Now, civil engineering is asked to have an interface with regional endemic culture. What are intended by Fuudo Technology are not only the conventional civil engineering structures of utility and strength, but also such civil engineering structures that may add the beauty of harmony with the endemic culture of the locality involved. Fuudo Technology aims at harmony with local identities by making full use of the local endemic resources to let the locality shine. In an attempt to build up Fuudo Technology, the methodologies of endemic factor analysis using the sensitivity engineering technique to quantify sensitivity adjectives and the technique to quantify local endemic characteristics, etc. gave the strongest direct hint. In addition, such aesthetics and philosophy to pursue the beauty of public works, the local identity and what the existence of public works means in relation to acclimatology are indispensable. The purpose of Fuudo Technology is to seek a harmony with the history and culture of a specific locality. In other words, it seeks making things based on provision of utility and strength added by the beauty of harmony with natural environment and further by the beauty of harmony with the Fuudo culture of the locality involved. Its purpose factor is the formation of an excellent Fuudo.

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We developed an infrared light pointing device for people with severe physical disabilities for manipulating multimedia on a personal computer. After studying the design requirements of a suitable input device for the disabled, we consequently designed a device that can control cursor movement through corresponding rotation of the head and control the mouse button through a puff & sip switch. The pointing device utilizes a pointer mounted on the user's head, which through the medium of infrared light, communicates with a receiver/controller installed on a personal computer. This pointing device implements a system which enables the mouse cursor to move according to the angle of movement of the head. Our purpose is to implement a user interface to meet the user's Kansei, that is to provide the user with a pointing device that is adaptable to suit any user's situation. We firmly believe that this proposal is useful for the field of KANSEI ENGINEERING.

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In this study the survey was conducted using a questionnaire by means of the conjoint analysis and AHP, in order to examine empirically and quantitatively the influence of consumers' awareness of the environment over their purchasing behaviors. By comparing the results obtained from both analysis methods, the gap was quantitatively measured between the consumers' logical recognition and actual product-selection behaviors, or between consumers' awareness of the environment and their purchasing behaviors. As a result, the following points have been clarified:
1) There is a gap between consumers overall logical thinking (attitudes) and specific product-selection behaviors.
2) While consumers take into consideration various attributes when thinking of daily necessaries like kitchen detergent or toilet paper at the attitude level, there is a notable tendency of carrying a specific attribute when actually selecting products. On the other hand, when purchasing durable goods such as automobiles or refrigerators, the consumers will consider plural attributes not only in attitude but in actual selection behaviors. The gap in durable goods is smaller than that in daily necessaries.
3) The influence of consumer's environment-conscious concept to purchase daily necessaries such as kitchen detergent and toilet paper is rather minute, while the influence of consumer's environment-conscious concept to purchase durable goods such as automobiles and refrigerators is very distinguished.
The other purpose of this study is the pursuit of the environment-conscious product concepts and the estimate of market potentials of such concepts. As a result of the analysis, the following points have been clarified:
1) The environment-conscious products of daily necessaries, like kitchen detergent and toilet paper, are not easy to sell well.
2) The environment-conscious products of durable goods such as automobiles and refrigerators are easier to sell well.

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An original technique for design based on the combination of human thought and statistical handling of evaluation is described. The unique evaluation point by which the commercial goods were characterized was analyzed using the knives specially designed from the view point of preciseness. Then the relation between the features of the unique point and common recognition of the impression was discussed. The impression of samples was sensory evaluated using a scale composed of several estimation items. The distribution diagram of data was described and a sample which locates in an unique position in the diagram was selected and called a sample of the singularity. The feature of impression for the singularity sample was analyzed by means of the statistical method. An improved sample emphasized the feature was newly designed, and was sensory evaluated with the same set of evaluation scale. Repetition of this process will make surer in respect of the recognition of the impression for the design

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With women enjoying higher levels of education and social status today, differentiation between the masculine and the feminine is becoming less and less apparent. In modern society the desirability of certain clothing images reflects such changes accordingly. First, in order to measure and analyze the clothing images as described above, a scale that is suitable for this particular research was developed by examining the factor structure of desirable images of male and female clothing. The measurement scale for the desirability of clothing images consists of five dimensions, (beauty-sensitivity, conspicuous, casualness, refinement and conservative). Six items for each dimension were chosen. The internal coherence of the scale terms selected was ascertained by calculating Cronbach's a coefficient. Its values showed a high rate of more than 0.72 for each dimension. Next, male and female clothing images were measured by using a developed scale. It could be concluded that “casualness”and “refinement”were both recognized as important dimensions for clothing images for both male and female. However, the “conservative”dimension was of minor importance for both male and female. In particular, image scores higher than average (4) were observed in the fashionable of the “conspicuous”for both male and female clothing. Higher scores were also observed in the “refinement”and “casualness”dimensions. As a result, it may be noted that the clothing images for both male and female are becoming similar. By way of the analyses and measurement as realized by the scale developed in this study, the desirability of clothing images, as described above, may be more easily understood.

