U
Umesh Persad
Hi all,
I am working on a PhD project trying to address product design
assessment for people with disabilities (Inclusive Design). As part of
my work, I am pondering developing a software application prototype to
support this process possibly using Ruby (Python and Java are also
considerations at this point).
Specifically, I want to write some graphical software that will
automate the evaluation process of product interfaces (interfaces here
meaning things that users interact with such as displays and controls
on cookers, washing machines, remotes etc.). The idea is to allow a
product designer to enter a model of the product by describing features
of the product and relevant attributes (such as colour values,
dimensions and force demands etc.). Then these diferent features can be
assessed based on stored human factors data scales and given ratings.
Finally I want to output the results in different graphical
formats/ways. I want to be able to experiment with different graphical
outputs using different multivariate visualization techniques. These
visualisation will be custom - not simply scatter plots etc. - but
things like parallel coordinates, radial graphs and glyps. I might even
want to develop a library of product interface features and use images
of these features in my graphical output later on.
I've mentioned this in some detail because in considering Ruby, I am
looking for various libraries/toolkits that can I use up front to help
with the different aspects such as a graphics lib, an object oriented
database and tools to ease construction of user interfaces. The
graphical output must be of the highest quality, because the industrial
designers I am targeting will want aesthetically pleasing diagrams.
Support for making these diagrams interactive will also be a plus. I
was also wondering if I could embed Macromedia Flash movies in a Ruby
program?
Thank you very much for any advice and assistance that you can offer.
Best Regards,
Umesh
I am working on a PhD project trying to address product design
assessment for people with disabilities (Inclusive Design). As part of
my work, I am pondering developing a software application prototype to
support this process possibly using Ruby (Python and Java are also
considerations at this point).
Specifically, I want to write some graphical software that will
automate the evaluation process of product interfaces (interfaces here
meaning things that users interact with such as displays and controls
on cookers, washing machines, remotes etc.). The idea is to allow a
product designer to enter a model of the product by describing features
of the product and relevant attributes (such as colour values,
dimensions and force demands etc.). Then these diferent features can be
assessed based on stored human factors data scales and given ratings.
Finally I want to output the results in different graphical
formats/ways. I want to be able to experiment with different graphical
outputs using different multivariate visualization techniques. These
visualisation will be custom - not simply scatter plots etc. - but
things like parallel coordinates, radial graphs and glyps. I might even
want to develop a library of product interface features and use images
of these features in my graphical output later on.
I've mentioned this in some detail because in considering Ruby, I am
looking for various libraries/toolkits that can I use up front to help
with the different aspects such as a graphics lib, an object oriented
database and tools to ease construction of user interfaces. The
graphical output must be of the highest quality, because the industrial
designers I am targeting will want aesthetically pleasing diagrams.
Support for making these diagrams interactive will also be a plus. I
was also wondering if I could embed Macromedia Flash movies in a Ruby
program?
Thank you very much for any advice and assistance that you can offer.
Best Regards,
Umesh