This paper presents a state of the art review of existing research, projects, and applications in the domain of collaborative conceptual design, based on the Internet and Web technologies. The purpose of the review is to understand the needs for conceptual engineering design, to clarify the current conceptual design practice, to classify the available technologies, and to study the future trend in this area. The emphasis of this paper is to briefly outline the methodologies, architectures, and tools developed for the projects reviewed in this paper. It also uncovers approaches to conflict resolution and team/project management, as they are vital to a successful engineering design in a collaborative environment. More than 80 journal and conference papers and about 20 projects are reviewed based on the primary focus mentioned above. The selected research works are further categorised into several areas based on the application domain, design theory, and the technology used for implementation. The selected research projects and applications are basically for, but not limited to, the collaborative conceptual design.

Collaborative conceptual design—state of the art and future trends

Multi-agent systems is a subfield of Distributed Artificial Intelligence that has experienced rapid growth because of the flexibility and the intelligence available solve distributed problems. In this chapter, a brief survey of multi-agent systems has been presented. These encompass different attributes such as architecture, communication, coordination strategies, decision making and learning abilities. The goal of this chapter is to provide a quick reference to assist in the design of multi-agent systems and to highlight the merit and demerits of the existing methods.

An Introduction to Multi-Agent Systems

This paper provides an introduction to a new design methodology known as A-Design, which combines aspects of multi-objective optimization, multi-agent systems, and automated design synthesis. The A-Design theory is founded on the notion that engineering design occurs in interaction with an ever-changing environment, and therefore computer tools developed to aid in the design process should be adaptive to these changes. In this paper, A-Design is introduced along with some simple test problems to demonstrate the capabilities of different aspects of the theory. The theory of A-Design is then shown as the basis for a design tool that adaptively creates electro-mechanical configuration designs for changing user preferences.

A-Design: An Agent-Based Approach to Conceptual Design in a Dynamic Environment

Applications of agent technology in communications: a review

Agent-based collaborative product design engineering: an industrial case study

Knowledge based design integrates a broad range of highly specialized knowledge from expert sources to synthesize or refine a design. Knowledge-based design systems automate at least some of these knowledge sources. However, the constant evolution of standards, technologies, and a dynamic marketplace demands a high degree of adaptability in both design expertise and in the process of applying that expertise. The need for diverse, highly sophisticated, and rapidly changing skills and knowledge makes the multiagent paradigm particularly appropriate for knowledge-based design. As researchers apply multiagent technologies to design domains, challenges include supporting interoperability among heterogeneous agents on diverse platforms, coordinating the design process, and managing conflict. This article surveys the state of the art in multiagent systems, through examples of projects and techniques, and then presents several questions that elicit the requirements and goals of a proposed multiagent design application.

S.E. Lander

Papers

Issues in multiagent design systems