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In order to extend the area of activity for wheelchair users, the vehicles modified with a wheelchair transporting apparatus (WTA) has been noticed recently. The WTA allows users to travel for long distance. However, this system has been described as uncomfortable because the wheelchair is rigidly secured on the vehicle floor and the vibration of the floor is directly transmitted to passenger. The objectives of the present study are to investigate the vibration in the WTA and to clarify the design problems.
First, in order to measure the vibration of the WTA, the driving experiment using an automobile was performed at 3 levels of 30, 50 and 70 km/h. The vibration in the front-back and vertical directions on the Passenger-Wheelchair-Floor system was measured by acceleration sensors. The measurement points were 5 points on the passenger's body, 3 points on the wheelchair, and 2 points on thefl oor. As a result, the input vibration of the floor between 1 and 10 Hz was found to generate resonance. In addition, the equipment used to secure the wheelchair was found to increase the acceleration of the floor vibration. Therefore, the input vibration between 1 and 10 Hz is revealed as a factor that causes discomfort in the WTA.
Next, as design problems, necessity of reducing acceleration between 1 and 10 Hz was pointed out. In order to solve this problem, a method to clarify the characteristics of shock-absorbing equipment was proposed.

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The transportation of wheelchair-bound passengers by specially equipped cars or buses has expanded wheelchair users' area of activity. However, vehicles equipped with the existing wheelchair transporting apparatus have been described as uncomfortable because the wheelchair is rigidly fixed on the floor, and vibration is directly transmitted to the occupant. In designing such apparatus, it is necessary to control the vibration and improve comfort. Improving comfort is difficult because driving conditions, wheelchair users' constitution and wheelchair types vary greatly. Therefore, modeling the system and simulating its quantitative movement is an effective design support method. The purpose of this study is to examine the vibration characteristics of the system and construct a vibration simulation model.
A modal experiment with a vibration generator was performed. The vibration transmitted to occupant was measured for an input vibration from 1 Hz to 15 Hz, and four natural modes of the system were clarified. Then, the occupant-wheelchair system was modeled as a two-dimensional seven-degrees-of-freedom model consisting of masses, springs and dampers. The occupant was modeled in five segments and the wheelchair in one, and then the equation of motion of the system was formulated. The unknown physical characteristics of the elements were clarified with the modal properties obtained through the modal experiment. A simulation in a natural mode was carried out, and its result agreed with the actual movement of the occupant recorded on videotape in the experiment. The validity of the model was thus proved. In addition, model simulations were run by varying the physical parameters. Because it resulted in changes of the movement in proportion to the parameter variation, the constructed model was verified to be valuable for design purposes.

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Vehicles modified with a wheelchair transporting apparatus (WTA) are generally used for improving wheelchair users' mobility. However, in designing the apparatus, consideration for passengers' discomfort and fatigue is not sufficient. As a countermeasure of this problem, both vibration characteristics of the passenger-wheelchair system and passengers' sensitivity need to be studied. In previous study, authors constructed a vibration simulation model to predict vibration on passengers' body from floor vibration. The objectives of the present study are to clarify the relationship between vibration and comfort, and to propose a method to support designing a WTA by the findings of this study.
First, we carried out a vibration experiment with a vibration generator that vibrated the passenger-wheelchair system and measured floor vibration, vibration on the human body, and subjective evaluation.
Second, we discussed experimental results. The result of riding comfort measurements proved that the characteristics of sensitivity to vibration differ in two frequency ranges: from 2 Hz to 6 Hz and from 6 Hz to 12 Hz. Therefore we divided the results into two sections for these two frequency ranges.
Relationship between floor vibration and riding comfort was examined. We carried out the multiple regression analysis and deduced the formulas that express the value of riding comfort by the accelerationand frequency of the vibration on the floor. Next, relationship between body vibration and riding comfort was examined. From the result of correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis, vertical vibration on the upper torso is found to be the most closely related to the riding comfort. Regression formulas that express the value of riding comfort by the acceleration and frequency of the vertical vibration on the upper torso were deduced.
Finally, we proposed a vibration evaluation model that can predict riding comfort from the vertical vibration on the upper torso, which will be valuable in designing a WTA.

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