Applying an Interior VR Co-Design Approach for the Medical Deployment Vehicle of the Future

Kurzfassung

Designing the cabin of future rescue helicopter concepts is characterized by a high level of complexity. Besides the technical and mission-specific requirements of the helicopter system, new cabin designs must particularly meet the individual requirements to provide a high level of functionality and usability for all user groups. In addition, the prototyping, planning and execution of user tests is enormously time-consuming and costly, which increases the complexity of the development process. The implementation of a user-centered design approach in conjunction with an optimized prototyping and feedback process can provide an effective solution in this context. Therefore, this paper aims to present the applied Co-Design process for the design of a novel rescue helicopter cabin using an immersive prototyping and feedback process. As part of this approach, the focus is on conducting and evaluating user workshops with a particular emphasis on medical crew and pilots with experience in air rescue. The first phase of each workshop initially involves exchanging experiences, challenges, and problem scenarios from daily operations through a discussion among participants. The second workshop phase involves brainstorming and idea exchange for a novel concept using a digital concept board and notes. With the help of a moderator, these ideas are then transferred to the virtual reality mockup using the Gravity Sketch tool and reevaluated and optimized by participants in real-time. This approach provides a significant contribution to the development of a future emergency medical deployment vehicle concept for the DLR project Chaser in course of the DLR guiding concept 4 “Rescue Helicopter 2030”. Moreover, the combination between the Co-Design process and the immersive prototyping and optimization approach in virtual reality offers new and effective opportunities for a more efficient and user-centered cabin design. Additionally, this approach can be applied to the design of further and future cabin concepts, making them more tangible and evaluable for end-users.