect the operator’s performance in terms of improved accuracy and speed with decrease in operators’ cognitive load which increases system usability and enhances user satisfaction. This is attributable to the intelligent features incorporated in ELIDIDE interface such as dynamic, predictive, and adaptive. It is also attributable to the incorporation of user specific features related to local language and error prompting capabilities specific to errors made by rural operators. Further it is inferred by feedback that users are willing to continue using this ELIIDE interface for data entry. The thesis argues for incorporating user specific prompting local features that intelligently cater to the group's error patterns over general prompts that user software normally provides. It posits that local language prompts with voice over are more acceptable to rural operators as compared to screen based visual prompts alone.Item Design & Implementation of Intuitive and User-Friendly Citizen-Centric Websites for Government of Assam for Sustainable eGovernance(2021) Pyarelal, SuchitraE-Government systems targeted at various stakeholders aim to promote good governance and to bring in more efficiency, transparency, and accountability. The overall ease with which the end-user can avail the services from an E-Government system is paramount to its usefulness and thereby its effectiveness. The Government-to-citizens (G2C) interactions offer the widest range of information and services. The E-Government Systems built for Government to Citizen (G2C) services are intending to provide quality services, in the minimum possible time. The main benefit is improved relations between a government and its citizens. In such systems, some features require a fine balance in confidentiality and transparency. The user experience of a citizen begins from the time of receiving the information about a service and its benefits and accessing the service through multiple channels to the final interaction with the system itself. The end-to-end experience of the interaction that the user has with the system can be termed as the human-system or human-computer interaction (HCI). The different stages combine to form the user experience. Although E-Government is high on the agenda of the Indian Government and many resources are set-aside for it, E-Government systems still face significant challenges as it continues to evolve. The success of electronic service delivery is not always clear. Adoption and use of the new services are still rather limited and need to be stimulated. The focus of the research is on improving the information and services delivery through the E-Government websites in the context of the Government of Assam. The research work is combined with real-life implementation of websites and the learnings factored into the EGovernment website development model and framework.Item Design considerations for comfortable motorcycle riding posture: Ergonomics perspective(2021) Arunachalam, MWith the exponential growth of the population, the number of motorcycle users in India is increasing rapidly. The number was reported as 40 million by 2016. Injures and accidental death due to motorcycle mishaps are in an upward trend in recent years in comparison to other modes of transportation. One major aspect associated with these accidents is the ignorance of proper consideration of human factor issues in motorcycle design. Out of various human factor issues, prevalent postural distress among the Indian riders might be an important root cause of these road accidents. Thus, it is essential for designers/ engineers to find the comfortable riding posture (CRP - which was perceived to be comfortable or no discomfort by the rider) and optimum riding position during the conceptual phase of motorcycle design. Moreover, it is worthy to note that there are various databases on the CRP (based on comfort joint angles), anthropometry and range of motion (ROM) for four-wheeler drivers, but there is no reported similar database for motorcyclist in Indian context. Thus, it is very important for automobile industries to develop the databases on standard motorcycle rider’s anthropometry and ROM, since standard motorcycles are widely used as a mode of commute by Indian riders. The problem was addressed with the systematic approaches: (a) Development of an instrument for measuring key dimensions of standard motorcycles. (b) Considering the dimensional variations of standard motorcycles, the adjustable motorcycle test-rig and experimental set-up were constructed. (c) With the help of an adjustable test-rig; CRP and optimum riding position were estimated from the representative sample of the Indian motorcycle riders. Perceived comfort/discomfort ratings, image process techniques, and Taguchi optimization techniques were adopted for this purpose. The measurements were also tested for trustworthiness using alternate-form and intra-/inter observer reliability technique. (d) Statistical analyses were used to establish the association of the rider’s physical attributes (anthropometric, and ROM) with the CRP, as well as with comfortable riding position (RP - position which was perceived to be comfortable or no discomfort by the rider). It is expected that the findings on rider’s anthropometry, ROM, CRP and optimum RP will be immensely useful for automobile industries to design a new or redesigning of existing motorcycle to ensuring better comfort. Design of motorcycle based on the anthropometric and ROM data for defining optimal riding position and thereby comfortable riding posture would certainly reduce muscular discomfort/ pain of the motorcyclists.Item Design Development of an Amphibian Ambulance for Riverine Areas(2018) Boruah, DipankaDespite rapid urbanisation, majority of the population of Assam inhabit the remote rural areas, and out of this population, 2.5 million people live in the riverine island (popularly known as char- chapari areas in local Assamese language). Many places in riverine areas in Assam are totally inaccessible by road in spite of expanding rural road networks under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) (Prime Minister’s Rural Road Scheme). These riverine islands and many other areas are affected by floods created by the river Brahmaputra and its tributaries in monsoons. As a result, the health services for the people living in these areas are badly affected. To provide health care facilities to the riverine areas, the C-NES (Centre for North East Studies and Policy Research) first developed innovative ideas for implementation