Advanced Engineering Informatics 23 (2009) 191200

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Advanced Engineering Informatics

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/aei

A vision-oriented approach for innovative product design

Chyun-Chau Lin a, Ding-Bang Luh b,*
a b

Department of Product Design, Shu-Te University, No. 59, Hengshan Rd., Yanchao, Kaohsiung County, Taiwan 82445, ROC Department of Industrial Design, National Cheng Kung University, No.1, University Rd., Tainan City, Taiwan 70101, ROC

a r t i c l e

i n f o

a b s t r a c t
Nowadays, business globalization, complex consumer requirements, and high technology development have led to vigorous business competition and market uncertainty. In new product design, it is increasingly important to put more emphasis on innovative concerns than quality and speed of production. Providing unique, innovative and value-added products becomes a crucial strategy for success. This study aims to develop a new product design process that concentrates on radical innovations. Visioning thinking, TRIZ, Image Scale, and Morphological Analysis are integrated for developing designs with a balance of rational/logical analyses and intuitive/creative thinking. The proposed process fullls the need for radical innovation through enriching heuristic thinking. It is a useful methodology that adds value to products in terms of technological functions, form perceptions, and holistic usability. A proposal of therapy bike design for cerebral palsy children is demonstrated using the new process. Through case demonstration, designers could enhance products with human-centered values while coping with market uncertainty effectively. The applicability of the vision-oriented approach for innovative product design is veried. 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Article history: Received 10 November 2007 Accepted 27 October 2008 Available online 4 December 2008

1. Introduction Intensive development of production technology and popular use of the Internet, as well as the increasing interdependence between countries and people, have led to competition and uncertainty in business markets. It is increasingly important to focus new product development (NPD) on innovative concerns more than quality and speed of production. Providing unique, innovative and value-added products becomes a crucial strategy for success to any rm. Product design, the critical factor during the early phase of NPD [1,2] needs to pay special attention to radical innovations. Various researchers have discussed and developed approaches and processes to enhance the innovative values in products [1,37]. These researches essentially follow a conventional problem-oriented strategy, in which general design methods, including brainstorming, focus group, market research and observation, and more advanced tools such as Kansei engineering, fuzzy theory method, shape grammar, QFD, CAD, etc. are adopted [816]. Most researchers optimize, upgrade or redesign products to fulll consumers physical and psychological needs and to meet consumers expectations derived from their experiences. These processes and methods are effective for redesigning existing products for current
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +886 6 2757575x54334; fax: +886 6 2746088. E-mail addresses: frank@mail.stu.edu.tw (C.-C. Lin), luhdb@mail.ncku.edu.tw (D.-B. Luh). 1474-0346/$ - see front matter 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.aei.2008.10.005

customers, when the objective of a rm is product variety or generational improvement [17]. However, the design results are likely to be of incremental innovations, such as ones involving enhanced or differentiated exterior styling. Although the resulting incremental innovations could easily acquire consumers familiarity and stimulate economic activities, they can be imitated easily by competitors and therefore lose the uniqueness and competitive advantages. Hence, developments of more incremental or radical innovations are fundamental to a companys success and prosperity. In terms of radical innovations, some literature on vision from the eld of strategy planning sheds lights on our concerns. Vergragt and Brown [18] stated vision as a heuristic device to map a possibility space, an instrument for inspiring participators to investigate different problem denitions, to test alterative strategies, and to nd shared areas of agreement. Vision is a useful device that can direct and structure actions and behaviors when used appropriately. It has the power to inspire people to depict desired objectives and system requirements, both functional and non-functional. The benet of vision is not restricted to its function as models nor to the description of aims alone. Besides, vision could help to allocate resources, to condense information, to jump across the boundaries of segmented scientic disciplines, and to assess technology and radical innovations [19]. There are accumulating studies and evidence showing that vision has been positively linked to product successes [17,2024]. Hence, this study attempts to integrate a vision approach to product design process for radical ideas.

