Kansei Engineering: A new ergonomic consumer-oriented technology for product development

Kansei Engineering was developed as a consumer-oriented technology for new product development. It is defined as “translating technology of a consumer's feeling and image for a product into design elements”. Kansei Engineering (KE) technology is classified into three types, KE Type I, II, and III. KE Type I is a category classification on the new product toward the design elements. Type II utilizes the current computer technologies such as Expert System, Neural Network Model and Genetic Algorithm. Type III is a model using a mathematical structure. Kansei Engineering has permeated Japanese industries, including automotive, electrical appliance, construction, clothing and so forth. The successful companies using Kansei Engineering benefited from good sales regarding the new consumer-oriented products. Relevance to industry Kansei Engineering is utilized in the automotive, electrical appliance, construction, clothing and other industries. This paper provides help to potential product designers in these industries.