.

.


.
.
.

 

    < 00 01 02 03 04 >

 

Mark Pritchard

email +44 (0)1483 233440
 

Images are of the BA Lounge in the Sky project from several years back. Press on the images to view the 800*600 resolution JPG's

 
Q/Where did the designer or engineers on the project go to school?
We worked on the project with several design and engineering companies, such as Tangerine Product Design, so it's hard to say exactly where all the project members went to university / college. The designers at Drive all have design backgrounds from either product or automotive design courses. A few are from UNN (Newcastle), Coventry, RCA to name but a few.

Q/What research took place before the project kickoff?
BA had conducted extensive research to discover the aspirations of Club World passengers. This revealed passengers wanted privacy, flexibility, and a good nights sleep. In addition other extensive requirements had to be met, such as safety, engineering, and financial.

Q/How were tools like Alias Studio, Pro/DESIGNER, Rhino, 3d Max, FormZ, ICEM Surf, Pro/ENGINEER, Unigraphics, Catia, Solidworks used to prove shape and form?
Alias was used to generate the external form, with guide sections coming from preliminary 2D drafting work done in Vellum. Various Catia files from seat manufacturers, engineering consultants, could be imported into Alias to see the hard points and the various tilting mechanisms. Surfaces could then be built around this information to ensure no problems downstream. Changes to mechanisms, ergonomic data etc could be implemented at any stage, and any carry over parts could also be included in the surface files.

Throughout the project, Catia data was fed to the engineers and seat manufacturers for them to evaluate the design and flag up any issues. We also had confidence in seeing what was on screen; Alias and Catia has many evaluation tools for this, although it is still beneficial to see hard models at important stages.

Q/Was the use of the available design tools allowed to influence the ultimate shape of the product?
We strongly believe that design intent should be maintained from the outset and the design should not be open to influence by any design 'tool' used, unless that influence is of positive significance to the design.
If the design tool (in our case a computer application), influenced the design by highlighting interference or moulding issues etc, this would be deemed of significant positive influence. However the computer influencing the design by generating surfaces which are incorrect in design terms, but retained, could be deemed a negative influence. You are allowing the computer to become the designer. The designer should try to maintain control over design especially in products as complex as an aircraft seat.

Q/Were the visualization efforts helpful in eliminating an iterative product from going to a prototype stage?
As the development of a new seat for the airline industry requires the involvement of the aircraft and seat manufacturers, internal and external design specialists, product development, branding and marketing teams, ergonomic consultants all in various locations the implementation of concurrent communication is key. The use of real time shading and the creation of visuals and animations allowed changes to be seen interactively, and therefore many iterations could be approved quickly by all parties involved. This is very helpful in eliminating an iterative product from going to prototype stage; any prototypes that are built would be built to prove major changes or design issues. When dealing with a product as complex and large as an airline seat, this saves a significant amount of time and cost. For the benefit of colour and trim decisions, the use of visuals allowed us to see what the cabin would look like when populated by 40 seats, again without having to produce 40 models of the seat.

Q/What innovative tooling issues or problems were solved to get to manufacturing?
The project brief was to take British Airways beyond their major competitors and to "astound". The whole idea of the ‘lounge in the sky’ is innovative (layout of the seats, accessories, motions of the seats etc), and like many new concepts, presented those teams working on the project with new problems to solve. By working closely with other teams on the project (ie the design teams were temporarily based on site at the seat manufacturers) solutions were created which all parties could agree upon. ----- end of questions ------

14.02.00

drive Inc. models new British Airways 'Lounge in the Sky' business class seat

drive Inc., the Guildford-based digital design development constancy, was recently selected to create and produce digital models of all exterior surfaces of the new British Airways business class seat. drive also supplied computer renderings and animations of the cabin, the seat and its articulation.

Following acceptance of the initial concept, a team from drive and tangerine, creators of the original seat design, were based at the manufacturer's site, where detailed development of the production seat commenced.

drive worked with the designers, converting their 2D drawings into 3D digital surface models, creating complete specification of the external surfaces of the design using Alias Wavefront, whilst liaising directly with the engineering team. This enabled the visual and format aspects of the seat design to be merged with the developing mechanism and structure of the seat.

The data used in the design development stage were then implemented in the concurrent engineering process. Final guiding surfaces were imported into Catia, the seat manufacturer's CAD software to allow completion of the production design. drive generated photo realistic renders and computer animations of the seat at all stages of the process, which were used to obtain sign off from all parties involved in the decision-making process. Final animations of the seat articulation and cabin layout were created for both the in-flight and staff training videos.

The final design, which was produced to meet the varying requirements of the passenger, the cabin and maintenance crew, the manufacturer and the CAA, has allowed British Airways to offer 'Club World' passengers a product that will give them enhanced privacy, flexibility and a good night's sleep.

Commenting on the collaboration with tangerine and British Airways, Chris Longmore, Managing Director of drive said:

"drive's involvement throughout the project, from the initial creative pitch to the final production stage, meant that we were in a strong position to maintain the integrity of the original design, whilst advising on the most suitable 3D design techniques. The short timescales involved in the project meant that decisions had to be made quickly on accurate information. Digital design development was the most effective solution to achieve a high quality product on budget and on time. Eighteen months from first pitch to final product is exceptional for a totally new concept in business class seating."
 __________________________________________________________________
end of 'Lounge in the Sky' Mark Prichard can be reached at mark@drivein.co.uk

 

Widianto Utomo

Banyuwangi, Indonesia, 9 December 2001
 
Dodo (concept design).
Designed late November 2000 (initial design idea made during October 2001 Singapore trip).
-Finalist, Young and Design 2001, Rima Editrice, Milano, Italy, March 2001.
-Exhibited at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile- International Furniture Show, Milano, Italy, on 4- 9 April 2001 in conjunction with the Young and Design 2001, Rima Editrice, Milano, Italy.
Publications:
-Young and Design 2001, Gd'A- Il Giornale Dell'Arredamento, Anno 20, Numero 10, October 2001, Rima Editrice, Milan, Italy.
-Young and Design 2001, MAC- Materiali Accessori Componenti per I'industria del Mobile, Mensile-Anno 25 no 10, October 2001, Rima Editrice, Milan, Italy.
 