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2. Need of a vision-oriented approach for product design Vision and visioning are terms now used around the world in organizational level regarding planning, management practices as well as theory [24,25]. The concept of corporate vision has been receiving considerable attention in the strategy scholarship. Thornberry [20] stated that a clear, stable, and lofty organizational vision can provide directions to a company and can positively impact its ability to succeed. Although vision has been discussed in the past three decades, the process of visioning or shaping vision, even in organizations, is not well understood [17]. In 2000, OBrien and Meadows [26] conducted a vision related survey of 100 UK organizations and found 91 reports mentioning organizational vision. Surprisingly, little commonality in developing vision among respondents was found. Most organizations did not have a commonly recognized visioning methodology. For instance, Weingand [27] pointed out the importance of scenarios to envision positive images of the future and suggested three steps: (1) eliciting expert forecasts for a specic time frame with the combination or synthesis of opinions for scenario development; (2) involving the development of different scenarios in various disciplines, and (3) testing the effect of one aspect of the scenario on all of its contributing parts. Strigl [28] focused on perspectives of sustaining technological development and proposed a six-step architecture: (1) networking: forming and positioning a network; (2) visioning: creating long-term guiding visions and future scenarios; (3) backcasting: planning objectives and actions (long-, mid- and short-term); (4) innovating: denition of short term action and goals; (5) experiencing: gaining experiences by concreting the ideas through projects, and (6) reecting: integration of feed-back loops and learning methods. Among these, visioning and backcasting [29,30] are central. OBrien and Meadows [25] proposed a visioning methodology which consists of eight steps: (1) project denition; (2) issue exploration; (3) preparing discussion materials; (4) dialogue and idea generation; (5) producing a shared vision; (6) external analysis and scenario development; (7) testing the vision against the scenarios, and (8) planning for action. Dewberry and Sherwin [31] considered visioning sustainability and argued that techniques utilized in traditional design processes that fuel incremental approaches to designs are inadequate to facilitate foresighting approaches. They emphasized using design-oriented policy and integrated backcasting to create foresights by giving form to, planning for, and visualizing the uncertainties of the future. Vergragt et al. [32] applied stakeholder workshops, creativity methods, normative scenarios, scenario assessments and backcasting analysis in the SusHouse Project [3336] to develop and test strategies for future sustainable households. Brown and Vergragt [18] focused on sustainable mobility and addressed a combination of multi-stakeholder visioning, scenario development and analysis, backcasting, and small-scale socio-technical experiments to foster transitions to sustainable mobility systems. The above research mostly emphasized on public issues with larger scale projects and indicated approaches to provide effective directions for developing project visions. However, pragmatic tools to deal with problems, such as how to explore issues, how to describe a shared scenario, and how to realize the scenario for testing, to name a few, are not specically mentioned. In addition to large public projects, a more powerful vision approach is needed for small or medium scale design projects. Some methods from design disciplines can be useful to improve vision thinking for product design innovations. For example, the reviewing of patent documents can point out important engineering or innovation knowledge for diversifying issues. The framework of 5W1H [37,38] can serve as a conceptual tool to build scenarios. TRIZ [3942], Image Scale, and Morphological Analysis, derived from inventive theory

and form generation research, are effective in functional innovations and product appearances. They can connect the vision to embodiment for more precise testing and validating. 3. Innovative product design process with vision-oriented approach An appropriate approach should integrate knowledge access and design methods, creatively and meaningfully. Therefore, a new process, vision-oriented innovative (VOI) product design process, is proposed with a balance of rational/logical analyses and intuitive/creative thinking. Fig. 1 shows our proposed procedure. The main stages are delineated as follows: (1) Dening project: This takes the form of identifying objects and exploring related considerations of stakeholders or participants who are selected to represent diverse viewpoints. Initially, at least three members are necessary for a team. Setting up interaction platforms for conventional group meetings or group telecommunications is crucial. Submitting a brief on project background to the participants for analyzing and dening the projects current internal/external situations and problems is fundamental. (2) Exploring various issues: Prepare materials for discussion, such as lead users suggestions, trend reports, scientic and technological information, and patent documents, etc. to expand direct and indirect knowledge, to stimulate participants dialogues, and to force participants to highlight key issues. (3) Shaping a shared vision: Ask participants to develop a set of alternative visions describing the future state of the project. The statements of the candidate vision are addressed in a concise sentence or slogan to express ideal images to the participants. General creative methods such as Brainstorming, Synectics, Association, Hope Listing, Delphi Method, etc. could be applied to generate candidate visions. Upon the completion of candidate visions, discussion and debate about the advantages and disadvantages need to be held by the team to revise the visions, to consolidate them into one, and to share and support it with clarity and stability. (4) Building a consensual scenario: In order to connect the desired future to the present state, we need to construct a long-term likely scenario, guided by the shared vision. In this stage, scenarios can be developed beyond objective analyses to include subjective interpretations [43]. 5W1H [37,38] is a feasible framework for analyzing problem systematically, including the essence of the object (What), the essence of the subject (Who), the essence of the background (Why), the problem-existence ways in time and space (When, Where), and the solution of the problem (How). It could assist the team to identify major users, conditions, interactions, among others, and propose a long-term scenario. A short/mid-term scenario is then developed by backcasting, looking backwards from the proposed long-term scenario. (5) Identifying desire-based gaps: Compare the short/mid-term scenario with existing circumstances and list productrelated gaps or problems. Indicate the main problems for major users. Further literature review and research could be carried out if necessary. (6) Developing functional solutions: TRIZ, the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving, is recommended as a supportive method [3942]. Instead using traditional problem solving approach from my problem to my solution, TRIZ suggests systematic approaches from my specic problem to

