Abstract—This paper introduces a new model of Design by Analogy (DbA) and demonstrates its applications to a smart bed for preventing the elderly’s falls. Integrating three theories of analogy together, the model describes design processes as a recursive procedure of discovering the problem, defining the analogy target, searching for the analogy sources, blending the target and sources, and approving the blended concepts. The model has advantages in explaining the existing cases of product innovation resulted from DbA, and in generating innovative product concepts in a systematic way. The application of the model could be universal, including product, user interface and user experience design, service design, and business model design. Further investigation on similarity measurement methods and more applications could verify the effectiveness of the model. 

Cite: Hung-Hsiang Wang, "Design by Analogy: A Proposed Model," Journal of Automation and Control Engineering, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 93-97, December, 2019. doi: 10.18178/joace.7.2.93-97