Group+15

**Ri**​**ce Cooker** __Introduction__ Rice is a staple food for over half of the world’s population and accounts for over twenty percent of calorie intake globally. Asian trend shows that production and export has been increasing and with the Asian population growing at a stable 1.8 percent per year this suggests that there will be an increase for the demand of rice. Rice cookers have been popular in Asia for over 30 years and are starting to gain popularity here in the West. Many households in Asian countries have some sort of a rice cooker whether it is electronic or wooden ones. Rice cookers are also very important for restaurants especially Chinese or Japanese restaurants as many dishes are served with rice.

__Hypothesis__ Rice cookers nowadays are well designed as not only do they provide perfectly cooked rice but also solved the problem of not having rice stick on to the bottom of the cooker where it is hard to clean. But there are always ways to improve things that benefit the users and we would like to incorporate our values of organization and convenience into redesigning a better rice cooker. Have you ever had the feeling of being too tired to cook and had leftovers from previous dinners. The idea hit us where We plan to design a rice cooker that could also function like a microwave which is to reheat food or soup. Instead of doing a two step process of cooking the rice and then microwaving the food we can do everything in one step; while the rice is being cooked the food is also being reheated in the process.

__Theoretical Concepts__

//Computer Visualization:// The advantage of having a 3D drawing is that it could show the different surfaces and layers as oppose to a 2 dimensional drawing. The 3D drawing will aid viewers to visualize the products contours and dimensions as well as depicting the product (rice cooker) in its environment (kitchen).

//Economic:// By incorporating the rice cooker and the microwave/steamer into one unit, consumers will not only save money by only having to purchase one thing, but also make their kitchen less cluttered. Having to deal with only one unit, it is also more convenient for stowing away.

//Ergonomic:// Our design of our rice cooker will be in the form of a cube, which allows for easier storage as oppose to a cylinder shaped rice cooker. Buttons are simply laid out, large enough to press, and spaced enough to not interfere with other buttons.

//3-Stage Model for Perceptual Processing:// Thoughts from the theory of perceptual processing are used throughout our design. Colors are used to indicate when the rice is cooking, ready, or on keep-warm mode. The use of colors and contrast are also used to indicate to the user for example the handles, lid, buttons and knobs, and the electric cord. In addition to the usage of color and contrast, our model will consist of different textured materials those of which include: plastic, aluminum, and glass. The different materials will further aid the user to separate the parts and controls.

//Gibson’s Affordance Theory:// With //Gibson’s affordance theory// in mind we created an interface with the appropriate affordances to make the user’s task easy. The rice cooker consists of handles on the side to show the action of lifting the rice cooker and also there is a handle on lid of the rice cooker to map out that the lid could be removed from the rice cooker. Another affordance is evident in the front view of the rice cooker where there is a knob to turn and is further emphasized with a hand indicating that the knob could be turned within the environment it is given. The blue arrow indicates how to turn knob in which direction.

//Gulf of Execution// and //Gulf// //of// //Evaluation////:// Another aspect is bridging the gulf of execution (//highlighting//) and the gulf of evaluation in which the user must know if his/her actions will have a result. For example the rice cooker itself has a on and off light, once it is plugged in, the light will turn on which the user will bridge the execution with the evaluation which is the result. Another function is with the timer, once the knob is turned to ‘rice cooking’ the timer will start counting down until the rice is ready. When the rice is done cooking, there will be a feedback of light and sound indicating to the user that the rice is ready. All of this will help indicate to the user that he/she is following the right process.

//Gestalt Laws of Pattern Perception//: We have included some of Gestalt’s principles into our design. Proximity is used to group for example all the buttons and dials that are associated with controlling the rice cooker. This will allow for the user(s) to easily identify the location of the controls. Similarity is used through the use of color. Color will indicate to the user the parts of the rice cooker that can be adjusted, removed, and/or interact with. Continuity is used throughout the layout of the buttons and dials, which also helps the user to distinguish what can be interacted with and what cant. Symmetry is used to distinguish the rice cooker’s front and back side. This also ties into the user feeling a sense of closure of the unit.

__Roles and Assignments__ Wilton – Write up, Powerpoint presentation, 3D modeling Martin - Write up, Powerpoint presentation, 3D modeling

__Final Deliverables__ Required 3D Image and Write up – 3D Image of the rice cooker with front and side views and also an image displaying the insides of the rice cooker and also write up. Bibliography – Bibliography and image sources that helped us come up with the design Presentation Slide show – The final powerpoint slide show and materials will also be handed in if necessary