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Fig. 1. Framework of the VOI product design process.

general problem, general solution, and then to nal my specic solution. Main tools for problem solving include 39 Engineering Parameters, 40 Inventive Principles, and Contradiction Matrix. The main steps of TRIZ are: formulating the specic desire-based problems to abstract problems (Parameters); dening these problems as feature to change and/ or undesired result relating to the Contradiction Matrix; getting suggestions by referring to the most useful principles from the matrix; adopting the suggestions as hints to direct and develop possible solutions; and evaluating and selecting an optimal solution which best ts the desired requirements. (7) Generating appearance alternatives: Although our purpose is to develop radical innovations in functional levels, it does not mean that we need to generate products with strange forms or appearances. Design methods of Image Scale and Morphological Analysis can help shape radical ideas to visualized objects. Image Scale, a design analytic method using visualized diagrams, is effective for participants to reach consensus and to identify desirable images [4448]. Image Scale offers an orthogonal coordinates system composed of two axes with properly selected pairs of adjectives, such as warm-cool and hard-soft. Odd-point scales, for example, between 1 and 7 or 3 and 3, are essential in each axe. It is necessary to prepare a proper amount of preselected product photos. Participants are asked to evaluate these photos in relation to each adjective pair on the scale. Design team could statistically calculate points of each photo and locate its position, or could comparatively posit photos in the scales through group discussions to avoid a time consuming process. The team needs to identify a target

area as a preferable space for further form development, using the sample photos as references. In order to extract design features and elements of collected samples within the targeted area, Morphological Analysis [4951] is introduced. This method utilizes decomposition and forced association as principles to indicate possibilities and create new forms. The product is decomposed into sub-functions or components. Subsequently, the association principle is brought to bind these components together and proposed multiple combinations. (8) Evaluating design feasibility: A list of criteria is established in advance. Ranking method is used for selecting optimal design. (9) Implementing the optimal: More detailed considerations related to ergonomics, engineering design, and manufacturing are introduced subsequently. If the relevant techniques are not available, outsourcing can be considered for implementation of the innovative design. (10) Validating the result: Since some of the designs are more advanced and still could not be realized by current processes, specic types of knowledge based tests, such as expert reviews, patent claims, or prototyping and usability testing are suggested for innovation validation.

4. Application A therapy vehicle designed in 2005 for cerebral palsy children is briey introduced here to demonstrate how the VOI product design process works. It is important to note that this is a conceptual proposal, not a complete prototype.

