Ricardo Sosa

Monash University, Monash Art Design + Architecture, Adjunct

The University of Sydney, Architecture, Design & Planning, Alumnus

Auckland University of Technology, CoLab, Faculty Member

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27 years of experience as a design practitioner (interaction, product, participatory), design scholar, and consultant.
Supervisors: John S. Gero
Address: New Zealand

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Books by Ricardo Sosa

Trends in Computer Aided Innovation

The contributions include: • Research Papers describing contributions and latest results of f... more The contributions include:
• Research Papers describing contributions and latest results of fundamental investigations;
• Industrial Papers presenting applications of CAI experiences and methods;
• Speculative Papers advancing experiences with new theories, approaches and methods, without necessarily offering validated results;
• Engineering Creativity and Innovation Papers on new experiences from education, training, teamwork and case examples.

The contributions are focused on following topics:
• The innovation process;
• Engineering design and innovation;
• TRIZ, CAI and Artificial Intelligence;
• Basic definitions to CAI;
• Fundamental approaches: CAD/CAE and CAI software;
• Optimization and innovation;
• Shape and topology generators and optimization;
• Integration of CAI methods and tools into engineering processes;
• Innovation in collaborative networks of enterprises;
• Social impact of innovations.

Computational Explorations of Creativity and Innovation: An in-silico laboratory to understand the social dimension of creativity

This book explores the social dimension of creativity through computational scenarios. The aim of... more This book explores the social dimension of creativity through computational scenarios. The aim of this work is to define, implement and understand the different actors and components of a system and the rules that determine their interaction. Creativity and innovation are explored here in three complementary dimensions: the creative individual, the field of peers and the evolving domain or culture. A number of factors are identified that contribute to the emergence of phenomena that can be associated to creativity and innovation. At the individual level the roles of abilities, persistence, opportunities, imitative behaviour, peer influence, and creative strategies are discussed. At the field level determinants under inspection include group structure, social mobility and organisation, emergence of opinion leaders, established rules and norms, and distribution of adoption and quality assessments. Domain aspects of interest include the generation and access to knowledge, roles of gatekeeping, domain size and distribution, and artefact structure and representation. These insights are discussed in view of current findings and relevant modelling approaches in the literature.

Papers by Ricardo Sosa

Qualities of design briefs for studio learning

DRS LearnXDesign Conference, 2019

The design brief is considered a pivotal component in studio-based learning, yet there is a pauci... more The design brief is considered a pivotal component in studio-based learning, yet there is a paucity of studies on the student brief genre in design education research. This work seeks to contribute by examining brief qualities from a variety of relevant sources that can help tertiary educators name, define, frame, evaluate, and present student briefs. The paper draws from the scant but growing academic literature on this topic, as well as from textbooks and publications on professional practice and design competitions. A dozen qualities are articulated from the literature that shape the purpose, content and context of briefs. Of special interest are the affective qualities of briefs, the interplay between project outcomes, learning objectives and assessment criteria, and the degree to which student briefs are "execution dependent". A research agenda concludes the paper to comprehensively study the effects of design briefs in studio-based learning. 1 The brief genre Design briefs are used in multiple contexts and for a range of purposes, thus making it difficult to narrow down a cohesive definition. Briefs broadly refer to a type of memoranda used for establishing goals, principles, or rules of engagement and are especially relevant in the planning and management of projects ranging from advertising to construction. Creative briefs are used as a communicative tool between stakeholders to express basic information for creative projects including in all areas of design. In design education at the tertiary level, the "student brief" refers to the document or handout prepared by teachers to operationalise the learning objectives typically in studio learning environments. Student briefs in design share some elements with those used in professional practice as well as with competition briefs and design tasks used in experimental studies of design activity. As this paper will illustrate, student briefs vary widely in nature, function, elements, formats, and usage in design education. However, it is broadly believed that design briefs play a pivotal component given that they are an instrument that shapes relationships and the learning experience in the studio.

