Product improvement, usually through changes in design and functionality, is relying more and more on the continuous analysis of large amounts of data. Product data can come from many sources with varying effort in obtaining the data, e.g., condition monitoring and maintenance data. Intelligent products, also known as “product embedded information devices” (PEID), are already equipped with sensors and onboard computing capabilities and therefore able to generate valuable data such as the number of user interactions during the use phase. The internet of things (IoT) makes data transfer possible at any time to close the loop for the product lifecycle data and methods like machine learning promote new uses of those data. This paper proposes a methodology to capture the most relevant data on product use and human–product interaction automatically and utilize it as part of data-driven product improvement. Product engineers and designers will gain insights into the use phase and can derive design changes and quality improvements. The methodology guides the user through research on product use dimensions based on the principles of user-centered design (UCD). The findings are applied to define what usage elements, such as specific actions and context, need to be available from the use phase. During systems development, machine learning is suggested to fuse sensor data to efficiently capture the usage elements. After product deployment, use data are retrieved and analyzed to identify the improvement potential. This research is a first step on the long way to self-optimizing products.
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February 2019
Research-Article
A Framework for the Capture and Analysis of Product Usage Data for Continuous Product Improvement
Henning Voet,
Henning Voet
Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production
Engineering (WZL),
RWTH Aachen University,
Campus-Boulevard 30,
Aachen D-52074, Germany
e-mail: Henning.Voet@wzl.rwth-aachen.de
Engineering (WZL),
RWTH Aachen University,
Campus-Boulevard 30,
Aachen D-52074, Germany
e-mail: Henning.Voet@wzl.rwth-aachen.de
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Max Altenhof,
Max Altenhof
Laboratory for Machine Tools
and Production Engineering (WZL),
RWTH Aachen University,
Campus-Boulevard 30,
Aachen D-52074, Germany
e-mail: Max.Altenhof@rwth-aachen.de
and Production Engineering (WZL),
RWTH Aachen University,
Campus-Boulevard 30,
Aachen D-52074, Germany
e-mail: Max.Altenhof@rwth-aachen.de
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Max Ellerich,
Max Ellerich
Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production
Engineering (WZL),
RWTH Aachen University,
Campus-Boulevard 30,
Aachen D-52074, Germany
e-mail: M.Ellerich@wzl.rwth-aachen.de
Engineering (WZL),
RWTH Aachen University,
Campus-Boulevard 30,
Aachen D-52074, Germany
e-mail: M.Ellerich@wzl.rwth-aachen.de
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Robert H. Schmitt,
Robert H. Schmitt
Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production
Engineering (WZL),
RWTH Aachen University,
Campus-Boulevard 30,
Aachen D-52074, Germany
e-mail: R.Schmitt@wzl.rwth-aachen.de
Engineering (WZL),
RWTH Aachen University,
Campus-Boulevard 30,
Aachen D-52074, Germany
e-mail: R.Schmitt@wzl.rwth-aachen.de
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Barbara Linke
Barbara Linke
Department of Mechanical and
Aerospace Engineering,
University of California Davis,
One Shields Avenue,
2052 Bainer Hall,
Davis, CA 95616-5294
e-mail: BSLinke@ucdavis.edu
Aerospace Engineering,
University of California Davis,
One Shields Avenue,
2052 Bainer Hall,
Davis, CA 95616-5294
e-mail: BSLinke@ucdavis.edu
Search for other works by this author on:
Henning Voet
Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production
Engineering (WZL),
RWTH Aachen University,
Campus-Boulevard 30,
Aachen D-52074, Germany
e-mail: Henning.Voet@wzl.rwth-aachen.de
Engineering (WZL),
RWTH Aachen University,
Campus-Boulevard 30,
Aachen D-52074, Germany
e-mail: Henning.Voet@wzl.rwth-aachen.de
Max Altenhof
Laboratory for Machine Tools
and Production Engineering (WZL),
RWTH Aachen University,
Campus-Boulevard 30,
Aachen D-52074, Germany
e-mail: Max.Altenhof@rwth-aachen.de
and Production Engineering (WZL),
RWTH Aachen University,
Campus-Boulevard 30,
Aachen D-52074, Germany
e-mail: Max.Altenhof@rwth-aachen.de
Max Ellerich
Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production
Engineering (WZL),
RWTH Aachen University,
Campus-Boulevard 30,
Aachen D-52074, Germany
e-mail: M.Ellerich@wzl.rwth-aachen.de
Engineering (WZL),
RWTH Aachen University,
Campus-Boulevard 30,
Aachen D-52074, Germany
e-mail: M.Ellerich@wzl.rwth-aachen.de
Robert H. Schmitt
Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production
Engineering (WZL),
RWTH Aachen University,
Campus-Boulevard 30,
Aachen D-52074, Germany
e-mail: R.Schmitt@wzl.rwth-aachen.de
Engineering (WZL),
RWTH Aachen University,
Campus-Boulevard 30,
Aachen D-52074, Germany
e-mail: R.Schmitt@wzl.rwth-aachen.de
Barbara Linke
Department of Mechanical and
Aerospace Engineering,
University of California Davis,
One Shields Avenue,
2052 Bainer Hall,
Davis, CA 95616-5294
e-mail: BSLinke@ucdavis.edu
Aerospace Engineering,
University of California Davis,
One Shields Avenue,
2052 Bainer Hall,
Davis, CA 95616-5294
e-mail: BSLinke@ucdavis.edu
Manuscript received April 29, 2018; final manuscript received November 5, 2018; published online December 24, 2018. Assoc. Editor: William Bernstein.
J. Manuf. Sci. Eng. Feb 2019, 141(2): 021010 (11 pages)
Published Online: December 24, 2018
Article history
Received:
April 29, 2018
Revised:
November 5, 2018
Citation
Voet, H., Altenhof, M., Ellerich, M., Schmitt, R. H., and Linke, B. (December 24, 2018). "A Framework for the Capture and Analysis of Product Usage Data for Continuous Product Improvement." ASME. J. Manuf. Sci. Eng. February 2019; 141(2): 021010. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4041948
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