By Laura Oleniacz

A new study by North Carolina State University researchers found that people often considered the look, texture and, occasionally, the smell of two assistive devices — compression gloves and a knee brace — in online reviews of the products.

The findings detail key aesthetic characteristics that users care about as well as the language they’re using to describe them — factors that could be important for manufacturers to consider in product development.

“Aesthetics of assistive devices are often not taken into account despite the fact that research shows one reason for abandonment is that users feel embarrassed or stigmatized by their devices,” said the study’s lead author Kate Nartker, assistant professor of textile and apparel technology and management. “There’s also an assumption that users want to conceal their devices, but increasingly some want to express themselves, and need more opportunities for creativity and self-expression.”

In the study, researchers analyzed online reviews of assistive devices on Amazon.com to look for descriptors of the visual aesthetics of the products, such as their color, appearance, style, feel, smell and sound. They analyzed 1,000 reviews of a knee brace posted between Aug. 10, 2019, and March 18, 2021, and 1,082 reviews of compression gloves posted between Dec. 27, 2017, and March 31, 2021.

They found users did comment on the aesthetic qualities of their devices, and most commonly made comments about their visual qualities.

One of the most common words that people used in reference to visual aesthetics was “color,” which occurred 92 times. Some reviewers praised sellers for offering a variety of color options, while others requested more neutral colors, as well as colors not currently available including beige, dark brown, or grey.

“Some users complained about there not being a broader range of browns,” Nartker said. “It’s only recently we’re starting to see different shades of skin color in medical products like Band-Aids. Our findings align with this and suggest that there is a need for more skin tone colors if people want to conceal their devices. Color was also the one aesthetic option for each device, and users appreciated having multiple colors to choose from. I imagine if the device were offered in different patterns or textures, maybe that would have come up more.”

The researchers also noted that some consumers commented on their devices’ style, using that term 18 times, while the word “look” was used 144 times. Commonly, the word “look” was used to praise devices when they looked stylish and not “medical.”  Users liked it when products aligned with fashion trends.

“We had consumers who were excited that they felt the product was not read as a device from others — that the gloves looked like normal gloves and used materials they were familiar with, so they could wear them conspicuously,” Nartker said. “Devices are made to be functional, so they’re often made with industrial materials that might stick out. But consumers responded when they used recognizable materials.”

The word “smell” occurred 18 times in online reviews, primarily in a negative context. Six customers said they found a disturbing smell when they opened the product packaging, which researchers said could be an indicator to designers and developers to allow for off-gassing when packaging materials. Users also responded when the device felt rough, scratchy, soft or stretchy.

“When you’re looking at tactile characteristics, it’s hard to distinguish between aesthetics and functionality,” Nartker said. “Some had a sensation of it slipping — that could also be considered a functionality issue. In terms of smell, some people noticed body odor or off-gassing when you open the product — smell is something designers often don’t take into account.”

In future work, researchers plan to dig deeper into different demographics to find out what it is about the appearance, sound, smell or texture that appeal to product users, or not.

“This study gave us insight into how people talk about aesthetics; the language and terms are different from what is used in the field of design,” Nartker said. “It also told us that visual aesthetics was the most common feature people were concerned with, but users were also interested in texture and smell as well. Overall, this supports the argument that aesthetics need to be a bigger piece in the development of assistive devices.”

The study, “Consumer perceptions and concerns regarding aesthetic attributes of textile-based assistive devices: A qualitative analysis of online retail product reviews,” was published online in the Research Journal of Textile and Apparel. The study was supported by the Wilson College of Textiles Research Opportunity Seed Fund.

Editor’s Note: Laura Oleniacz is Public Communications Specialist at NC State News Services.

October 13, 2022

By Claudia Jarrett

Regardless of location, if you are a manager in manufacturing, you will have seen the increasingly staggering data about the so-called Great Resignation, a phenomenon where employees voluntarily decide to quit their jobs. How can automation help manufacturing businesses cope as staff retention rates fall?

The Great Resignation, a term coined by Anthony Klotz, a professor at Texas A&M University, is a growing economic trend in which employees have been voluntarily resigning from their jobs en masse since early 2021. Wage stagnation in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, job dissatisfaction and safety concerns due to COVID-19 are all contributing factors as to why staff resignation levels are persistently on the rise across the globe. So, what does this mean for the manufacturing industry?

According to the Harvard Business Review, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, employees are now self-evaluating, significantly reconsidering their career paths and prospects. Humans are creatures of habit, but the pandemic has caused a shift in both perspective and work-life balance for manufacturing staff.

In Germany, the main factor triggering this shift in the workforce was inflation. Price hikes across food and energy products meant that in 2021, Germany saw inflation rates of 4.1 per cent in September 2021 — the highest in nearly 30 years, causing employees to seek higher-paid jobs with benefits such as working from home.

What’s more, in manufacturing there are few options for remote work compared to other sectors. The Washington Post reports that manufacturing workers fear a new COVID-19 outbreak, and feel that their safety is not sufficiently protected. Other reasons for why staff retention has plummeted are the stagnation in pay rates, especially in manufacturing that involves ‘nondurable goods’, and harsh working conditions.

Leveraging Automation

Job functions within the manufacturing industry often involve constant repetitive actions that might be monotonous and even lead to strain injuries. Leveraging automation systems across production lines to automate repetitive actions will reduce the chance of human error and increase levels of accuracy, but also allow employees to move into more fulfilling job roles, increasing job satisfaction. This might reduce the levels of staff resignation and increase productivity.

Pick and place robots are just one example of how manufacturers can leverage automation for increased efficiency. Using advanced vision systems, these robots can identify, pick up and move objects from one place to another and can be configured with a myriad of end-of-arm tools, thus making the robot useful for an array of tasks. Automating repetitive processes such as this can help increase levels of production, allowing workers to focus on more complex and rewarding work.

Automating the quality assurance function of the manufacturing process can also assist managers with harnessing automation effectively. The process of quality assurance can become a tedious task for workers over time and inspectors can make mistakes due to the complex nature of the item they are inspecting, whose quality is best assessed by an automated solution. Replacing manual inspection with an autonomous machine vision solution will lead to higher inspection accuracy, while workers can be moved to tasks that require reasoning and decision-making. Navigating the automation industry and sourcing new parts for these manufacturing functions can be a costly process, but sourcing your parts from a supplier of reconditioned and obsolete parts could be the solution.

Crucially, manufacturers should not hesitate to deploy new automated solutions for fear that breakages will lead to increase maintenance costs and more downtime. Liaising with a supplier such as EU Automation will allow managers to access parts easily and affordably, so that repairs can be made quickly and stress-free. While the Great Resignation movement continues, the manufacturing industry should accelerate the adoption of new technology to optimize productivity while moving their current employees into more rewarding, fulfilling jobs. Managers must see that automation is not just another expense but an asset to be valued.

October 13, 2022