Comparison of Hand and Computer Form Generation Using Near-infrared Spectroscopy

Abstract

The drawing by CAD is said to be superior to the hand drawing in the accuracy and ease of modifying the drawings, but to be inferior in the generation of a creative idea accidentally given by the hand drawing. There are some studies to compare the two drawings, but is no one to evaluate the difference in the designers’ creativity, quantitatively. The present study is a preliminary stage to quantitatively differentiate the creativity in the idea generation employing a hand drawing and CAD software and measured the cerebral blood flow of the sixteen participants taking the creative task (Finke’s pattern generation task) employing the hand or computer drawing. The blood flow was measured using a NIRS (Near Infra-Red Spectroscopy) apparatus. The result shows that the computer operation activates more channels, especially in the right prefrontal cortex, than the hand drawing.