Since 1991 we engaged in design and interactive research whether it was CMF (Colour Material & Finish ) research on mobile phones to the “Designer Exchange” a 1995, the worlds first Web site designers guide. In this case designers coming to Milan Furniture Fair looking for events, places to stay & eat. It included a Virtual Café & message board where people could arrange real world meet ups. Later in 1997 we developed iFACEO this was (for it time) a highly innovative on-going research project into integrated interfaces from Mobile Phone to Vehicles to Office/Home. The idea was the data and interface would eventually become personalised & exist remotely & independent of individual hardware devices. It was a precursor of cloud computing.
Undertaking Driver Usability Experiments with our university partners in the EU , Japan & USA was considered a priority so we used our VASTO (Vehicle Analysis & System Test) procedure to understand the HMI problems & quantify the lack of efficiencies around a navigation system or digital instrument clusters. Ironically (given the sector) it was loosely based on the First Law of Thermodynamics.
DHS developed VASTO in 2002 as no effective industry standard form of testing existed to correctly evaluate the Quantative & Qualititive aspect of a vehicle info-tainment & information system.
Our research and experimental work is widely published in Design & Scientific journal’s including CRC Press Taylor & Francis & Ergonomics.
Trained as an industrial Design Engineer we brought to our projects an understand of commercial & technological production requirements related to mass production. This has resulted in a close working relationship with manufacturers both in Italy and abroad. We designed our product and engineered the mouldings & assembly designs as well. In the digital Interactive era it meant acquiring skill in Software Programming and in 2008 DHS with the help of Enterprise Ireland & Private Equity funding we set up our own internal software team to develop our (at the time) innovative SnapGlanceô Automotive Softare product which imported the Mp3 Music Files from a remote devices and enabled interaction via voice or the steering wheel of any vehicle. The Software was franchised to MTA SpA of Italy in 2012. When it came to the highly specialised & regulated Medical Device Sector we partnered in 2014 with a group of Italian Medical Software specialist EuroSoft Srl in Modena in order to develop our Home dialysis Solutions Trainer & manager and set up HDS Italia in October 2016.to commercialise the product.
