Item 1 of 1

Delft Design Stories

24 October 2024

Including residents in energy hubs could solve energy poverty

Wind turbines, solar panels, batteries. We are producing, consuming and distributing energy more locally. This offers opportunities to solve challenges like energy poverty. “But if we want to create just, fair, and successful energy hubs, we must make them understandable and relevant for everyone," says researcher Abhigyan Singh.

21 October 2024

Unburdening the power grid with energy hubs: here’s how it works

Technically, it can be done, but in practice, it rarely succeeds: better matching the supply and demand of energy users to generate and use more power with the same grid. For her graduation project, TU Delft Odile Niers designed four interventions that succeed in initiating energy hubs in business parks. "We need to focus a lot more on social relationships," she says.

02 October 2024

AI voice assistant helps the visually impaired learn digital skills

We are glued to our screens. Televisions, computers, tablets, smartphones. They offer a world of possibilities and are – for the most part - easy to use. But what about people who are visually impaired or blind? Are their needs considered when designing these devices? No, says IDE alumnus Konrad Krawczyk. That’s why he created an AI-based voice assistant to help people with visual impairment learn digital skills.

01 October 2024

Interview with Jan-Carel Diehl: “TU Delft is one big research playground”

Professor of Design for Inclusive Sustainable Healthcare Jan-Carel Diehl combines healthcare solutions with care for our planet. His many projects make an impact from Rotterdam to Sub-Saharan Africa. Where does he want to make a difference? What is he most proud of? And where lies the added value of a designer in the healthcare sector? Find out in this interview. Prof Diehl gives his inaugural lecture at TU Delft's Aula on Friday 11 October.

24 August 2024

Sustainability scores could boost green travel

How do we gently push travellers to explore more sustainable travel methods, such as trains? IDE alumnus Jenske Gosens dedicated her graduation project to figuring this out. Her recommendation? A neutral booking platform that assigns sustainability scores to different travel methods. “This platform both motivates and facilitates different kinds of travellers.”

30 July 2024

Interview with Elvin Karana: “Technology can be a valuable tool to rebuild our bond with nature”

Elvin Karana is a Professor of Materials Innovation and Design at the TU Delft, Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering and a global frontrunner in the field of biodesign research. In this interview, we explore what inspires her to study at the intersection of biology and design. What the not-so-distant future holds for biodesign research. And what makes her research group so unique.

30 July 2024

How to embed citizens’ values in smart traffic systems

The ‘Code the Streets’ system is being developed to allow for road space to be used for different activities throughout the day. But how do we choose, in a fair way, what our roads will be used for? IDE alumni Fabian Geiser designed a system map that helps to embed stakeholder values like safety and inclusivity into navigation systems.

03 July 2024

10 principles to forge resilient designers

Designers go out into the world to solve big picture problems. Issues related to sustainability, health or the energy transition for example. As a consequence, they encounter resistance to change. How do we prepare designers to be strong and capable? Discover research by Rebecca Price and Mieke van der Bijl-Brouwer, and their 10 principles to guide designers in their own practice of building resilience.

Delft Design Stories

Read the stories of researchers and students at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, and discover the scientific questions on which they work and the solutions they present.

We\Visit: combatting loneliness with video-calling

Visiting a loved one who’s critically ill: normally that’s possible, but due to the coronavirus, visiting ICUs is no longer permitted. The result is a lonely fight behind closed doors. In an attempt to combat the loneliness, researchers at Delft University of Technology have come up with We\Visit: a tool that facilitates video-calling by appointment. And it was developed at lightning speed after the Reinier de Graaf hospital sounded the alarm.

We\Visit: combatting loneliness with video-calling

Visiting a loved one who’s critically ill: normally that’s possible, but due to the coronavirus, visiting ICUs is no longer permitted. The result is a lonely fight behind closed doors. In an attempt to combat the loneliness, researchers at Delft University of Technology have come up with We\Visit: a tool that facilitates video-calling by appointment. And it was developed at lightning speed after the Reinier de Graaf hospital sounded the alarm.

A meaty trick: plant-based deception for good

Eating meat is deeply rooted in habits, status, culture, and identity, so it is difficult to reduce our meat consumption. What if instead of viewing the ubiquity of meat in our meals as a problem, we see it as the key to the solution? Just by using a couple of tricks that are already found all around us. Charlotte de Wit, recently graduated student of Industrial Design Engineering at TU Delft, accepted this meaty challenge.

Recycling mouth masks

In the fight against the increasing shortage of mouth masks, researchers from TU Delft developed in collaboration with Van Straten Medical B.V. a new way of sterilizing used masks and testing their quality. This could be a successful solution for the rising demand.

Project Safeguard

TU Delft students of Industrial Design Engineering and Technical Medicine have joined forces to develop a smart protective wall that enables testing of possible COVID-19 patients without using scarce personal protective equipment and in any desired location.

Looking over Vermeer’s shoulders

In 2018, Johannes Vermeer’s world-famous Girl with a Pearl Earring underwent a total ‘body scan’: using state-of-the-art techniques, the painting was studied in painstaking detail from top to bottom. It provided a wealth of new insights about the painting and the painter. Four TU Delft faculties worked on the project.