Row, Kim and Nam used a novel approach to design smart cars; similar, innovative methodologies could be useful in other contexts. As the research team reports, their “research was based on a petmorphic design approach, which defines design attributes assuming an intelligent device can interact like a pet dog…we present a set of pet-dog behavioral traits (PBT) and their application in enhancing emotional interaction in smart cars. Firstly, using an interview-based explorative study, we identified key pet-dog characteristics that elicit affection in owners and four PBTs that could be used to design smart car interactions: self-expression, empathy, faithfulness and innocence. Secondly, we conducted an online survey-based study to examine how PBTs can be incorporated into smart cars for different scenarios. The results indicated that faithfulness was typically preferred in routine scenarios while traits associated with innocence were less preferred.”
Yea-Kyung Row, Se-Young Kim, and Tek-Jin Nam. 2020. “Using Pet-Dog Behavior Traits to Enhance the Emotional Experience of In-Car Interaction.” International Journal f Design, vol. 14, no. 1, http://www.ijdesign.org/index.php/IJDesign/article/view/3539
Sally Augustin, PhD, a cognitive scientist, is the editor of Research Design Connections (www.researchdesignconnections.com), a monthly subscription newsletter and free daily blog, where recent and classic research in the social, design, and physical sciences that can inform designers’ work are presented in straightforward language. Readers learn about the latest research findings immediately, before they’re available elsewhere. Sally, who is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, is also the author of Place Advantage: Applied Psychology for Interior Architecture (Wiley, 2009) and, with Cindy Coleman, The Designer’s Guide to Doing Research: Applying Knowledge to Inform Design (Wiley, 2012). She is a principal at Design With Science (www.designwithscience.com) and can be reached at sallyaugustin@designwithscience.com.