Fresh look for University of Malta Camera Project
As high performance camera technology from the University of Malta continues to evolve, the team behind the project has released a glimpse of what the final product may look like. Memento (Multi camEra high fraMe ratE syNchronisaTiOn) is an ambitious project undertaken by the Electronic Systems Engineering Department of the University that seeks to commercialise a raft of new technologies that have been developed by Maltese engineers.
Alec Fenech, who is effectively leading the mechanical engineering team behind the project, is on the verge of completing his Master’s studies and has researched ways of combining form with function while keeping the enduser in mind. Using the Japanese technique of Kansei Engineering, Alec’s task was to develop a product concept from the ground up in a way that encompasses the psychological biases and desires of eventual customers, without compromising on the functionality and ergonomics of the product.
Product design often begins with a clean sheet and a myriad of possible features can take it in any direction. However, few of those directions would be successful on the market if they do not take into account the priorities of customers in the context of current trends and perceptions, and how these are reflected in the physical form of the product.
The cameras developed during the Memento project evolved over a number of design cycles, with each taking into account new constraints and advances in the underlying technology. This prompted Alec to develop techniques based on Kansei Engineering to render this process more efficient.
“As the product completes its third design cycle, the result is looking much closer to the best that the current market can offer. The Memento project, undertaken in partnership with MST AudioVisual Ltd, has driven the University towards the bleeding edge of electronics technology and product design and has served our Faculty well in providing many of our students with far more than just a glimpse of what real world engineering entails,” said Dr Ing. Marc Anthony Azzopardi, who has secured close to €200,000 of funding for the project from the Malta Council of Science and Technology, through Fusion: The R&I Technology Development programme.