This paper describes research relating to the design semantics of desirable products and the crime of theft. The methods employed range from the review of existing designs of mobile phones and associated systems and technologies, the perception of crime from a student designer's viewpoint and, importantly, the opinions of young offenders about proposed design solutions. We developed conceptual designs in consultation with the Mobile Data Association and these were reviewed by a sample of groups of young offenders and ‘non-offender’ consumers of similar age, to reflect the different user perspectives. The conclusions reveal differences between offenders and non-offenders in their perceptions of the deterrent effect of different design solutions. It is suggested that the research offers insight into the use of empathic strategies in the design of frequently stolen ‘hot products'.

Life on Venus Expedition (LOVE) Bugs are a proposed family of miniature, featherlight probes for exploring and sensing the Venusian atmosphere. The Bugs carry tiny ThumbSat femtosatellite buses and instruments beneath balloons or flexible parawings. They are designed to descend from 68 to 45 km altitude over several hours because this part of the atmosphere appears to be most welcoming to life as we know it, according to the Venus Life Finder Mission Study. The parawing option is the subject of this work. In order to fit in with larger probe missions, the LOVE-Bug concept is opportunistic. One anticipated opportunity is to be ejected when a “mother probe” needs to deploy a drogue chute for stabilisation through the transonic regime. This work developed an analogy for such a dramatic Venusian ejection by dropping from a high-altitude balloon in Earth’s stratosphere. By packaging the payload in a small-diameter low-drag capsule and dropping from 28 km, the vehicle accelerates to supersonic velocity at around 18 km, where the wing is ejected and deployed. A variant of the NASA ParaWing was created by incorporating a drag tail to help to stabilise the wing at extremely high and low velocities. Design, simulation, building, and testing work was carried out, and two flights were flown. The second flight demonstrated successful deployment of the wing in representative Venusian entry conditions. Both flights demonstrated that the ThumbSat performed as required in “space”-type conditions. Recommendations for future work, to qualify the LOVE-Bugs for operation on Venus, are presented.