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4.1. Dening project The therapy vehicle (tricycle or bike) is an important piece of equipment for physical therapy for children with cerebral palsy (CP). It is a mobile and pedaling device for stimulation and strengthening of lower extremities. In addition, coordination, postural alignment, balance, gaits, and cardio-respiratory capabilities could be improved by riding the vehicle. Most existing therapy tricycles employ circular pedaling motion as the operational mode, although few current products provide back-and-forth walking motion for the children with cerebral palsy [52]. These models emphasize on the improvement of the childrens physiological abilities and present with strongly mechanical images. Psychological considerations, such as offering fun and pleasure, or enhancing personal dignity, are not addressed. Observations and interviews of parents show that it is difcult to stimulate CP childrens interest and enhance their enjoyment using existing devices. Hence, the projects objective is to develop a therapy vehicle with innovative functions and friendly image that can provide physiological improvements during riding treatments. 4.2. Exploring various issues Related therapies and patents are reviewed in order to gain direct and indirect knowledge. Literature indicates that children with cerebral palsy could derive considerable benets from horseback riding therapy and the swimming therapy which also provide recreational programs [5361]. Patent survey of tricycles and bicycles provides a knowledge base for viable engineering solutions. Specic mechanisms, such as eccentric wheels, oscillating cranks, seesaw pedals, etc., offer interesting interactions to users [52,6267]. Hence, integrating related kinetic modes of horseback riding therapy or swimming therapy into the cycling trainings, and adopting modied mechanisms from the patents are essential for products with interesting exercise modes. 4.3. Shaping a shared vision The methods of brainstorming and association are used to create desirable visions. Three candidates are used as examples: Happy accommodation: the riding vehicle will be attractive and enjoyable for both cerebral palsy and normal children, Unique esteem: the riding device will provide functions superior to traditional bikes, Merry multi-therapy: integrating specic concepts of recreation therapy into the riding vehicle for more fun. Each has merits and shortcomings. A debate for combining the best idea is conducted. Candidate visions are reviewed to generate a shared vision. Merry multi-therapy is highlighted mostly. It implies that integration with recreation therapy could not only conduct diverse and innovative motions but also enhance benets from a hybrid treatment. Happy accommodation considers peer interactions, and provides fresh perspectives. It could serve to balance the design concerns between cerebral palsy and normal kids. Unique esteem is assumed to be achieved by associating Merry multi-therapy with uniqueness, and by Happy accommodation with esteem. As a result, Merry multi-therapy and Happy accommodation could be integrated and form a shared vision as Merry multi-therapy and accommodation: modes of recreation therapy enhance riding fun for both cerebral palsy and normal kids. 4.4. Building a consensual scenario

Users: Most people are clearly aware of cerebral palsy. Children with cerebral palsy are strongly supported by our society. The therapy vehicle can be used and is suitable for both normal and cerebral palsy children. Tasks: CP children can utilize the device to enhance muscle strength and endurance, coordination, postural alignment, balance, and gait. Besides, interactions with peers are encouraged during the practices. Schedules: CP children can practice riding accompanied by therapists or parents in a regular treatment schedule. The vehicle can be used after school hours. Environments: In addition to inside institutions, the children can also ride the vehicles in gardens, parks, or indoor/outdoor playgrounds. Public environments can offer better opportunities for CP children to broaden their connections and interactions with people. Devices: The vehicle is aesthetic and appealing to the eyes. It is sturdy but not heavy. The vehicle with simple structures and various motion modes provides the children with entertaining experiences. Special mechanisms are installed to ensure the safety of the users. Approach: Simple and suitable motion modes based on recreation therapy are adopted and adapted in the design of the vehicle, which provides entertaining experiences to both normal and CP children. Backcasting analysis is followed to delineate short-term goals. It is easy to construct a human powered mobile mechanism by existing technology. Thus, providing innovative motions for the vehicle is critical. Selecting suitable motion modes from recreation therapy is the key to our design. After detailed reviews, the swimming mode is rejected, since it is difcult to associate it with cycling and riding motions especially for the CP kids. The team prefers horseback riding, because it is gentler and logically connects with riding actions. Moreover, the gaits derived from horseback riding are similar to human walking and assumed helpful to most cerebral palsy children. It could also provide fun and interest to normal city kids who seem instinctively eager to experience horseback riding. 4.5. Identifying desire-based gaps In order to integrate modes of horseback riding into cycle propelling, how to transform cycling powers and provide gait motions become key. An analysis of existing models shows that most therapy vehicles do not offer any walking gait. The only device close to our objective is muscle powered therapeutic vehicle [52] propelled by back-and-forth thigh motion instead of circular pedaling motion. It mainly employs linkages with eccentric connections to specic driving wheels, and converts any extension motion of the riders hips or thighs into the rotational movement of the driving wheels. The driving wheels transmit rotational movements to the rear ground wheels, providing smooth movements of the vehicles. Although the above device requires users to input power through walking motions, the vehicle itself presents smooth movement as the traditional devices do. It does not exactly meet our requirements. However, it provides some hints for the development of motion transformations, for instance, using eccentric connections. The design team surmises that the gaps and problems are most closely related to transmitting components. Finding radical ideas for transmitting cycling inputs into gait outputs is critical for the next step. 4.6. Developing functional solutions

