Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2023

Keywords

Additive manufacturing, 3D printing, Eggshell PLA polymer, Design innovation, Carbon footprint reduction, Supply chain optimization, Collaborative potential

Abstract

AI has the potential to revolutionise the way students in product design programmes learn and future-proof their skills. The BA(Hons) Product Design Programme at THEi offers cutting-edge content to help students become work-ready and future-proof. Its new future-proofing foci integrate areas such as augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) design, design for additive manufacturing (3D printing), UX/UI design, design for health and wellness, cross-disciplinary design, human-AI collaboration, and design for the circular economy. The team is exploring how AI may help deliver this future-proofing knowledge and skills to students in a learner-centred way. Students who become skilled in additive manufacturing will be highly valuable as 3D printing technologies become more accessible, and AI can cut hours of 3D model building time by converting images and sketches into 3D printable files. UX/UI design is critical for digital products and services, and students can use AI to analyse user behaviour and preferences, helping break down complex interactions into smaller manageable sections. We focus on design for health and wellness as an emerging design need especially with rapidly aging populations globally, and AI can help analyse and predict user health and wellness needs, giving greater insight into specific users where access to them may be difficult to arrange. As industries become more complex, cross-disciplinary collaboration is becoming more important, and AI can help students collaborate with students from other fields by giving them insights into priorities and reasonings behind their approaches and decisions, aiding conflict resolution and creation of common goals. Students constantly seek new ways to improve their design ability, and AI image generators offer a valuable tool that allows them to create high-quality, realistic images of their products in a fraction of the time it would take to produce manually, explore and iterate on different design options, and create realistic prototypes of products, all while maintaining a focus on the human-centric aspects of their work through collaboration with AI. In the area of sustainability, AI can provide tools that analyse and optimise designs for recyclability, repairability, and reusability, helping students design for the circular economy. In conclusion, AI tools and resources are helping enable students in product design programmes to develop the skills needed for emerging design trends and technologies, delivering future-proofing learning.

Source Publication

Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong

Download

Share

COinS