Research Facilities

The Design Research Laboratory is equipped with advanced hardware and software tools to support research in design cognition, product development, sustainable design, simulation, and digital modelling.

Hardware Facilities

• Eye Tracker: Device that records and analyzes a person’s eye movements to determine where they look, how long they look, and how their attention shifts. It uses infrared light and cameras to capture gaze position, fixation duration, and eye movements. Eye-tracking technology is widely used in automotive design, human-computer interaction, UX research, psychology, education, and safety studies.

• Wacom Cintiq: It is a professional pen display tablet that allows users to draw, sketch, design, and edit directly on a high-resolution screen using a pressure-sensitive stylus. It is widely used in digital art, product design, engineering visualization, animation, and creative applications.

• Smart Board: Facilitates collaborative design activities, brainstorming, and interactive discussions.

• Video Camera: Used for recording user studies, design processes, and capturing design rationale for research analysis.

Software Facilities

• SimaPro® Life Cycle Assessment Software: A comprehensive LCA platform used for environmental impact assessment, sustainability evaluation, material selection, circular economy studies, and eco-design optimization.

• FlexSim® Simulation Software: A 3D process simulation platform used for modelling, analysing, and optimizing manufacturing systems, production lines, material handling systems, and industrial processes.

• ANSYS: Provides advanced engineering simulation capabilities for structural, thermal, fluid, electromagnetic, and multiphysics analysis, enabling virtual prototyping and performance evaluation of engineering systems.

• COMSOL Multiphysics®: A multiphysics simulation platform used for modelling coupled physical phenomena, including structural mechanics, heat transfer, fluid flow, electromagnetic fields, chemical reactions, and advanced engineering research applications.

• MATLAB®: A numerical computing and programming environment used for mathematical modelling, data analysis, algorithm development, optimization, simulation, control systems, artificial intelligence, and processing of experimental research data.

• SolidWorks®: A parametric 3D CAD modelling platform used for mechanical design, product development, assembly modelling, engineering drawings, design validation, and rapid prototyping applications.

• Rhinoceros 3D: A powerful 3D modelling platform used for industrial design, product development, vehicle styling, architecture, mechanical design, aerospace design, and creative visualization.

These advanced tools enable the laboratory to support user-centered design research, digital product development, sustainable manufacturing, and advanced engineering design and simulation, fostering innovation from concept development to real-world applications.