IDS Spring ’20 Virtual Closing Ceremony

IDS Spring ’20 Virtual Closing Ceremony

Interdisciplinary Design Studio (IDS), an interdisciplinary course conducted by METU Design Factory each semester which aims METU students coming from different disciplines to solve real problems coming from our stakeholders from various industries is coming to an end with a closing ceremony on 15th of May 2020. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic that have serious affects across the globe, this years closing ceremony will be organized virtually. Student groups that will attend the closing ceremony with their solutions are as follows,

  • Group Locus – UNDP
  • Group Awake – UNDP
  • Group Paper Tigers – Nurol BAE Systems (BNA)
  • Group Smartera – GAMA Energy
DTS-Spring ’20 Starts!

DTS-Spring ’20 Starts!

Interdisciplinary Design Studio (IDS) Spring ’20, which brings together real problems from our stakeholders with METU students from different disciplines, partnering with United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Gama Energy and British Nurol Aerospace (BNA), has started.

Training for 3D Modelling and Additive Manufacturing Technologies in Vocational Education

Training for 3D Modelling and Additive Manufacturing Technologies in Vocational Education

With the contributions of the Ankara Development Agency, between 3-4-5 February 2020, a training for” 3D Modelling and Additive Manufacturing Technologies in Vocational Education” was held for 20 students from Etimesgut Güvercinlik Vocational Technical Anatolian High School Informatics Department and Mamak Ortaköy 80. Yıl Vocational Technical Anatolian High School Electronics Technology Department in Ankara Development Agency Entrepreneurship Center and METU Design Factory. . In this training, various training and activities were organized for vocational high school students on subjects such as interdisciplinary work, three-dimensional modeling, and manufacturing, computational design, teamwork.

DTS-Spring’20 Applications are Open!

DTS-Spring’20 Applications are Open!

With support from the METU Technopolis and sponsored by industry and NGOs, METU Design Factory provides training, equipment, and infrastructure to interdisciplinary student teams for collaborative design projects. DTS brings students from different disciplines together in interdisciplinary teams to develop innovative products.

Under the name of Interdisciplinary Problem Solving, Interdisciplinary Design Studio course will be held between 9.00-12.30 on Fridays as an open elective course for students from all departments at METU.

Deadline for application: January 27, 2020, 11:59 PM

Link for the application: https://tf.metu.edu.tr/registration-3/

Exhibition of Burhan Alkar

Exhibition of Burhan Alkar

The retrospective exhibition of Burhan Alkan, the creator of “Space and Youth Monument” sculpture, curated by METU Design Factory and Murat Akın, will take place at METU.

We are waiting for everyone at the exhibition which will be opened on December 20, 2019 at 18:00 at METU Culture and Convention Center Exhibition Hall!

All of Burhan Alkar’s valuable works will be exhibited at METU Culture and Convention Center between 20 December 2019 – 15 January 2020.

Visit of DFGN to METU DF!

Visit of DFGN to METU DF!

On November 13, 2019, METU Design Factory hosted Marthe Dehli, one of the Design Factory Global Network coordinators. While discussing the developments in interstellar Design Factory family that we are happy to be a part of, the developing infrastructure and training-research-development projects of METU DF were introduced and possible collaborations with other Design Factories in different countries were discussed.

METU Promotion Trip visited METU Design Factory!

METU Promotion Trip visited METU Design Factory!

High school students from different regions of Turkey accompanied by METU students, visited METU Design Factory via METU Promotion Trip program. Design thinking, interdisciplinary and group collaboration techniques are presented to the attendants. Group activities to practise these techniques are also organized after the presentations.

IDS-Spring ’19

IDS-Spring ’19

Interdisciplinary Design Studio – Spring’19

(BA4148 – Interdisciplinary Problem Solving)

7th Interdisciplinary Design Studio, carried in the 2018-2019 spring semester continued by groups of interdisciplinary METU students to offer innovative solutions and ideas for real problems submitted by companies from several different sectors. Workshops following design thinking principles, seminars and faculty members from different study fields sharing their experiences and knowledge  were conducted throughout the term.

NOVA

Cemal Atakan Parlak – Laçin Doğukan Uslu – Enes Berk Karahançer – Zeynep Zengin

In order to “expand the use of ID cards on the campus” mission given to us by Utarit, we started to think how we can increase identity card usage, then collecting, processing and analyzing the data that will arise from the use of the card, ensuring the correlation between the different areas and finally presenting to the users and managers. As a result of the surveys conducted with the campus components, we decided to start and develop our project in terms of transportation and library density which are the two biggest problems. Accordingly, we planned to offer the usage and occupancy rates of rings and awaiting people at the stations to the users and vehicle directorate simultaneously and also to contribute to the improvement and re-planning stages of usage analysis data which can be reached according to the desired time period. We have designed applications such as selecting the working area, displaying the occupancy rate, cancelling the reservation after the expiration of the reservation to handle library place problem thanks to the use of the card readers at the entrance and exit. Again, we created this information to be presented online to users and related management units through the interface we have created. We intend to determine the usage relationship between these areas in the form of cafeteria, sports halls, dormitories, study halls and other areas and to make the related inferences and improvements. We want to make life on campus more efficient if our project is implemented.

