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During the first year of the project, the smart uniform has been studied and designed. The prototype is composed of two layers: the external protective and performant uniform for first responders (FR), composed of a jacket and trousers, and then smart underwear with a T-shirt and leggings to be worn under the rescuer’s professional uniform. The model of the uniform is designed according to the anatomy of the body to be more comfortable and protective. In order to address gender-specific needs, the research project studied two different models according to the anatomy of the male and female body, even though this was not specified and requested in the DoA. The prototypes have been developed taking into account the Italian sample sizes: size L (50-52 IT) for the men’s uniform, size S (38-40 IT) for the women’s one. The design of the uniform is “user centered”, taking into account the human anatomy, functional and psycho-physical needs of the first responders and the characteristics of the disaster scenarios. In order to highly protect the FR during the rescue activity the uniform is made of different innovative, protective and performant materials. The fabric mainly used is the Jackal textile, produced by Textil Santanderina, chosen for its excellent mechanical and chemical properties combined with its sustainable characteristics. Moreover, in critical points of the body (elbows, shoulders, knees), the textile is improved with an additional custom fiberglass textile layer in order to give extra protection against abrasion. Also, removable flexible 3D printed protections are implemented in these critical points to ensure improved protection against shocks. Polymer-based, custom-designed sensors monitoring the health status of the first responder are embedded in the smart underwear, as they require tight contact of the sensors on the skin: Electrocardiogram (ECG) electrodes in the T-shirt, Electromyogram (EMG) electrodes and strain sensors for joint angles estimation in the leggings. Other sensors measuring environmental parameters, such as the concentration of both toxic and explosive gases (by a commercial multi-gas detector) and the X-radiation dose (by a polymeric sensor), are placed in different external pockets of the protective uniform.

With artificial intelligence being tirelessly trained and constantly learning about subjects and objects inhabiting given environments, whole new ecosystems have been rising and developing, where beings and things are equally entangled in boundaries, connections and relationships, capable of enacting their own agencies at any time.In fact, since everyday life becomes more and more home to smart objects related to the Internet of Things paradigm at different scales of innovation - private, social, urban systems -, the resulting overcrowded ecologies seem to ask to be tackled through design approaches focusing not only on artifacts understood at a limited stage of use and as passive tools related to human agency only. Autonomous vehicles, robots, sensing surfaces, recording devices are populating society in increasing numbers, pushing the social sphere towards its more-than-human futures. In this sense, the resulting computational environment produces a more-than-human experience, with all its clustering, classifying and patterning information happening almost instantaneously and often without the need of a perceiving subject. This leads to a significant change in the way information is experienced and used: examining the interlocking nature of humans and technology by looking at the way technology is humanised, and humans are technologised, it seems that smart objects are gaining complex features like being deliberative, reflectional, experiential and communicative, allowing them to produce both reflectional knowledge, - namely knowledge which humans can use to think about phenomena with new insights - and actionable knowledge - namely knowledge which non-human actants can use to do things and achieve goals. Thus, human knowledge and data-driven knowledge promote specific values, influencing collective life, launching a twofold challenge in overcrowded ecologies: from one side, designers might address thing factors so that they could sense and understand the world through more-than-human values; from the other side designers might address being factors to build meaning through shared values.As both beings and things learn and act, the world is full of extended agencies, where it is not worth distinguishing whether humans extend their own agency through objects or vice versa. According to the “hybrid” behaviorism making its way and leading to new insights for design culture, the contribution aims at investigating more-than-human factors and values in times of hyper-communication, where contemporary landscapes appear so heterogeneously populated, that embracing diversity and the radical interdependence it entails means grasping the diverse needs of design beneficiaries, be they beings or things. Synthetic and organic agency, natural and machinical ones: it is very likely that designers will not only design with them, but also for them: networks of natural and computational entities can in fact be thought of not only given objects - wheter they be enabler or disabler - but agents participating in the design space, triggering the development of corresponding design methods, frameworks, and practices to better address the challenges to be faced today as a planet. Thus, designing in overcrowded ecologies becomes a matter of care and inspires designers into shaping more-than-human communities, expanding their disciplinary areas of practice as an exercise of stewardship within society.

