Archie: An automated data collection method for physical prototyping efforts in authentic design situations

Effective data collection can be one of the most challenging aspects of engineering design research. Design projects often occur over periods of weeks, months, or years, making continuous data collection a time-intensive task. Further, interrupting the design process to collect data can be intrusive and disrupt the flow of design. ARCHIE is a system designed to take photos of designers’ physical prototypes, link them to designer perceptions of the design, and maintain a record of design evolution over time. This device will allow researchers to collect data on physical prototyping efforts in design environments without researcher intervention, reducing the burden of data collection in authentic design settings. The device provides designers with an easier way to document physical prototyping efforts and record the evolution of their design with photos and descriptions and promises to allow for researchers to leverage machine learning to automatically analyze aspects of the prototype such as geometric complexity or material choice by facilitating the creation of databases of design artifacts. This work describes the rationale, method, implementation, and testing of ARCHIE using student design projects.