The framework of 5W1H is applied to develop a complete scenario for 2010. A set of key elements such as users, tasks, schedules, environments, devices, etc. are described as follows:

TRIZ is mainly used for nding solutions in this step. Eight of The 39 Engineering Parameters (Table 1) [41] are selected involv-

C.-C. Lin, D.-B. Luh / Advanced Engineering Informatics 23 (2009) 191200 Table 1 The 39 engineering parameters. 1. Weight of mobile object 4. Length of stationary object 7. Volume of mobile object 10. Force 13. Stability of composition 16. Time of action of a stationary object 19. Energy spent by moving object 22. Loss of energy 25. Loss of time 28. Accuracy of measurement 31. Harmful factors developed by an object 34. Repairability 37. Complexity of control 2. Weight of stationary object 5. Area of mobile object 8. Volume of stationary object 11. Tension/ Pressure 14. Strength 17. Temperature 20. Energy spent by stationary object 23. Loss of substance 26. Amount of substance 29. Accuracy of manufacturing 32. Manufacturability 35. Adaptability 38. Level of automation

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3. Length of mobile object 6. Area of stationary object 9. Speed 12. Shape 15. Time of action of moving object 18. Brightness 21. Power 24. Loss of information 27. Reliability 30. Harmful factors acting on an object from outside 33. Convenience of use 36. Complexity of a device 39. Capacity/ Productivity

ing power transmission and usability. Four of these are identied as feature to change including 21. power, 27. reliability, 33. convenience of use, and 35. adaptability. The remaining parameters are identied as undesired result namely 19. energy spent by moving object, 22. loss of energy, 36. complexity of a device, and 37. complexity of control. With the help of Contradiction Matrix, feasible inventive principles are obtained (Table 2). The principles (presented with italic numbers) are ranked by frequencies and showed as: No. 19 (occurs six times), No. 35 (occurs ve times), No. 1 and 13 (occur four times), Nos. 10, 11, 15, 16, 27, 28, 29, and 37 (occur two times), and the others occur only

once. Periodic Action (Principle No. 19) and Transformation of Properties (Principle No. 35) appear more than four times in the table and so are highlighted as candidates. Referring to and comparing with their detailed suggestions (Table 3) [41], Periodic Action is selected as the most suitable principle for development of design briefs as follows: (1) to eccentrically connect the axle to a ground wheel(s) for gait motions in various degrees; (2) to provide available central connections to the axle and a ground wheel(s) for the traditional movement;

Table 2 Partial contradiction matrix with suggested principles. Feature to change Undesired result 19. energy spent by moving object 21. 27. 33. 35. power reliability convenience of use adaptability 16, 6, 19, 37 21, 11, 27, 19 1, 13, 24 19, 35, 29, 13 22. loss of energy 10, 35, 38 10, 11, 35 2, 19, 13 18, 15, 1 36. complexity of a device 20, 13, 32, 15, 19, 35, 26, 29, 30, 34 1 12, 17 37, 28 37. complexity of control 19, 35, 16 27, 40, 28 1

