What a great idea that will vastly improve instruction manuals, especially for fixing or changing large, complex machines like cars, and for assembly instructions of large and small machines. Thanks, Beth.
@WilliamK: While I have to agree poorly written product directions translated to another platform are just another set of poorly written product directions, I think we're missing the bigger picture here. The idea is substituting the poorly written text, which is often translated from foreign text and done horribly at best, with highly graphical visual elements, frequently animated instructions. Remember the saying, a picture is worth a thousands words. It might make things far clearer if you could see an exploded image of the parts, with animations that depict how things actually fit together.
It may be harder to lose online instructions, but it would be a challnge to find them 2 or 3 years from now, even if they were saved on the ipad. Not to mention the number of times that I have accidentally dropped instructions. Dropping an ipad can be costly.
I do agree that poorly written instructions are a large source of customer frustration, but it is not clear how poorly written 3d animated instructions will be any better. To the contrary, those instructions will be more expensive to correct, so revisions will probably not happen. There is no substitute for accuracy and completeness in instructions.
Of course the "cool" factor will sella lot of products, but once again, slick production gimmicks are no substitute for being correct and complete. Of course, it is a nice way to provide "product differentiation" as a substitute for that more expensive "product quality" that is so very rare these days.
Yes, Lego is really on the ball about partnering with industry. I think one masterful partnership is their one with CopaData. CopaData offers a free "zenon Science Pack", which includes a version of their soft PLC and HMI/SCADA software that works with Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0.
So not only do people get to have a lot of fun controlling their Mindstorms projects, but they get to see the software in action, and work with it much more closely than one could in a class or demo, before deciding whether they want to use it to run their plants.
That makes sense, Beth. The iPad tie-in also makes sense, especially when it comes to the maintenance and repair of any system, factory or aircraft. The iPad is a portability improvement over the laptop. In plants, maintenance folks like the iPad because they don't have to balance it on their knee like a laptop when they're out looking at the line.
I can see a fantastic use for this as assembly instructions. I have had to read (and write) many assembly instructions both for home and work and trying to read a document that has been translated from German to Mandarin then to English, well you get the picture. If the assembly instructions are put on the web using visualization software that you could read with your iPad or any smart device then this would make assembly so much easier plus reduce the amount of translation required.
During assembly you could run the sequence then pause it any time while you catch up with the video then run it again. If there are options then you could interactively drag in those options and the sequence would be modified to suite. Also if you have pieces that need to be manipulated into place, perhaps ones that may have collisions with other parts one could do this on the screen to see how to orient them.
It's a smart pairing. Grab the kids and get their parents at the same time. Also does a lot to expose future generations of scientists, builders, and engineers to the tools that will help them do their jobs.
It's interesting to see how Lego has partnered with the technical world. Lego has also partnered with National Instruments, using the LabView graphical programming langaue in its Mindstorms set.
I have also assembled Lego's for a long time with my kids. Some of the bigger kits can be more challenging. My sons and I have also used some of the robotics technology and some of the designer software. This seems to be a big step forward from that.
If the instructions are on-line, you can not lose them. I would pay a premium for my next piece of composite furniture to have 3D documentation with a comprehensive parts list
With LEDs dropping in price virtually every year, automakers have begun employing them, not only on luxury vehicles, but on entry-level models, as well.
The 3D printing revolution seems to have a knack for quickly moving technology ahead by way of collaborative effort and even a little friendly competition -- all of course in the name of scientific advancement.
Advantech has launched a new series of motion-control I/O modules to meet the increased demands that come with more distributed industrial systems that require control of a growing number of axes and devices.
Using almost 200 light-emitting diodes in the front and back of the new 2014 CTS, Cadillac designers are showing how LEDs can change the character of a vehicle.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 3
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
3 
