Spinnakersafe: Evoking trust in the spinnaker by preventing the spinnaker wrap

Spinnakersafe: Evoking trust in the spinnaker by preventing the spinnaker wrap

Eggenkamp, J.Y.

Jansen, A.J. (mentor)
Ozcan Vieira, E. (mentor)

Industrial Design Engineering

Design Engineering

Master of Science Design for Interaction

2014-07-03

When sailing with a spinnaker over a long distance, the sailor has to manage other activities, making it impossible to keep an eye on the spinnaker at all time. A spinnaker can easily become unstable and then the risk arises of the spinnaker getting wrapped around the forestay. For the sailor, this creates a sense of distrust in the spinnaker. The Spinnakersafe should prevent a spinnaker wrap and evoke trust in the spinnaker. The product should feel like a product that boosts the sailor’s performance, rather than a tool that has to keep the sailor from making mistakes. This master thesis shows the process and results of designing the Spinnakersafe. The process is divided in three phases: 1) problem definition and analysis, 2) Ideation and conceptualization and 3) elaboration and detail design. In phase 1, the problem and the context (emotions and semantics) are analysed. An FTA, questionnaire and phenomenological study are techniques used. The phase is concluded in a design goal: “In the domain of long-distance sailors with a limited crew, I want the users to feel trust in the employed spinnaker, so that they can take charge of their adventure” and an interaction vision: “Like having an additional crew member” The experiential requirements are: The product must evoke trust. The user must not feel limited by the product. Handling the product should be intuitive and understandable. In phase 2, based on the design goal and interaction vision, ideas are generated. One final concept is chosen for further elaboration in the third phase of the project. The concept is product that will block the spinnaker from passing through the area between the mast and the forestay. Phase 3. After a proof of concept, the partial solutions are worked out. The result is a detailed design proposal for a physical product. The design is not be optimized for production, but decisions are made on materials and production techniques. The design is tested on interactive qualities by means of a user test with a full-scale prototype. The goal of this test is to find out if the design meets the proposed experiential requirements. The conclusion is that the design is successful in preventing a spinnaker wrap and in evoking trust in the spinnaker. The user does not feel limited by the product and can understand intuitively how to deploy the product. However, the hoist of the product is experienced as very unpleasant and overwhelming. The design needs to be adapted to improve the experience in this part of the usage.

DFI
Design
Sailing
Spinnaker
Interaction
Trust

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:76d9cc15-e96b-4040-bba3-7ddb6fe34d7b

Campus only

Student theses

master thesis

(c) 2014 Eggenkamp, J.Y.