Table 3 Examples of the 40 inventive principles with detailed suggestions. No. 1 Principle Segmentation Descriptions a. Divide an object into independent parts b. Make an object sectional. (for easy assembly and disassembly) c. Increase the degree of an objects segmentation a. Extract the disturbing part or property from an object b. Extract the only necessary part or property from an object . . .. . . a. Change the conditions of the work in such a way that it will not require lifting or lowering an object a. Instead of the direct action dictated by a problem, implement an opposite action (i.e., cooling instead of heating) b. Make the moveable part of an object, or outside environment, stationary and the stationary part moveable c. Turn an object upside-down . . .. a. Replace a continuous action with a periodic one (impulse) b. If the action is already periodic, change its frequency c. Use pauses between impulses to provide additional action a. Carry out an action without a break. All parts of the object should constantly operate at full capacity b. Remove idle and intermediate motion c. Replace back-and-forth motion with a rotating one ... a. Replace a mechanical system with optical, acoustical, thermal or olfactory system b. Use an electrical, magnetic or electromagnetic eld to interact with an object c. Replace elds that are: stationary with mobile; xed with changing in time; random with structured d. Use a eld in conjunction with ferromagnetic particles a. Replace solid parts of an object with gas or liquid. These parts can now use air or water for ination, or use pneumatic or hydrostatic cushions ... a. Change the physical state of the system b. Change the concentration of density c. Change the degree of exibility d. Change the temperature or volume a. Using the phenomena of phase change (i.e., change in volume, the liberation or absorption of heat, etc.) ...

2 ... 12 13

Extraction ... Equipotentiality Do it in reverse

... 19

... Periodic action

20

Continuity of useful action

... 28

... Replacement of a mechanical system

29 ... 35

Pneumatic or hydraulic construction ... Transformation of property

36 ...

Phase transition ...

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(3) to provide adjustable mechanisms to accommodate diverse human statures; (4) to provide a seat belt to fasten users trunk; and (5) to provide foot brakes on the rear wheels to improve braking balance and safety.

4.7. Generating appearance alternatives In order to transform design briefs into visualized proposals, form generation for a preferred appearance becomes the major task. Since the targeted main users are children, form features need to fulll childrens emotional considerations in terms of fun and enjoyment. By the Image Scale method [44,45], with pairs of Simple/Complicated and Formal/Recreational as the indices of the axes, fteen images of therapeutic vehicles deliberately chosen from the Internet are given scores (between 3 and 3) for Simple/Complicated (Y axis) and for Formal/Recreational (X axis). The means of the samples are calculated (Table 4). Their corresponding respective positions are shown. The Simple-Recreational areas are chosen, and six samples are selected for Morphological Analysis [49,50] (Fig. 2).

Basically, the therapy vehicle could be disassembled into six components, namely mainframe, front wheel(s), rear wheel(s), handlebar(s), seats, and pedals and accessories. Since related accessories have been fully developed in the bicycle industry, the other ve components are emphasized for the form generation. Further analyses of the design elements on each component are connected. Feasible elements or attributes are extracted and described as data (Table 5) for idea generation. Theoretically, 36 sets of alternatives could be derived from Table 5. However, only six of these are more proper and chosen for further development (Fig. 3). 4.8. Evaluating design feasibility Visual assessments for the alternatives are conducted. According to the attributes of the targeted areas and the design briefs, pleasure, simplicity, feasibility, innovation, and holistic preferences are selected as the criteria, based on which the alternatives of (B) and (D) are selected as the preferred options. However, the designs are similar to the existing ones. It is necessary to add more radical features to them or their combinations. A design meeting about the advantages and disadvantages of (B) and (D) is held. The alternative (B), equipped with traditional pedals with chains

Table 4 Means of x and y for therapy vehicle samples. Sample No. (x, y) No. 1 (1.3, 0.3) No. 6 (0.3, 2.0) No. 11 (0.0, 0.0) No. 2 (0.0, 0.3) No. 7 (0.7, 2.3) No. 12 (1.7, 1.3) No. 3(0.3, 1.3) No. 8 (0.3, 1.0) No. 13 (0.3, 2.0) No. 4 (1.3, 1.7) No. 9 (1.0, 1.3) No. 14 (2.0, 2.7) No. 5 (0.7, 2.0) No. 10 (0.3, 1.0) No. 15 (0.3, 1.7)

Fig. 2. Image Scale for therapy vehicles.