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Teaching (with) Empathy and Creativity in Design

DRS LearnXDesign Conference, 2019

Empathy and creativity are desirable core design competencies. The relationship between these con... more Empathy and creativity are desirable core design competencies. The relationship between these concepts, however, has remained largely unexplored-including how this relationship shapes and is shaped by design education. This work unfolds the creases between empathy and creativity, identifies their synergies and contradictions in design education, and defines a research programme to improve the teaching of and with creative and empathic dispositions. A comprehensive research programme for the advancement of empathy and creativity in design requires diverse and highly inventive approaches to design knowledge. Design researchers are encouraged to draw from their professional and personal areas of expertise to formulate new research questions that connect empathy and creativity, and to adopt and adapt methods of inquiry to study these connections.

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Metrics to select design tasks in experimental creativity research

Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science, 2018

This paper demonstrates the need for systematic approaches to assess design tasks for experimenta... more This paper demonstrates the need for systematic approaches to assess design tasks for experimental studies of idea generation and conceptual design. We first examine a collection of 160 design tasks used in the literature revealing a high variance of task characteristics. Variance across studies is captured by analysing operating variables including task elaboration, task orientation, task selection, participants, and time allocated for ideation. Four metrics are then proposed to assist researchers to objectively characterise design tasks. These metrics help identify the semantic and lexical dimensions of problem statements, evaluate precedent ideas, and assess task wording. The value of this approach is demonstrated by applying the metrics to a subset of design tasks showing their usefulness to assess the design task objectively as part of the wider experimental design process. Armed with these metrics, researchers can tune both the task and the wider experiment to best match the purposes and the operating variables of their studies. The paper concludes by formulating concrete recommendations to assist in the selection of design tasks using these metrics. Abstract: This paper demonstrates the need for systematic approaches to assess design tasks for experimental studies of idea generation and conceptual design. We first examine a collection of 160 design tasks used in the literature revealing a high variance of task characteristics. Variance across studies is captured by analysing operating variables including task elaboration, task orientation, task selection, participants, and time allocated for ideation. Four metrics are then proposed to assist researchers to objectively characterise design tasks. These metrics help identify the semantic and lexical dimensions of problem statements, evaluate precedent ideas, and assess task wording. The value of this approach is demonstrated by applying the metrics to a subset of design tasks showing their usefulness to assess the design task objectively as part of the wider experimental design process. Armed with these metrics, researchers can tune both the task and the wider experiment to best match the purposes and the operating variables of their studies. The paper concludes by formulating concrete recommendations to assist in the selection of design tasks using these metrics.

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DETC2014-35568 Identifying Opportunities for the Design of Innovative Reconfigurable Robotics

ABSTRACT The creative design of reconfigurable robots presents challenges that can be tackled by ... more ABSTRACT The creative design of reconfigurable robots presents challenges that can be tackled by the application of transformation principles for innovative design. This paper extends previous work in the systematic extraction of transformation principles in mechanical systems and reports new results that apply to the design of innovative reconfigurable robotics. Definitions of key terms are revised and a deductive research approach is used to expand and complement the conceptual classification of design operators (principles, facilitators and guidelines) based on semantic analysis of lexical structure, written and spoken conventions. The aim of this work is to produce a comprehensive taxonomy and semantic representation that can be used in the systematic identification of opportunities for the design of innovative solutions in reconfigurable robotics. This semantically robust, comprehensive and cross-domain conceptual taxonomy is tested in the mapping of large knowledge bases, demonstrating its potential to characterize large solution spaces and to identify new opportunities for the design of innovative solutions. Specialized assessments in the area of robotics and design show that this method successfully captures the qualitative reasoning of seasoned practitioners and has a clear potential to inform the design of innovative transformer designs. INTRODUCTION The design of artefacts that combine two or more primary functions or functional solutions is a rich area of research and has high potential for innovative future practice [1,2,3]. In robotics, reconfiguration may be conceptualized as a design strategy to combine robot components (sensors, actuators, mechanical parts, power, controller, etc.) that configure a single entity that has the ability to change its internal structure, mobility, or principal activity without requiring any external intervention for activation, assembly or disassembly. In a second variant of reconfigurable robots, these platforms may consist of homogenous or heterogeneous modular components capable of acting as autonomous independent entities. The main open challenges in reconfigurable robotics include: a) the identification of specific real applications where their benefits can be proven [4] and b) the development of systematic design methods and processes in this area [5]. The work presented in this paper addresses these two challenges by extending previous work on design principles for innovative transformer products with the aim of supporting the systematic identification of opportunities for the design of next-generation reconfigurable robots. Figure 1 depicts the research journey of the work presented in this paper.