to reach the poor and marginalised group by introducing boat based health services called boat clinics. Later, when Government of India introduced NRHM (National Rural Health Mission) to make health services available to the rural population, Government of Assam based on success of boat clinic operated by C-NES, collaborated with it through expansion of boat clinic to make health services available to riverine rural communities in Assam. Although the government expanded boat clinics to cover bigger area, people found it difficult to access these in emergencies, since patients cannot be easily transported by road to these boat clinics in absence of proper road. To bridge this gap requires appropriate ambulances. It was found that, in most of the developing countries people need to travel to health care centres by walking or by taking whatever mode of transport is available including buses, rural taxis, private cars, bicycles, animal-drawn carts and local stretchers (Starkey, 2005). To facilitate access to medical services, local communities and transport service providers can work together to plan an appropriate and sustainable transport technology/system. The prototype of the proposed amphibian ambulance has been designed and developed as a part of doctoral research in the Department of Design, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG). Workshop based prototype of the amphibian ambulance followed by refined field experiments and field trials were carried out at IIT Guwahati campus and Aminagon primary health centre, a location adjacent to IIT Guwahati beside the river Brahmaputra with participatory approach. While the field trials were carried out, it was found that the vehicle was safe for operation from the view of user friendly, comfort, easy access, protection from natural elements and also sustainable for the riverine people, which was a fully amphibian featured and worked both on land and in water.Thus this research is contextual research endeavour for design development of sustainable amphibian ambulance for riverine people in Assam to be socially responsible in the long run.Item Design Development of an Indigenous Tricycle Rickshaw(2007) Das, Amarendra KumarThe localised issues of meeting transportation needs of vast masses of population that can not afford a personal vehicle and to meet the limitations of public transportation systems needs consideration for alternative viable means that are contextual. Human powered tricycle rickshaw still fulfills this need. In addition to this, there are variations based on tricycles used as delivery vans with boxy storage compartments, goods carrier and school children van to name a few that are put to use to fulfile the localized transportation need .Item Design Development of Post-Disaster Transitional Shelter(2023) Dev, Kankana NarayanTransitional Housing is a crucial intermediate phase in the disaster recovery process, where the affected population resides for a temporary period until they can return to their habitats. The built environment today is affected more and more by rapid and drastic changes due to human-made and natural disasters. Presently, Humanitarian Aid of disaster relief shelters functioning the role of transitional shelters is often in the form of plastic sheets, tents, prefabricated units, and public community buildings such as community centres, schools, hospitals, university halls of residence, places of worship, sports venues, and private rentals. The providence of such facilities is often carried out by the government administrations, NGOs, and Humanitarian Aid Agencies. The term of residence in such facility ranges from days to years, which disrupts the normal functioning of the public institution that is used to house the displaced population, especially schools and colleges. The study begins by studying the impact of disasters and Humanitarian Aid with a focus on Shelter Aid. The definition of transitional accommodation by several aid agencies is analysed with the help of case study of transitional shelters implemented in the aftermath of past disasters. We identified essential characteristics of transitional housing by making a comparative review of different solutions developed in the past in the global context by universities, architects, designers, engineers, manufacturers, NGOs, and governments. The objective of this research is to develop the design guidelines for transitional shelter aftermath of a flood disaster, with a focus to create dignified living conditions which are both environmentally sustainable and economically feasible. The context of the study is the Flood Plains of the Brahmaputra Valley in the North Eastern state of Assam, India which gets flooded annually displacing thousands of people. The residents of the flood-plains and scattered river islands in the form of sandbars of the Brahmaputra basin reside there due to the available fertile land for agricultural activity. Evidence of architectural adaptation in the form of ‘chang ghar’ or houses on stilts is observed in the indigenous tribal houses to address the floods. Most households had personal boats for transportation during floods. A sequential mixed method approach is used in this research. The qualitative phase focused on selected study of three flood-prone settlements in the Brahmaputra Valley. This study documents the rural homesteads lifestyle in the valley by a selective survey of households from three locations which are annually affected by floods. Visual documentation supported by draft measured drawing and user interviews are used to study the homesteads, which are mostly nonengineered. Salient building elements are identified and documented. Structural components, Comfort, Material Technology, Architectural Design, Sanitation and Waste Management are studied in detail to understand the lifestyle of the people and the cultural influences. Further, analysis is made to understand the housing response to the disaster profile of the context. The genre of transportable, flexible and ephemeral architecture is rapidly expanding in the Humanitarian Shelter Aid sector. The research proceeds with the development of a full-scale prototype of a temporary shelter kit model made using the locally abundant material of Bamboo with community participation. The full-scale prototype underwent three iterations until March 2020. The design criteria are determined by the analysis of different aspects that could contribute to the optimization of the final product: life in relief shelter camps, essential qualities of a domestic environment, its