C.-C. Lin, D.-B. Luh / Advanced Engineering Informatics 23 (2009) 191200 Table 5 Components and corresponding elements for therapy vehicles. Component Mainframe Element alternatives 1a. Single curve type 1b. N type 1c. U type 2a. One wheel without pedals 2b. One wheel with pedals 3a. Two wheels 4a. Y bar 4b. T type 4c. Close bar 5a. Triangular seat with separated back 5b. High back chair

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Front wheel(s) Rear wheel(s) Handlebar(s)

Seats

mechanism, could be easily built using existing techniques. Nevertheless, the mechanism could cause complexities to repair, and the chain transmission does not allow the measurement of distance easily, which is essential for training. Although the alternative (D), equipped pedals with the front wheel, could present simple and concise images, it is difcult to be steered while propelling at the same time, especially for the CP kids. Integrating the merits of the two alternatives, pedals with a wheel replacing traditional pedals with chains mechanism, presents a more innovative feature with an individual pedaled-ground-wheel for further development. 4.9. Implementing the optimal 4.9.1. Ergonomics considerations Ergonomics and engineering aspects are taken into account in the design. From anthropometrical data, children ranging from 7 to 12 years old, or with heights between 100 cm and 140 cm, are chosen as the main users. For effective and comfortable steering, the angle between the head tubes and the horizontal line needs to be between 66 and 75 [68,69]. Foot harnesses attached to the pedals are needed for providing children with proper foot control and positioning. Seat belts and cushions are utilized to provide additional supports. The main layouts and dimensions are illustrated in Fig. 4.

4.9.2. Design features The proposed bike has an aesthetic and friendly appearance with an innovative frame-wheel system that provides multi-motions to the riders both normal and with cerebral palsy. There are four wheels in this innovative vehicle, one is the steering wheel, one is the driving wheel with pedals, and the other two are parallel rear wheels with adjustable loci for providing gait motions, wave motions, or even movements for the riders. The driving wheel is designed to move the vehicle and to enhance the riders leg muscle strength. The rear wheels employ adjustable loci to t the axle and can generate several riding modes for the riders in training. When both rear wheels are connected to the axle at the central loci, the vehicle provides a smooth movement like a normal bike. When both rear wheels are connected to the axle at the same offset loci, the vehicle creates a wave motion to the rider. Besides, when both rear wheels are connected to the axle at the opposite offset loci, the vehicle provides a gait mode to the rider. In addition to providing unique riding modes to the riders, the demands of safety and comfort are also considered. Adjustable mechanisms are designed for the handle heights and angles. An adjustable mechanism for variable leg dimensions is incorporated to the frame system, between the driving wheel and the rear wheels. For comfortable and consistent gait or wave motions, a pair of spring components is attached onto the axle between rear wheels. For safety, a seat with proper cushion, seat belts and harnesses are provided. 4. 10. Validating the result 4.10.1. Competition test by international design experts In order to validate the design innovations of the therapy vehicle, the proposal is submitted to a famous international industrial design competition, the Zhenhai CUP endorsed by ICSID (The International Council of Societies of Industrial Design), for international experts assessment [70]. Around 880 professional works worldwide are reviewed following these criteria: innovation, market potential, manufacturing possibility, usability, and green environmental protection. Through strict evaluations, the innovative proposal, Magic Pony: a horseback riding therapy bike, wins the First Prize in Industrial Mechanical Equipment category. In terms of effectiveness for radical innovations, the VOI approach is validated.

Fig. 3. Alternatives for therapy vehicles.

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Fig. 4. Main layouts and dimensions of the therapy bike.

4.10.2. Advanced experts interviews For comprehensive feasibility of the proposal, three experts are interviewed for more suggestions in practical implementation. One is a therapist for children with cerebral palsy, another is the CEO of a patent agent rm, and the other is a director of a design consultant company. All of them are recognized as experts in their elds and have more than 10 years of working experience. The interviewees greatly appreciate the conceptual proposal that integrates cycling and horseback riding therapy. Potential impacts of the radical design are identied. The experts point out some manufacturing concerns, such as stability, weight reduction, cost reduction, etc. for further renements. Among these, one important issue stands out, i.e., how could a child pedal oneself if one is not strong enough? This question becomes a new problem and the process is referred back to the 6th step, Developing functional solutions. In the stage, TRIZ, providing a pathway to get around personal restrictions and psychological inertia of the designers, and directing the designers to access the knowledge and experiences of the worlds nest inventive minds [71], again served as a knowledge-based tool for nding solutions. According to the matrix, 33. convenience of use is dened as feature to change and 10. force is dened as undesired result. Principle 28, 13, and 35 are suggested from the matrix. Among which, No. 28: Replacement of a Mechanical System with a solution of using an electrical, magnetic or electromagnetic eld to interact with an object is appropriate and adopted for further development. An individual AI (articial intelligence) controlled motor wheel with pedals is proposed as an alternative for the manual individual pedaled-groundwheel. The motor system provides auxiliary pedaling power controlled by sensors placed under the seat, which measure the weight of the user. With the modied subsystem, children with cerebral palsy could be assisted, physically and psychologically, in early period of training.

