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    The development of an electronically operated water control system incorporating a major theme of inclusive design : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Technology in Product Development at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2005) Kersley, Andrew Hilton
    This case study followed the development of an electronically operated water control system, using a structured product development process and incorporating a major theme of inclusive design. Three project objectives were identified for this project: 1. Use the Product Development Process to successfully develop an electronically operated water control system to a stage that is near ready for manufacture. 2. To understand and implement an inclusive design approach to the development of an electronically operated water control system to ensure that the product is usable by people regardless of age or ability. 3. To understand to what effect design decisions, related to the usability of a product, have upon the desirability of the product to all users. The product development process used in the development of this product was successful. It resulted in an innovative new product idea that has associated intellectual property, currently under patent application. The product was identified as both usable to people with a wide range of impairments and desirable to a majority of all potential users. The research methodology relating to inclusive design resulted in the finding that some design decisions relating to the usability of products do in fact affect the desirability of the product to other potential users, and hence could potentially affect the financial success of the product. A set of activities were identified from the process used in this case study and recommended for further product development projects, which will help to ensure that the product is made more usable while still retaining its desirability. KEYWORDS Product Development Process, New Products, Inclusive Design, Consumer Based Design, Successful Products, Elderly and Disabled.
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    The Smart House Intelligent Management System : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering in Information Engineering at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2004) Lomiwes, Grettle Rayn
    In October 2002, Massey University embarked on the Smart House Project. It was intended to be a test bed of different technologies that improve the safety and quality of life within the home. This thesis presents the design and current status of the Smart House Intelligent Management System, a management system for processing the commands received in the Massey University Smart House. There will be two parts to this Management System: an Expert System which will be responsible for the supervision of the house, its rules and its devices, as well as a conversation module which will converse with the occupant/s of the Smart House. The system will receive voice or text commands from the user as input and process the information through performing database queries about the received command, to ascertain whether it is valid. Validity is dependent on the command's adhering to house rules, which have been set by the user beforehand. This Management System will communicate with three other modules: the Bluetooth Smart Watch, the Speech Recognition/Generation System and the Ethernet Switching System, which enables access to the house devices.