spaces and functions, general requirements set by aid organizations and technical strength requirements. Bamboo is considered as a material for construction due to its availability in abundance, a renewable resource, and because many people in the region reside in houses made of Bamboo. From the findings of the design exercise, we realize that Bamboo is the most appropriate material for use in transitional housing across the region of Assam. The structural stability with thermal comfort and privacy contribute to the cultural acceptance of the shelter type. The design development involved the community at every step of its conception to develop ownership over the project and also the construction of the same. However, the storage of the shelter kit of non-treated Bamboo was found to be a challenge. We also explored the option of enterprise development of the shelter kit to establish the delivery of the shelter locally within the community as part of disaster preparedness.Item Design Intervention for Mechanisation of Tealeaf Harvesting to Improve Productivity and Efficiency (A case study of an improved harvesting device in the context of Assam, India)(2017) Kakati, VikramjitThe Indian tea industry is one of the major foreign revenue earners for the country. It is one of the major employers of women. Many of the activities, especially the tea-leaf plucking activity (constituting 40 percent of the total cost of production of tea leaves) performed by the women workers. The tea industries of Assam, in are facing revenue losses during recent times. One of the main factors is shortage of workforce engaged in field operations. Studies have shown that acute shortage of workforce takes place in the tea plucking activities during peak season due to various socio-economic reasons. Due to the manpower shortage, a considerable quantity of available tea leaves for tea making remains unplucked. This directly affects the overall production of made tea and hence on the revenue earnings by the tea gardens. In this scenario, the only suitable solution to the problem appears to be the adaptation of mechanised harvesting. The purpose of this research is to formulate a solution for mechanised harvesting which should be economical and suitable for tea gardens of Assam. To accomplish the stated purpose; a combination of research methods featuring literature survey, questionnaire, direct observation, one to one interview for data collection; statistical analysis of the gathered data, work study technique, virtual human modelling and simulation, prototype development and testing has been used. After gathering necessary information, it was felt that for tea gardens of Assam, a single operator handheld battery-powered rotary type tea harvesting machine with high productivity in comparison to presently available machines with a similar mode of operation will be the best solution. The prototype of the proposed machine was developed at Department of Design, IIT Guwahati and field trials were carried out at Dolaguri Tea Estate located in Numoligarh, Assam with a participatory approach.Item Design methodology for product designers in the context of personal 3D printing(2018) Turbovich, Zuk NechemiaMany literary and other informative sources refer to 3D printing technologies as one of the generators of the next industrial revolution. Alongside the expansion of the variety of the manufacturing means for industrialists, for the first time in human history, the common people get the chance to own an automatic manufacturing machine that has a potential to dramatically change the way of how they purchase and interact with sustainable products. In recent years, desktop personal 3D printers have become available for sale throughout the Internet, and despite that the common people have not found interest in these revolutionary machines. The prime motivation for this doctoral research was derived from an attempt to understand the reasons for the clear gap that exists between the market, which offers affordable personal 3D printers (P3DP) to the potential customers that do not show any willingness to buy these machines. The definitive goal of this research was to establish a product design methodology for products that are supposed to be manufactured by P3DPs, so that product designers will truly understand the possibilities and the limitations in this context and will be able to contribute their part in enhancing the personal 3D printing field. The research included a literature review that reviewed literary sources from 3D printing, product design methodologies, mass-customization, and user involvement fields. The literature review revealed few insights in regard to market faults that derive from lack of standardization and assisted to establish the theoretical basis of the research questionnaire that was conducted as part of this research. The questionnaire was designed to examine how the common people perceive P3DPs, and the analysis of it has revealed few interesting complicated insights that shed more light on the reasons that cause the mentioned gap. Further to the questionnaire, the research included a comprehensive market review that examined free CAD software and websites that offer products that are supposed to be manufactured by P3DPs, and industrial 3DPs. Conclusions and insights that emerged from the market review, have become to be substantial factors that came to an expression at the establishment of the definitive methodology.Item Design of human-centred augmented reality learning system for laboratory training based on smart object interfacing(2019) Srivastava, AnmolThis thesis presents a basis for design of a novel smart learning system for educational practical electronics laboratory sessions. The system consists of augmented reality and an intelligent breadboard that are used in conjunction to help students perform and learn practical experiments with ease. The intelligent breadboard senses errors such as wrong or loose electrical connections occurring while prototyping electronic circuits and are highlighted to students via text and voice-based interface on a digital tablet. Further, a mobile augmented reality application provides interactive visualization to students regarding circuit assembly, operating test equipment and theoretical concepts overlaid onto real world. The work presented is a part of a series of cross-sectional user usability testing studies and design investigations made towards developing smart learning system for use in complex learning environments and envisioning future learning technologies.