116 Advances in Production Engineering & Management ISSN 1854-6250 Volume 8 | Number 2 | June 2013 | pp 116–125 Journal home: apem-journal.org http://dx.doi.org/10.14743/apem2013.2.159 APEM journal Design and manufacturing of children’s remote control for child viewing Madani, R. a,* , Moroz, A. b , Baines, E. c a Umm Al-Qura University, School of Education, Faculty of Art Education, Makkah, Saudi Arabia b De Montfort University, Additive Manufacturing Technology Group, Department of Engineering, Faculty of Technology, Leicester, United Kingdom c De Montfort University, School of Design, Faculty of Art, Design and Humanities, Leicester, United Kingdom A B S T R A C T A R T I C L E I N F O This paper presents a child-centred product design development process to produce a customized fingerprint-activated remote control for children using additive manufacturing technology. The paper is centered on the idea of using children’s input in a design process using the imagination of the child. The My Remote manages television viewing content for children, restricts inappropri- ate content, controls viewing time and helps maintain a safe distance from the television screen. A finger-shaped design inspired by children based on the fingerprint recognition and the action of pointing at the television was adopted which demonstrated a synergy of functional and aesthetic design. The design process considered 4D elements: such as interface design, navigation, mood lighting and sounds, and 3D representations using Solid Works showing vari- ous colour schemes. Prototype models were produced using SLA (Stereolitho- graphy) and FDM (fused deposit modelling) techniques, allowing for ergo- nomic testing and visualisation. The study found that including children’s input allowed subtle adaptations in the design requirements of the children because they were able to ergonomically test the remote control. The research culminated in a prototype model finger-shaped design, which fulfilled the criteria that it had to be innovative, inspired and liked by children, be comfort- able and demonstrate functional requirements. © 2013 PEI, University of Maribor. All rights reserved. Keywords: Child-centred process Additive manufacturing Prototypes Television remote control *Corresponding author: rsmadani@uqu.edu.sa (Madani, R.) 1. Introduction Some television programmes are rife with content that is unsuitable for children and which can have damaging effects. The consequences are varied and can have a detrimental effect on chil- dren’s attitudes, behaviour and beliefs, as well as being an impediment to their development, influencing how they interact with others. Moreover, the act of actually watching too much tele- vision has similar negative effects. It has been proven that control over the content of television viewing has many benefits for children, including their health. It would be unreasonable, however, to expect adults, who are responsible for children, to monitor all their viewing, given the vast amount of inappropriate content, and taking into ac- count the busy lives of adults. Therefore, there is a need for a device that can protect children from such content. The results from the primary research conducted as part of this project suggested a more general need for controlling and managing content and, additionally, more specific function and