Abstract
In this paper, an ontological analysis of operations and physical causal relations in artifacts is done, which is particularly beneficial for modeling interactive artifacts. Recently, human-centered design methods have been receiving attentions. We will introduce what we call “Interactive Artifacts” which are designed for promoting appropriate interactions between operators and artifacts. We have already proposed a hierarchical model for representing interactive artifacts involving “intentions”, “operations, states” and “physical phenomena” which are tightly related with each other from teleological, causal and temporal aspects. In this model, artifacts are interpreted as interfaces between humans and environments. In this sense, the proposed model is suitable for representing interactive artifacts. One of the effective processes for designing interactive artifacts is the so called “Participatory Design”. In order to apply the proposed model to the participatory design process, we will examine the concepts that are suitable for representing “physical causalities” and “operations” based on “Ontology Engineering” and will define some “conceptual classes”. In ontology engineering, some basic concepts, which are dependent on device structures, are defined. Based on these primitive concepts, we will introduce new classes for representing artifacts. In order to elucidate the effectiveness of the proposed model and classes, we will show an example of improvemental design through participatory design processes.
