This study aims to examine the effects of luminance contrast on cognitive experience. An experiment was conducted under controlled conditions with high/low luminance contrast settings. Perceived time was measured by tapping rate, while subjective ratings of astonishment, concentration, comfort, and a semi-structured interview were collected. The results showed that higher luminance contrast elicited greater astonishment, and perceived time was associated with concentration and comfort but limited with astonishment, suggesting that astonishment may involve higher-order cognitive reappraisal.

The main avenue to resolving the ongoing peer review crisis in today’s overloaded academic publishing system requires journals (i.e. publishers) to pay reviewers. Otherwise, scholars will continue to increasingly abstain from peer reviewing, and academic journals will publish peer-reviewed papers that do not add value to the scholarly literature. Aware that paying reviewers is the solution to said crisis, pioneering journals and publishers have started to pay reviewers, including statisticians asked to verify the statistical methods of manuscripts sent for publication. Currently in its infant stage, the ‘pay to review’ model will progressively become ubiquitous, eventually driving the $25 billion academic publishing industry to share a part of its revenues with the research community. This study provides arguments supporting this prediction.

This paper introduces a visual tool that facilitates engagement with speculative design futures while exposing the boundaries of understanding. Building on the Future Archeologies Method, the canvas guides participants through tactile speculation, scenario-making and reflection via eight components structured around a Line of Speculation. We tested the tool in two workshops with community members and futures experts. Results suggest that the canvas (1) accelerates the process, (2) supports collaboration, and (3) enables accessible yet radically creative futures thinking.

In recent years, redundant sensing has gained attention as a means to improve the resilience of autonomous cyber-physical systems (CPS). Resilience, however, has not been stringently defined. In this work, a standard-based understanding of resilience was derived, resulting in 11 properties that contribute to resilience. This understanding was used to analyse literature on autonomous CPS, their domains, operating environments, and the disruptions they encounter. A subsequent analysis shows a prevalence of measures acting during the disruption, while anticipating or learning measures are scarce.

This paper investigates the relationship between Big5 scores (individual and team level) and team design project performance in SUTD’s “Introduction to Design” course. Study reveals that team’s final project grades have statistically significant positive correlation with higher team’s mean “Conscientiousness”, but negative correlation with within-team variety of “Neuroticism” and “Conscientiousness”. At individual level, “Conscientiousness” shown positive correlation with the students’ grades. However, further qualitative study is needed to understand the reasoning behind the correlation.

OEMs are shifting from product-centric offerings toward smart services, but adoption is still hindered by technical development barriers. We conduct a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed studies with original industrial evidence and identify eight barrier categories across data, semantics, integration, governance and modularity. We map them onto a smart-service architecture and key analytics roles, and relate them to GenAI building blocks such as LLMs and knowledge graphs, outlining a research agenda for overcoming technical barriers towards scalable OEM smart service development.

This paper investigates how prompt structure influences the use of Large Language Models in early engineering design. A structured prompting framework aligned with the engineering design cycle is proposed to support Design for Multi X reasoning and more coherent problem exploration. Using a prosthetic knee-cover case study, six engineering designers engaged with both generic and structured prompting workflows. A mixed methods study examines how prompt organisation shapes LLM assisted reasoning, problem framing and the articulation of design constraints and considerations.

This article explores how design tools can enhance shared understanding of problems within West African entrepreneurial ecosystems, where new product development occurs amidst resource scarcity and intense market opportunitiies. The findings emphasize that design tools serve as flexible cognitive intermediaries that promote collaboration, uncover underlying assumptions, and foster new perspectives for solution development. Their value emerges through a progressive translation process, where researchers reinterpret these tools to bridge the diverse object worlds of entrepreneurs.

Co-creation with end-users is a well-known process. While this approach has been widely adopted in B2C, B2B companies have been slower to adopt it due to complex decision-making structures. This case study is based on co-creation sessions with end-users to respond to the needs of B2B industries. The study highlighted the importance of co-creation with end-users in B2B industries to understand real-life use scenarios, and finally to propose a final product that meets their expectations.