A wide range of important social phenomena can be made to emerge from the spatio-temporal interaction of autonomous agents operating on landscapes under simple local rules." (Epstein and Axtell 1996) "Even remarkably simple programs seem to capture the essential mechanisms responsible for all sor...

Computational Explorations of Creativity and Innovation in Design

Abstract This book explores the social dimension of creativity through computational scenarios. T... more Abstract This book explores the social dimension of creativity through computational scenarios. The aim of this work is to define, implement and understand the different actors and components of a system and the rules that determine their interaction. Creativity and innovation are explored here in three complementary dimensions: the creative individual, the field of peers and the evolving domain or culture. A number of factors are identified that contribute to the emergence of phenomena that can be associated to creativity and ...

Afinar la mirada del diseñador ante los escenarios de cambio Modelos de simulación social para " bombear intuiciones " en el diseño

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Sosa Mohan Wood slides

A computational intuition pump to examine group creativity: Building on the ideas of others

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Beyond " Design Thinking

This poster presents an analysis of "design thinking" as a way to formulate strategies to transfe... more This poster presents an analysis of "design thinking" as a way to formulate strategies to transfer design principles across disciplines. This analysis identifies strengths and weaknesses of design thinking in view of evidence from design research, and suggests that future frameworks aimed at transferring design to other fields need to formulate heuristics, support open and participatory practices, highlight ethical dimensions, align with characteristics of wicked problems, incentivize disruptive ideas, and support reflective practice.

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!Orthodoxies in Multidisciplinary Design- Oriented Degree Programmes

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Designing the robot inclusive space challenge

Digital Communications and Networks, 2015

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Changing Conversations and Perceptions: The Research and Practice of Design Science

Impact of Design Research on Industrial Practice, 2015

Nested Reconfigurable Robots: Theory, Design, and Realization

International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems, 2015

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DESIGN WITH THE DEVELOPING WORLD: A MODEL WITH SEVEN CHALLENGES FOR THE FUTURE Authors

Design with the Developing World (DDW) brings a unique set of project challenges as it asks peopl... more Design with the Developing World (DDW) brings a unique set of project challenges as it asks people with very different technological relationships to collaborate on sustainable system solutions. Scoping the level of backgrounds and equalizing experiences for a design project is therefore highly challenging, as there is little information on what needs to be considered in this vast collaborative and interdisciplinary process. This study identifies, and analyzes the barriers and enablers extracted from a selection of DDW literature, and clusters this data into core themes of user, designer and stakeholder interactions. As a whole, we find that DDW projects need to grow relationships between Users, Stakeholders, and Designers. Users, Stakeholders, and Designers all have very different relationships with each other, and must come to understand each other to create a new hybrid technology, as well as the supporting systems. Although some gaps exist between Designers, Users, and Stakehold...

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Art as metaphor

Proceedings of the third conference on Creativity & cognition - C&C '99, 1999

On a Jansen leg with multiple gait patterns for reconfigurable walking platforms

Advances in Mechanical Engineering, 2015

Legged robots are able to move across irregular terrains and those based on 1-degree-of-freedom p... more Legged robots are able to move across irregular terrains and those based on 1-degree-of-freedom planar linkages can be energy efficient, but are often constrained by a limited range of gaits which can limit their locomotion capabilities considerably. This article reports the design of a novel reconfigurable Theo Jansen linkage that produces a wide variety of gait cycles, opening new possibilities for innovative applications. The suggested mechanism switches from a pin-jointed Grübler kinematic chain to a 5-degree-of-freedom mechanism with slider joints during the reconfiguration process. It is shown that such reconfigurable linkage significantly extend the capabilities of the original design, while maintaining its mechanical simplicity during normal operation, to not only produce different useful gait patterns but also to realize behaviors beyond locomotion. Experiments with an implemented prototype are presented, and their results validate the proposed approach.

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The Creative Value of Distant Analogies

Ricardo Sosa

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