Design of Kiosk for Emission Testing for Vehicles

Binoy Mohan A. V.

binoy911@gmail.com Ph. No: 0 8105427177

Student’s Name Binoy Mohan A. V. PD (FT-2011) Academic Supervisors

Lohit H. S. C. Gopinath

Industrial Supervisors

Keywords: Emission Testing, Aesthetics, Design Inspired from Environment

ABSTRACT: Automobile pollution is a major environmental issue faced by the people all over the world. Most of the vehicles in the modern world run on petrol or diesel powered engines. The by-products emitted by all these vehicles make a large contribution in the atmospheric pollution. The quantity of this emission is measured and certified by emission testing centers and aim of this project is to improve the existing emission testing system by designing it as a Kiosk. Design process started with primary research and an identified need in emission testing centers. Existing emission testing system is an arrangement of many devices in a room and use of a portable kiosk will be able to simplify the task performed during emission testing cycle. Data collection was carried out by adopting methodologies such as literature review, product study, market study and product environment study. Trend study was carried out to understand the trends in the design of emission testing device. Technical experts were interviewed in ethnography, and personal interviews were conducted to understand their needs. Ergonomic study was conducted for deciding product parameters and user interface. Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and Product Design Specification (PDS) were generated based upon data analysis. Concepts were generated based on the derived Product Design Specification and final concept selected through weighted ranking method. The final concept design was a compact device for vehicle emission testing named as Emission Testing Kiosk. The portability of the Kiosk assists the operator to relocate easily. The tablet computer is an important feature in the kiosk which improved the user interface while accessing and also reduced the space consumption for accommodating the computer system. All the vacant spaces in the kiosk have been used for storage facility. Through this, major needs like usability, portability, easy access of the touch screen feature, ergonomics and aesthetics were addressed in the final design and the feedback obtained from the user was positive and satisfactory.

Inspiration Board Concepts Inspired from Environment

Final Concept Mock-up Model

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Design of a Kiosk for Emission Testing for Vehicles 11

design has improved by considering usability and functionality. Both the gas analyzers

and smoke meters are required with equal importance in every shop. So trend has

changed in such a way that all the devices are enclosed in one unit. In the latest designs

all the required equipments are arranged in one unit, so that user can access very easily.

Figure3. 10 Trend study[26][27][28][29]

3.7 User Study

3.7.1 Task Analysis of Emission Testing Process

1. Inserting hose to exhaust

2. Entering data in the software

3. Switching on the emission tester

from sleep mode

4. Capturing image of number

plate

5. Accelerator raised by customer

for emission detection

6. Taking the reading from the

device

7. Taking print out of testing result

8. Delivering the certificate to the

customer

Figure3. 11 Task analysis

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Design of a Kiosk for Emission Testing for Vehicles 21

• Data collection will be done by product study, user study, market study through

methods such as questionnaires, interviews, images, videos and visual design

study through form exploration, metaphors, aesthetics.

• QFD will be generated based on identified needs to arrive at target PDS.

• Concepts of Kiosk for emission testing will be generated using sketching, ideation

tools such as brain storming, mind mapping, theme boards.

• Five concepts will be generated and modeled with detailed features using software

such as CatiaV5, Alias studio tools, Adobe Photoshop.

• Rendering of Emission testing Kiosk models will be done using software such as

Hyper shot and Key shot.

• Concept evaluation for selecting the final concept will be carried out by weighted

ranking method

• Scaled mock up model of the Emission testing Kiosk will be made with detailed

features.

• Design validation will be carried out through user feedback.

Table 4. 1 Design methodology

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Design of a Kiosk for Emission Testing for Vehicles 26

Figure 5. 6 Concept doodling

5.8 Concept 1

The first concept is shown in the figure 5.7 and is developed from the shape of a

flower and flower pot. A portion of the vertical cross section is used for this concept. On

the top side a horizontal and angular area are there, which is use for placing individual

parts in the kiosk. The top portion is in circular shape so that operator can access every

area easily by turning to left and right side. The exhaust hose is placed on the bottom side

with a spring loaded rolling mechanism and the coupling can be accessed from front area.

The flower pot design concept has got many area in the main body where

cupboards and racks can be placed. The printer is placed exactly in front of the operator

to get clear visibility. But the tablet computer is placed slightly away from the operator.

Accessing the computer will be slightly difficult in this concept because hand reach

ability. The layout of the concept while emission testing is shown in figure 5.8.

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Design of a Kiosk for Emission Testing for Vehicles 31

Compactness and portability more in this design, compared to the other three

concepts. Since the major components are enclosed inside, safety is more for the unit.

Apart from this bottom area has got enough space to use as a cupboard or rack. The

working layout is shown in figure 5.14.

Figure 5. 14 Working layout for concept 4

5.12 Weighted Ranking Method

Weighted ranking method is used to select the best concept from the concepts

generated. The criteria like aesthetics, usability, portability and features are shown in

rows and the concept's rating and scores are shown in columns as shown in table 5.1.