Screen-based interactive devices stand as effective supports for playful experience in learning processes for kids with special educational needs. The paper presents a design path of the development of a new phygital tool able to support and to improve the treatment of some learning disorder. In line with the state-of-the-art of theoretical research about playful learning in children with special needs, the research moves from the development of ‘1,2,3 Stella!’ app, that works with a screen-based interaction learning process, to the possibilities offered by product-screen interaction. The research, through tests on prototype provided by NuovaMente Children's Diagnostic Centre, concludes that the development of hybrid reality game, involving both physical and virtual reality, improves therapeutic treatment in children with special needs.

The research illustrates how the case studies related to the theme of "logistics in fashion manufacturing" could be targeted to emphasize the user interaction with the product system. Radio...

In Italy, craftsmanship has traditionally been associated with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs); these can be demonstrated in distinctive examples of excellence, but on the other hand of great weaknesses; However, Large companies have begun to understand the craftsmanship values, encompassing the role of artisans in their marketing strategies. The artisan’s role of initiator and co-designer is seldom recognized by major brands, and many big companies actively conceal the contributions made by production excellence within SMEs. Maintaining this non-recognition—within the fashion community, between brand and producer—keeps consumers focused on the intangible value of the brand, rather than the tangible value contributed by traditions and innovations within production.

Los autores discuten la tendencia hacia el consumo de productos artesanales en los mercados de las economías desarrolladas y se preguntan si el valor artesanal radica en la “marca” de los productos artesanales o en el “saper fare” (saber hacer) como valor intrínseco de la artesanía tradicional. A partir de algunos ejemplos de la Toscana, se analiza el valor agregado de la innovación en las cadenas de valor globales (que conjugan actividades dispares como la marca, el diseño y la fabricación en distintas regiones), en contraste con el valor elemental de la práctica artesanal tradicional, localizada e histórica. En esta comparación se discute la base filosófica del “saber hacer”; cómo la artesanía impregna un producto con identidad intrínseca o “aura”; y el papel crucial del “genius loci” (espíritu del lugar) en la comprensión del producto artesanal y su proceso. Se argumenta que los procesos habilitados para GVC (cadenas de valor globales) han relegado a artesanos toscanos altamente calificados a ser proveedores de mano de obra de los diseñadores de lujo globales y de los gerentes de marca. Por último, los autores sostienen que “la artesanía de avanzada” –que comprende métodos ágiles y adaptables que permiten las técnicas de producción digital– se puede combinar con el “saper fare” italiano para colocar a los artesanos expertos en el centro del proceso estratégico, promoviendo que artesanos y diseñadores compartan información como co-creadores y diseñadores. Por lo tanto, este concepto de “artesanía de avanzada” promete mejorar la participación de la Toscana en la creación de valor de la región y de Italia

It has been verified that today in the Italian schools there are about 15–20% of students presenting different kinds of “Special Educational Needs”. In order to respond to BES, the schools follow the Customized Learning Plan (PDP), a useful tool for designing operational models, strategies, systems and learning criteria for each student. For the various operators involved in the treatment of the disorders and also for the parents, it is of great importance to have adequate, efficient and flexible support tools that respect the desires and the enthusiasm of children of different age, without creating additional psychological and social discomfort. This research presents a particular relevance focus on the issue of management of entertainment and playful learning through digital systems offering a ‘playful interaction’. New concepts of ‘game’ and ‘device for interactive activities’ offer screen-based compounds to scenarios on the relation between user and device, including physical activities or integrated physical gestures, which relate the observation of screen to the physical reality.

Italian manufacture of home furnishings consists in a system of SMEs operating with artisan traditions, that have production processes of excellence. This production system is composed of enterprises that need to efficiently and quickly optimize innovation, design, and production processes. Within industry 4.0 these enterprises have undergone profound transformations in various aspects, in particular with the progressive connection between innovative technologies and traditional craft processes. Aiming at making better use of existing product resources for innovative design based on craftsmanship know-how, this paper presents the results of a new concept of Product Reverse Engineering applied to practical craft-based manufacturing process. The research team, worked on “historical” manufacturing collections through 3D scanning, 3D re-modeling and design. The team aimed to define a set of instruments, procedures and best practices for product and production analysis.

SAM is a digital and material tool for advanced training in interventional pneumology. This idea combines the design culture to the specialized disciplines of pulmonology. The research aims...