This study introduces an NLP-based Memory Model that structures how framing and reframing evolve throughout design. Grounded in constructive and situated memory theories, it models memory as a dynamic system of activation and decay, enabling measurement of the number and semantic value of frames in design discourse. Analyses of architecture students’ sessions show framing peaks during exploration and declines as solutions stabilize. They also show semantic diversity cycles through expansion and narrowing, revealing framing as a continuous, memory-driven reinterpretive process.

Engineering education faces growing pressure from rapid technological change, which reshapes professional competencies. Effective knowledge transfer between academia and industry is therefore essential for innovation, yet remains insufficiently integrated. The Digital Lifecycle Lab (DLL) at TU Graz addresses this gap through an industry-aligned, lifecycle-oriented environment for systems engineering education. By integrating academic learning with industrial practice, the DLL functions as both an educational concept and transfer platform preparing the future engineering workforce.

Industry 4.0 creates a need to transform education to meet evolving labor market skills. This study reviews and compares major instructional design models ADDIE, SAM, ASSURE, MISA, and Dick and Carey using Gropper’s framework enriched with Education 4.0 criteria. Results show these models offer structure but remain module-focused and lack a systemic perspective. The research proposes a broader, engineering-based approach using TRIZ principles to create an integrated learning ecosystem that supports agile, flexible, and continuous skills development aligned with Industry 4.0.

We introduce a method that turns online customer reviews into design insights. By analysing smartphone reviews, we extract the product features customers talk about and identify the sentiment linked to them. The approach combines Large Language Models (LLMs) with the Kano model, showing how specific features influence satisfaction or dissatisfaction. The results are coherent with the dimensions of the Kano model. The work demonstrates that LLMs can be informed and constrained by established design frameworks, bridging LMMs and design reasoning to provide theory-grounded insights.

Early design decisions are central to many circular economy approaches and largely determine environmental impacts. Yet LCA practice is often fragmented and difficult to integrate into engineering development processes. This paper proposes an MBSE approach that represents and computes LCA-based (LCIA) impact indicators within SysML models using reusable, configurable model elements and automated import of characterization factors. A proof-of-concept implementation demonstrates technical feasibility, illustrates process integration, and discusses limitations and future work.

Current flying-car designs lack scalability for diverse missions. This paper presents a modular design platform for developing reconfigurable flying-cars, embedding modularity across structural, electrical, and flight control domains. A full-scale sightseeing prototype demonstrates the platform’s feasibility and flexibility. The work contributes to design methodology by illustrating how modular architectures improve cross-mission adaptability, scalability, and lifecycle efficiency in complex mechatronic systems. (project introduction video available at https://www.aidilab.ai/flying-car)

This research was initiated to investigate the dynamic behaviour of Len Lye’s Kinetic Sculpture Trilogy. Safety concerns and reliability issues have led to the call for a redesign of the original mechanism. Numerical methods including FEA are used to model the artworks dynamic behaviour. Vibratory mode shapes and natural resonance frequencies of the artwork are found. Motion Capturing (MOCAP) is employed to experimentally analyse and record the dynamic behaviour of the artwork. Whirling behaviour in the form of mode shapes was recorded equally below and above the resonance frequencies.

With the introduction of SysML v2—featuring a new metamodel and standardized APIs—new opportunities arise for automating MBSE tasks through generative AI. However, existing LLM approaches lack interoperability due to limited support for complex SysML v2 API operations. This paper presents a framework for implementing Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers for SysML v2, enabling LLMs to interact with system models via the API. This framework provides a foundation for agentic MBSE by allowing automation of modeling tasks while maintaining interoperability across tools and generative AI systems.

This paper explores the assessment of employee induction as a service, through the lens of service design. The service assessment methodology was a multi-method and a multi-stakeholder approach, uncovering how processes, touchpoint interactions and servicescape shape onboarding experiences of new joiners. The paper highlights the researchers’ reflections about using the methodology in organizational context and portrays the value of assessing organizational services through service design lens. The reflections offer practical insights applicable to assessment of other organizations services.