5. Discussions The VOI product design process provides radical or leap-change impacts for product design. It is different from conventional analysis-based or existing problem-based processes. The visioning steps, the 2nd step to the 5th step, shift considerations from current situations to reaching desired future. The built scenario becomes a new basis to stimulate new considerations and then derive potential requirements for the projects. The applications of TRIZ, Image Scale, and Morphological Analysis systematically generate feasible solutions to fulll the potential requirements and lead to more innovative perspectives for product design. Fig. 5 shows the differences between the VOI approach and conventional processes. Since the vehicle design demonstrated in this paper is a conceptual proposal, not a complete prototype, its innovations are hard to be validated by user observation and survey in this stage, except experts assessments. Implementation of a prototype for user observation will become further work for the innovative design. However, another practical case [72], an innovative ring device for biofeedback, developed mainly based on the principles of the VOI approach, strengthens the effectiveness of the new process. The resulted ring device is so far the smallest temperature feedback device in the world. The ring provides a convenient and wearable use for both patients and therapists in clinical practices. The user tests of the ring device show higher satisfaction than those of the traditional equipment. Temperature data of most subjects demonstrate signicant relationships between those with the ring device and those with the traditional equipment. Since the ring device is wearable and can be linked to a computer and the Internet, it could provide an accessible way for a single therapist to monitor several patients in remote sites, which increases the interaction between patients and the therapist, and allows remote treatment of muscle relaxation with bio-

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Fig. 5. Differences between VOI approach and conventional process.

feedback. The innovative ring device highly enhances quality of biofeedback instrumentation and veries the application of VOI approach as well. 6. Conclusions In order to be successful in the marketplace, providing radical innovations becomes increasingly important to any rm. It is necessary to formulate a vision-based approach to explore potential opportunities that lead us to new perspectives for product design. In this paper, the vision-oriented innovative product design process is proposed, which integrates methodologies of strategic planning and industrial design, with a balance of rationality and intuitiveness in generating more innovative ideas. The new process suggests a leap-change thinking pathway for product design. A conceptual proposal is demonstrated successfully to present a radically improved therapy tricycle. During the vision shaping stage, the design team accesses direct and indirect knowledge to broaden their perspectives, reaches new scopes, and integrates horseback riding therapy into cycling training of children with cerebral palsy. With the help of scenarios building and backcasting, short-term goals can be dened. TRIZ serves as a knowledge-based tool to provide solution principles for functional developments. By the use of Image Scale and Morphological Analysis, ideas are systematically and effectively visualized and concreted. Through international competition testing and in-depth interviews with experts, the design is rened and validated as an innovative therapy vehicle with innovative functions and friendly image, which may greatly improve the riders experience and performance during riding treat-

ments. The applicability of the VOI product design process is veried. Acknowledgements Special thanks to the experts of the in-depth interview, for their insightful suggestions for betterment of the innovative therapy vehicle. Appreciations go to Mr. Hsueh-Yao Chen and Mr. ChiaHao Wu for their assistance during the development process. References
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Chyun-Chau Lin serves as an Assistant Professor in Product Design Department, Shu-Te University, Taiwan. He is also a freelance product designer. He received his Master degree in Industrial Design from Auburn University, USA in 1994, and his Ph.D. degree from National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan in 2007. His research activities include visioning approach, innovative product design, design management, design methodology, form aesthetics, and ergonomics. Ding-Bang Luh possesses a Ph.D. in design. He works as an associate professor in the Department of Industrial Design, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan. His major research interests include: process design, design strategy, product loyalty, art management and marketing, innovation planning, cultural industry study, idea screening, among others.