ELLTECH

Begüm Göktenay Güzel – Hilal Şahin – Berke Taş – Mehtap Tuğba Kaynak – Can Kayabek – Poyraz Arcasoy

Based on our customer research, we have seen that ironing is one of the most unbearable domestic works for people as they find it boring and difficult because of several reasons. For instance, they complain about exposure to extreme heat, the difficulty of dealing with wrinkles, time consumption and expensiveness of irons. In this sense, our problem solution does not offer excluding ironing with another product, but it aims to make the ironing process much easier and bearable without needing expensive irons and excessive power consumption. Thus, we designed a smart hanger that dries and provides an appropriate moisture level for ironing. Besides, users will be able to select the time for clothes to be ready for ironing through using a mobile application which communicates with our smart hanger and notifies users when clothes are at appropriate humidity level.

PELICAN

Berfin Bölükemini – Fatih Toprak – Berke Tezergil – Mahmoud Fouda – Elif Özlem Topal – Özge Kayaaslan

We observed many problems in the Turkish Cargo hub but we focused on three main of them. These are sheet covering, height measuring and cargo tracking problems. To solve the height measuring problem we used a laser sensor to determine any overflow in the height of the pallets, to make easier the job of workers we designed a sheet covering mechanism. In addition to these, we suggest using RFID technology in the hub to easily tracking of the cargos in the hub and observing the workers performance. Thanks to these problem solutions we are believing that the company’s reliability will increase. To make clear our problem solution, we designed a prototype for the work station. The prototype that we have prepared for the real imagination of our work station is including a laser sensor for the detection of any overflow of the height, 2 step motors with belts to achieve sheet covering, aluminium bars which are for the belt mechanism and to hold lasers. All these parts of our prototype are constructed on MDF plates except the step motors. In addition to these, we have suggested a new sheet type for using in the station to make workers job more easily. The sheet has its own belt two sides of it to tighten up it without using any other adhesive things.

SMARTRU

Artun Yıldız – Onur Cem Yoloğlu – Beyza Ungan – Ömür Özdoğan – Hande Alpkirişçi

The Smartru group has identified the biggest problem of campus transportation as the inefficient use of available resources. The group has developed a dynamic mobile application called METUNAVI, which includes social support, optimization of resources available and support for decision-making mechanisms among users in order to ensure effective use of the resources available to solve this problem. Thanks to the application, transportation ways such as the ring and hitchhiking, which are actively used in the campus, reach an optimum point and the walking is integrated into the system as a transportation alternative. The application has also increased the social sharing of campus components and with the incentive system, according to the application has provided continuous improvement.

 

IDS-Spring’19 Closing Ceremony

IDS-Spring’19 Closing Ceremony

7th Interdisciplinary Design Studio carried in the spring semester of the 2018-2019 academic year has ended with the closing ceremony held in the METU Design Factory. Guests, both from academia and industry attended the closing ceremony. Four different groups of METU students studying different disciplines have offered innovative solutions after a period of study. These groups presented their studies in a 10-minute presentation and a Q&A session. Also, guests had the opportunity to talk and discuss the solutions with the groups after the presentations in the exhibition area.

This semester;

  • “Elltech” sponsored by Arçelik designed a modular smart hanger controlled by a mobile application that manipulates and controls the moisture level of the hanging clothes by applying cold mist. This solution is also thought out to be a modular system so that different types of clothes can be optimally hanged and the user can form the device according to the user’s needs.
  • “Smartru” sponsored by METU Smart Campus project presented an innovative solution to the transportation problem of the METU Campus by utilizing a mobile application.
  • “Pelican” sponsored by Turkish Airlines Cargo developed a system solution for the Turkish Airlines cargo hub that includes tracking both the location and process of the cargo pallets using RFID. Also, they presented their automated cargo packaging solution to reduce human errors in the packaging process.
  • “Nova” sponsored by Utarit designed solution to optimize widely used services in the METU campus such as the library and the inter-campus ring. The presented solution involved the usage of accumulating and analyzing the data collected by the smart card system that already being used on the campus. Group also presented a system to periodically report the analyzed usage data to the campus executives for them to act on the issues.
Invitation to IDS-Spring’19 Closing Ceremony

Invitation to IDS-Spring’19 Closing Ceremony

The Closing Ceremony of the 2018-2019 Spring Semester Interdisciplinary Design Studio, supported by METU TEKNOKENT and by the participation of non-governmental organizations and industry stakeholders, will be organized by the Middle East Technical University Design Factory on Friday, May 17, 2019 at 13:30. You can register via the link to join the event.