Table 5. 1 Weighted ranking method

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Design of a Kiosk for Emission Testing for Vehicles 35

6.5 Final Concept Detailing

Figure 6. 2 External detailing

All the proposed modifications have been done in the final concept and full

external features are shown in the figure 6.2 . Green colour is given to the main body to

get a feel of nature. Graphic work given to outer body also reminds about our

responsibility to protect the environment. A UPS is placed in this, so that kiosk can work

without external power supply. The on/off button and indication display is provided along

with m/c main on/off button. The location of the printer is changed to top area, so that

operator is getting correct visibility to the printout. An extra cupboard is provided below

the sliding drawer to increase storage space. Heat ventilations are provided on the left and

right side for gas analyzer, smoke meter, printer and UPS. The logo designed is placed in

front of the kiosk and still camera is placed on back side. Back side of the kiosk is

covered with a flat panel, which is used for accessing the internal portion for assembling

and any kind of maintenance. The 360degree rotating wheels fixed on the bottom allows

the entire unit to move any direction. The tablet computer on the top side is supported by

a small portion of control panel as well as main body. The slanted position of the tablet

gives clear visibility on the screen for the operator.

M.S Ramaiah School of Advanced Studies –Postgraduate Engineering and Management Programme (PEMP)

Design of a Kiosk for Emission Testing for Vehicles 38

Figure 6. 6 Ergonomic considerations in the final concept

Starting from the positioning of the kiosk behind a vehicle, one handle is provided

on both side. The position of the handle from the ground level is maintained by following

percentile selection. To move the kiosk sideways, one of the handle can be used.

Positioning the control panel is based on the elbow height and tablet computer slanted

angle is set to get proper visibility for eye. The sliding drawer and cupboard handle is

positioned at lower levels, since there is no other option to increase the height. All the

important body postures are shown in figure 6.7.

Figure 6. 7 Different body postures during emission testing cycle

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Design of a Kiosk for Emission Testing for Vehicles 39

6.9 Final Concept Detailing(External)

Major external dimensions of the final concept are shown in figure 6.8. and 6.9

and all dimensions are in mm.

Figure 6. 8 Front and right side view drafting

Figure 6. 9 Top view drafting and isometric view

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Design of a Kiosk for Emission Testing for Vehicles 42

Figure 6. 13 Model making stage 2

The sliding drawer is fixed into the main body by sliding. One side of the

cupboard door is fixed with a hinge mechanism and door is free to open in a radial

movement. The control panel housing is fixed in the step provided on top side. After this

12 number of buttons on the control panel are made and for cutting easiness, sun board is

used as the material. The buttons are fixed on the panel using quick fix. Another

important part of the kiosk is tablet computer, which is not fixed permanently to main

body. The computer is made using sun board itself and is supported on the edges of

control panel and main body. Model making stage 3 is shown in figure 6.14.

Figure 6. 14 Model making stage 3

Sticker works are done at many areas to represent a feature as well as to show the

graphics. On the left and right side stickers are fixed which gives us the message to

protect our planet. Back side hoses are indicated with stickers. The main sticker work is

coming for the control panel and other buttons. The switches of the printer, indications

which comes on the top of control panel and main switches of the gas analyzer, smoke

meter and UPS are indicated using stickers as shown in figure 6.15.

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Design of a Kiosk for Emission Testing for Vehicles 43

Figure 6. 15 Model making stage 4

All the details shown in the digital modeling and rendering is made in the mock

up model in the scale of 1:2. Different views of the final mock up model is shown in

figure 6.16 and 6.17.

Figure 6. 16 Final mock up model images 1

Figure 6. 17 Final mock up model images 2

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Design of a Kiosk for Emission Testing for Vehicles 46

8- Conclusions

8.1 Summary

The individual project carried out was the combined result of all the previous ten

modules and one was able to understand the various steps involved in the product

development process.

Summary of works carried out in the project work are listed below:

Data collection through secondary research such as literature survey by referring

books, journals, articles, patents and internet websites

Product study to understand related products available and market study to

identify the scope of a new product in present market scenario

User study to analyse the current system in vehicle emission testing centres, their

needs and issues so that these requirements can be considered in design

Questionnaire survey among emission testing system operators and service

technicians

QFD and PDS generation from analysed data according to customer voice

Visual design exploration from environment for deriving forms and colour

combinations

Mind mapping and concept generation from metaphors derived from environment

Selection of 4 concepts and its 3-D modelling using Catia CAD software,

rendering in Keyshot

Final concept selection using weighted ranking method

Final concept modification and detailed design

Validation of the final mock-up model for functionality, ergonomics and

aesthetics.

8.2 Conclusion

The complete process of designing a Kiosk for vehicle emission testing was aimed

at solving the issues identified in the existing emission testing system. The unavailability