Having studied this unit you should be able to: recognise that functional artefacts have had input from a designer, with greater and lesser degrees of engineering input; identify that engineering designers work within constraints of finance, materials properties, desired functionality, human factors, etc.; understand that design exploits models of the product being designed, whether those models are physical mock-ups, computer-based models, or mathematical models which explore an element of the product’s performance; understand how models of the design process are formulated, and how they can be applied to understand the development of a particular product or product family; understand design-related terminology such as innovation, context, uncertainty and style.

The learning unit is divided into 7 parts and takes on average 28 hours to complete.

[1] Design and designing
[2] Design and innovation 1: the plastic kettle
[3] Models of the design process
[4] Conceptual design
[5] Concept to prototype
[6] Design and innovation 3: the Brompton folding bicycle
[7] Conclusions

The course offers a holistic view of the aircraft as a system, covering: basic systems engineering; cost and weight estimation; basic aircraft performance; safety and reliability; lifecycle topics; aircraft subsystems; risk analysis and management; and system realization. Small student teams retrospectively analyze an existing aircraft covering: key design drivers and decisions; aircraft attributes and subsystems; and operational experience. Oral and written versions of the case study are delivered. For the Fall 2005 term, the class focuses on a systems engineering analysis of the Space Shuttle. It offers study of both design and operations of the shuttle, with frequent lectures by outside experts. Students choose specific shuttle systems for detailed analysis and develop new subsystem designs using state of the art technology.

Guest lecturers include Aaron Cohen, Dale Myers, John Logsdon, Tom Moser, J. R. Thompson, Bass Redd, Allen Louviere, Henry Pohl, Robert Seamans, Bob Ried, Walter Guy, Robert Sieck, Sheila Widnall, Philip Hattis, Christopher Kraft, Wayne Hale, Anthony Lavoie, Peter Young, and Gordon Fullerton. This course was administrated by shuttle astronaut and MIT Professor Jeff Hoffman and Professor Aaron Cohen, who was the Space Shuttle Orbiter Project Manager. Guest speakers provide the majority of the content in video lectures, discussing topics such as system design, accident investigation, and the future of NASA’s space mission.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

This course introduces the fundamentals of machine tool and computer tool use. Students work with a variety of machine tools including the bandsaw, milling machine, and lathe. Instruction is given on MATLAB®, MAPLE®, XESS™, and CAD. Emphasis is on problem solving, not programming or algorithmic development. Assignments are project-oriented relating to mechanical engineering topics. The course revolves around students building and ‘racing’ their own Stirling engines, which is covered in greater detail in the projects section.

This course was co-created by Prof. Douglas Hart and Dr. Kevin Otto.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

According to the United States Agency for International Development, 20 million people in developing countries require wheelchairs, and the United Nations Development Programme estimates below 1% of their need is being met in Africa by local production. This course gives students the chance to better the lives of others by improving wheelchairs and tricycles made in the developing world. Lectures will focus on understanding local factors, such as operating environments, social stigmas against the disabled, and manufacturing constraints, and then applying sound scientific/engineering knowledge to develop appropriate technical solutions. Multidisciplinary student teams will conduct term-long projects on topics such as hardware design, manufacturing optimization, biomechanics modeling, and business plan development. Theory will further be connected to real-world implementation during guest lectures by MIT faculty, Third-World community partners, and U.S. wheelchair organisations.

Topics covered during the course includes wheelchair biomechanics and ergonomics, design for human use, manufacturing processes and strategies, product design, material science, mechanics of materials and welding, human-powered machines, hand-cycle designs and racing.

Special software is required to use some of the files in this course: .xls, .mp4 and .rm.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course.
(c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

This class is jointly sponsored by the MIT Museum, Massachusetts Bay Maritime Artisans, the Department of Mechanical Engineering’s Center for Ocean Engineering, and the Department of Architecture. The course teaches the fundamental steps in traditional boat design and demonstrates connections between craft and modern methods. Instructors provide vessel design orientation and then students carve their own shape ideas in the form of a wooden half-hull model. Experts teach the traditional skills of visualizing and carving your model in this phase of the class. After the models are completed, a practicing naval architect guides students in translating shape from models into a lines plan. The final phase of the class is a comparative analysis of the designs generated by the group.

Special software is required to use the video lectures in this course: .rm. These videos are also available from VideoLectures.net.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

The unit contains text, images and videos and aims to provide an understanding of invention, design, innovation and diffusion as ongoing processes with a range of factors affecting success at each stage. You will gain an understanding of the factors that motivate individuals and organisations to invent, and the creative process by which individuals come up with ideas for new inventions and designs, and you will gain an understanding of the obstacles that have to be overcome to bring an invention to market and the factors that influence the successful diffusion of an innovation into widespread use. A bibliography is also provided.

The unit is divided into three parts. (1) looks at the technological products in your home or at work and considers their development history and their impact on the lives of the users, then the key concepts associated with the process of invention, design, innovation and diffusion are defined. (2) considers what motivates individuals and organisations to invent in the first place and how individuals come up with ideas for new designs and inventions. (3) examines how technical, financial and organisational obstacles have to be overcome in order to bring an invention to the market. Once on the market a number of factors influence how well an innovation will sell.

The unit takes on average 55 hours to complete.

This course explores the basic questions of architecture through several short design exercises. Working with many different media, students will discover the interrelationship of architecture and its related disciplines, such as structures, sustainability, architectural history and the visual arts. Each problem will focus on one of these disciplines and one exploration and presentation technique. Students will create additions to modernist structures, guest houses that operate off the grid in remote locations, places to experience art, and finally a project that will combine aspects of these projects into a community project in the Boston Seaport Area.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

It aims to inform consumers of design (i.e., all of us) about this crucial characteristic of design. The unit is derived from the OU course T211 on Design and Designing, but as well as stimulating interest in areas of concern for producers of design it might also provide an introduction to engineering, manufacturing and business studies.

The unit contains text, images, exercises and videos covering the principles of user-centred designing, inclusive design, ergonomics and human factors, user research techniques, interaction design or making usable products, and looking at users interaction with products. A bibliography and further reading list is also provided.

The unit takes an average of 12 hours to complete.

The course considers the growing popularity of sustainability and its implications for the practice of engineering, particularly for the built environment. Two particular methodologies are featured: life cycle assessment (LCA) and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). The LCA methodology is a rigorous, quantitative approach to environmental impact evaluation that tallies the impacts of products throughout their lifetimes; it has been used successfully in a number of industries (particularly packaging and manufacturing) but less frequently in the built environment. The LEED rating system awards points to projects for achieving specific goals considered relevant to sustainable design, and rates built projects according to the total number of points achieved. The fundamentals of each approach will be presented. Specific topics covered include water and wastewater management, energy use, material selection, and construction.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]