Ricardo Andres Simian Diaz

• Simian, Ricardo; Fauske, Jon Erling; Eilertsen, Emilie Berg; Nordby, Kjetil & Gernez, Etienne (2026). Designing Interfaces for the Integration of AI Agents in Maritime Navigation and Control: Potentials, Guidelines, Risks, and Emerging Requirements. In Misra, Sanjay; Kjølerbakken, Kai Morgan & Braarud, Per Øivind (Ed.), International Conference on Human Centric Artificial Intelligence (ICHCAI): First International Conference, ICHCAI 2026. IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). ISSN 9798331551186. p. 1–10. doi: 10.1109/ichcai70183.2026.11607647. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The maritime sector is both vast and crucial for society on a global scale. At the same time, it is extremely complex, relies on multiple information flows, operates in constantly changing conditions, integrates hazardous environments, and depends on critical human decision-making informed by all the previous elements. Such an environment arguably constitutes fertile ground for AI-powered optimisation, ranging from warning systems to co-pilot functions to autonomous vessels. These AI integrations would benefit from standard user interface design practices to ensure they are well integrated into mariners’ work. There are potential benefits, as well as risks and challenges, inherent in attempting such an integration. Reviewing these elements informs the requirements for designing the user interfaces for this purpose. This paper discusses the emerging picture of the qualities, conditions, and requirements, as well as the implications of the implemented design decisions.

• Simian, Ricardo (2025). Tackling Complexity with Additive Manufacturing: Wind Musical Instruments as a Case Study. Music & Science. 8. doi: 10.1177/20592043251387639. Full text in Research Archive
• Simian, Ricardo (2025). Distilling Design Theory and Methodologies for Additive Manufacturing from Case Studies. FormAkademisk - Forskningstidsskriftet for design og designdidaktikk. 18(1). doi: 10.7577/formakademisk.5681. Full text in Research Archive
• Simian, Ricardo (2025). Integrating randomness in parametric design: A tool for developing crafty additive manufactured designs. The Design Journal. ISSN 1460-6925. doi: 10.1080/14606925.2024.2442829. Full text in Research Archive
• Simian, Ricardo (2024). Evaluating the suitability of niches for additive manufacturing production: proposal for a numeric evaluation tool. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology. ISSN 0268-3768. doi: 10.1007/s00170-024-14593-6. Full text in Research Archive
• Simian, Ricardo (2023). 3D-Printed Musical Instruments: Lessons Learned from Five Case Studies. Music & Science. 6. doi: 10.1177/20592043231210653. Full text in Research Archive
• Simian, Ricardo (2023). Flaws as Features: New Perspectives for Developing an Additive Manufacturing Design Language. In Vaes, Kristof & Verlinden, Jouke Casper (Ed.), Connectivity and creativity in times of conflict. Academia Pess. ISSN 9789401496476. p. 322–327. doi: 10.26530/9789401496476. Full text in Research Archive

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• Encinas, Enrique & Simian, Ricardo (2026). OpenAcoustics: Launch of an Acoustic Telepresence Installation for Maritime Contexts. doi: https:/craitr.no/oa/. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Presentation and launch of OpenAcoustics, an acoustic telepresence installation developed as research infrastructure, at a workshop of the Ocean Industries Concept Lab (AHO). The installation was tested with 27 participants from the maritime industry, including representatives of Kongsberg, DNV and Massterly, as a means of investigating remote auditory presence in maritime operations.

• Simian, Ricardo (2026). The additive manufacturing design landscape : finding and developing productive niches. Arkitektur- og designhøgskolen i Oslo. ISSN 9788254703847. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Additive manufacturing (AM), informally known as ‘3D printing’, is the varied and expanding set of technologies that produce objects directly from 3D models by successively adding material, as opposed to traditional machining, which selectively removes material from a block to achieve the desired form. This opens the possibility for more degrees of formgiving freedom than what most, if not all, traditional production methods offer. This and other innovative features of AM have gathered attention both from specialists and the general public, leading to resounding headlines such as ‘the next industrial revolution’, ‘mass customisation, and ‘the future of manufacturing’. Conceived initially as a prototyping technology, which explains the adoption of ‘rapid prototyping’ as one of its previous umbrella nomenclatures, AM has expanded into end-product-manufacturing territory, opening the door to the advancement of AM design. This field specialises in conceiving and developing designs specifically crafted for AM production. Given AM’s disruptive characteristics, including previously implausible degrees of customisation and topological complexity, as well as enabling decentralised production – even at a home level – AM design has the potential to rethink or entirely discard many traditional industrial design paradigms. However, despite decades of technological consolidation and numerous visions of an upcoming AM utopia, concrete results are mostly confined to a few specific niches where AM has thrived spontaneously, in most cases before my involvement in the field, more than a decade ago. AM design theory has grown to accommodate and exploit AM’s innovative potential, most notably through revisited industrial design guidelines. Killi’s AICE approach, followed by Kempton’s discussion of modern digital making, constitute AHO’s most salient contributions in this field. However, these works, as well as most of the literature in the area, engage with the design-for-AM process after the design goal has been set, while they discuss only superficially whether a design concept is suitable for AM production in the first place. The research presented in this dissertation addresses this remarkable knowledge gap. The research questions that emerge from this gap are what defines a suitable niche for AM design, how to identify novel suitable niches, and how to develop them. The proposed answer comes in the form of an evaluation tool for AM production niches and a set of strategies for innovation in the field. These tools and approaches are intended not only to assess in advance whether an AM design project has potential for success, avoiding unnecessary dead-end explorations, but also to explore and, hopefully, identify novel production spaces for AM design to thrive in. Rather than focusing on a narrow topic, the research presented here seeks to build knowledge by integrating elements from widely diverse fields, from traditional crafts and early music instruments to state-of-the-art technological developments. The material that motivates and provides the foundation for the arguments mostly takes the form of case studies. Drawing on these sources, this dissertation distils theory and methodologies in a bottom-up fashion to develop a better understanding of how AM production niches operate, fostering advances in AM design.

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