Designer: Widianto Utomo
 

__________________________________________________________________
end of 'dodo' Widianto Utomo can be reached at widianto@yahoo.com

Glenn Johnson
email [1] 800-964-7328

BE Aerospace models and images created using UG Shapestudio. These images are a combination of UG, 3DS Max, Rhinoceros and Mannequin Pro.
1. Where did the designer or engineers go to school?
 I graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1989 and my colleague, Michael Princip, from Southern Utah University in 1998.

2. What research took place before the project kickoff? The chassis is the brainchild of Mike Beroth and was completed by a team led by Tom Plant. Both guys being BE Aerospace VP Engineering level.
The violet coloured and the high tech carbon fibre looking chair are actually the same seat chassis in differing guises. The seat was developed over three and a half years by a team of designers and engineers including Tracy Pence, Greg Hall, Bobby Lawson and Mark Pearce. The seat has been market tested twice, and it is fair to say, that we believe it to be the most comfortable layflat aircraft seat in production. Coming to market, this seat has the added benefit of being able to be actively modified - to 'future proof' the investment. (There is more information on this subject in a forthcoming issue of Aircraft Interiors).
At this point - I'd like to point out some admiration for the Tangerine/ drive Inc. Club World seat for BA featured on the 02 web page. Most designers have little understanding of the complexity and service problems in aerospace, and they have done an efficient job in addressing these issues. Aircraft work 24 hours, 7 days a week for thirty years or more. They take off and land faster than any Ferrari and experience desert to sub zero temperatures routinely, whilst carrying the equivalent of a small village - that is some engineering design system! The renowned architect Norman Foster calls the 747 the 'cathedral of our times'.
In the high tech seat, known as Sparta, I wanted to expose some of the great aspects of the system mentioned above. We are using composites and titanium - and what amazing materials to express fitness for purpose, instead of the stuffed looking seats we see today. The seat is truly a "machine for sleeping in" (with apologies to Le Corbusier).

3.How were tools like Alias Studio, Pro/DESIGNER, Rhino, 3d Max, FormZ, ICEM Surf, Pro/ENGINEER, Unigraphics, Catia, Solidworks used to prove shape and form.
Without CAD tools we could not get to such a level of accuracy so quickly.
We recently moved to UGS Shapestudio, which is the designer module for the UGS suite of software. This creates concurrency with the engineering team - and we work hand in hand with both them and program management. Shapestudio provides great capability for modification and the ability to create such aesthetic shapes without translation is now an advantage.
The models you see here were developed in Rhinoceros and UG and rendered in 3DStudio Max. We retain Rhino to work with external agencies - and Max is still difficult to beat for animation production times. We also use Opticore software for presenting designs at full scale to airlines here at the SPG headquarters in North Carolina. The empty regional jet interior is typical of the quality we get with our real time system.

4.Was the use of the available design tools allowed to influence the ultimate shape of the product?
I really hope that this was not the case - we still use pencils and foam models from time to time. With Rhino we loved to make curves though, and this hasn't diminished in Shapestudio. There is an idea that rectiliniear forms similar to the seventies will be back, and many CAD users might breathe a sigh of relief at having to stop splining everything.

5.Were the visualization efforts helpful in eliminating an iterative product from going to a prototype stage?
The Sparta seat was shown to a major airline. They loved it, but commented on the fact it was maybe five years too soon. The modifications we have since done to the seat ensures that it will work in an aircraft on a more subdued level. This saved a lot of resources.

6.What innovative tooling issues or problems were solved to get to manufacturing?
We have several patented features in this design, and possess data to back up the high comfort levels achieved with our technology. Not wishing to appear arrogant, but we have been told by airlines that this is the best layflat seat they have seen so far, and we hope that the passengers will appreciate the effort that has gone into developing it.
__________________________________________________________________
end of 'BE Aerospace' Glenn Johnson can be reached at glenn_johnson@beaerospace.com

Brandon Hoover email I am currently taking all of my ideas on paper to 3D, mostly for learning different software platforms but also to increase my portfolio in furniture designs. I am currently an industrial designer working for a lighting company creating residential and commercial lighting as well as exhibit designs. Most projects end up in 3D to help manufactures see what we are envisioning, for example, details on a piece of faux alabaster glass to a product showroom filled with modular displays.

Brandon Hoover personal webpage

1. Where did the designer or engineers go to school?
Rochester Institute of Technology, BFA Industrial Design
2. What research took place before the project kickoff?
Studied American Contract Furniture designs, original project looked more like an Alto chair than a Mies Van Der Rohe.
3.How were tools used to prove shape and form.
Used Rhino to show the chairs ability to divide negative space
4.Was the use of the available design tools allowed to influence the ultimate shape of the product?
No, not on this project

Brandon Hoover
Industrial Designer

Progress Lighting
101 Corporate Drive, Suite L.
Spartanburg, SC 29303
phone: 864.599.6114
email: bhoover@progresslighting.com
fax: 864.599.6156
__________________________________________________________________
end of 'Progressive Lighting' Brandon Hoover can be reached at bhoover@progresslighting.com

< 00 01 02 03 04 >

Please send rough draft articles or computer rendered photoreal chairs to Bart Brejcha