Dominic: A Domain-Independent Program for Mechanical Engineering Design
TL;DR: An Artificial Intelligence program for mechanical engineering design, called Dominic, characterizes design as best-first search through a space of possible designs, and within its redesign framework, one can design a variety of mechanical devices.
About: This article is published in Artificial Intelligence in Engineering.The article was published on 1986-07-01. It has received 68 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Knowledge-based systems.
Citations
More filters
TL;DR: The mechanical engineering design research community has made major advances over the last few years as discussed by the authors and has made significant progress not only in advancing our knowledge of design, but also in clarifying the research methods necessary to study design.
Abstract: This is the first of a two part paper summarizing and reviewing research in mechanical engineering design theory and methodology. Part I includes: 1) descriptive models; 2) prescrptive models; and 3) computer-based models of design processes. Part II, which will appear in the next issue of this journal, will include: 4) languages, representations, and environments for design; 5) analysis in support of design; and 6) design for manufacture and the life-cycle. For each major area, we discuss the current topics of research and the state of the art, emphasizing recent significant advances. We also discuss the important open research issues in each area. The six categories are certainly not mutually exclusive nor even collectively exhaustive; however, some organization is necessary, and these categories have been effective in making sense of a body of research that is expending rapidly in many exciting and promising directions. The mechanical engineering design research community has made major advances over the last few years. The research community in mechanical engineering design has made significant progress not only in advancing our knowledge of design, but also in clarifying the research methods necessary to study design. Great progress is being made toward a better understanding of design, and hence toward better design tools.
461Â citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a formal methodology for the evaluation of design alternatives (MEDA) is presented, which can be used to evaluate design alternatives in the iterative design/redesign process.
Abstract: This paper contributes toward a more formal theory and methodology for design by mathematically modeling the functional relationships between design decisions and the ultimate overall worth of a design. The conventional approach to design evaluation is limited in two respects. First, the direct measurement of attribute performance levels does not reflect the subsequentworth to the designer. Second, ad hoc methods for determining the relative importance or priority of attributes do not accurately quantify beneficial attribute tradeoffs. This information is critical to the iterative redesign process. A formal Methodology for the Evaluation of Design Alternatives (MEDA) is presented which resolves these problems and can be used to evaluate design alternatives in the iterative design/redesign process. Multiattribute utility analysis is employed to compare the overall utility or value of alternative designs as a function of the levels of several performance characteristics of a manufactured system. The evaluation function reflects the designer's preferences for sets of multiple attributes. Sensitivity analysis provides a quantitative basis for modifying a design to increase its utility to the decision-maker. Improvements in one or more areas of performance and tradeoffs between attributes which would increase desirability of a design most are identified. A case study of materials selection and design in the automotive industry is presented which illustrates the steps followed in application of the method.
310Â citations
Cites methods from "Dominic: A Domain-Independent Progr..."
...Dixon [16, 17, 23 , 47] combines semantic descriptors of performance such as "excellent" and 106 Thurston: Formal Method for Subjective Design Evaluation with Multiple Attributes...
[...]
TL;DR: In this paper, quantitative metrics are developed that allow designers to identify products that are similar in a manner critical to the success of a design, based on the functional similarity of products.
Abstract: During the design and development of new products, design engineers use many tech- niques to generate and define new and ''good'' concepts. Inherent in this search for solutions is the conscious and unconscious reliance on prior experience and knowledge, or design-by-analogy. In this paper, a quantitative metric for design-by-analogy is devel- oped. This metric is based on the functional similarity of products. By using this product- similarity metric, designers are able to formalize and quantify design-by-analogy tech- niques during concept and layout design. The methods, as developed in this paper, allow a designer with limited experience to develop sophisticated solutions that enhance the overall design of a new product. Also, a designer's current design-by-analogy vocabulary can be extended beyond his or her immediate experience, providing access and contribu- tions to new domains by discovering different products with common functions. The simi- larity metric and its application are clarified and validated through a case study. The case study is the original design of a pickup winder. @DOI: 10.1115/1.1475317# During the design and development of new products, design engineers use many techniques to generate and define new and ''good'' concepts. Inherent in this search for solutions is the con- scious and unconscious reliance on prior experience and knowl- edge. Numerous attempts have been made to organize, qualify, and make accessible the critical design experience and knowledge needed to solve particular problems. Some of these techniques take the form of knowledge-based design, expert design systems, and design rules or design guidelines. In this paper, quantitative metrics are developed that allow designers to identify products that are similar in a manner critical to the success of a design. This focused identification allows these similar products to be reviewed within the context of the design problem at hand for configuration, concept, and embodiment information. These metrics allow for- malized design-by-analogy efforts by identifying products that have design-critical similarity. The paper is organized in the following way. First, the notion of similarity as used here is clarified. Toward the goal of finding the important product similarities, groundwork is developed to make comparisons between products. In the remainder of this paper, these notions of product similarity in the search for analogies are explored. Also, a procedure for applying these techniques to a design problem is presented. Lastly, an example application of the design-by-analogy techniques is applied to an original design case study. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the contri- butions of the work presented here. 2 Relevant Analogies The notions of similarity and analogies based on similarity are broad. From Moody charts to the Periodic Table, organizing schemes based on similarities and differences are critical tools in engineering and science. In fluid mechanics, the comparison of different objects based on similarities in the Reynolds number, the Biot number, or other meaningful metrics for comparison, is not only common place but critical to the fundamental understanding of the relevant physics that affect the systems. Before developing a design tool based on analogy, the basis for making the compari- son is necessary. For example, based on a color comparison, a car and a watch may be similar. In fact, they also may share the similarity of manufacturing country of origin. Reviewing a watch as an exercise to find alternative ways to mix fuel and air in the car is likely a fruitless exercise. Before searching for design in- formation in existing and similar designs, the notion of similarity needs to be understood in the context of design.
136Â citations
TL;DR: A model of the automated synthesis process is provided as a context to discuss research in the area and some guidelines are presented to help researchers and designers find approaches to solving their particular design problems using computational design synthesis.
Abstract: The field of computational design synthesis has been an active area of research for almost half a century. Research advances in this field have increased the sophistication and complexity of the designs that can be synthesized, and advances in the speed and power of computers have increased the efficiency with which those designs can be generated. Some of the results of this research have begun to be used in industrial practice, yet many open issues and research challenges remain. This paper provides a model of the automated synthesis process as a context to discuss research in the area. The varied works of the authors are discussed as representative of the breadth of methods and results that exist under the field of computational design synthesis. Furthermore, some guidelines are presented to help researchers and designers find approaches to solving their particular design problems using computational design synthesis. DOI: 10.1115/1.2013289
132Â citations
TL;DR: This work describes an approach that provides the designer with case-based conceptual design information stored in the richly expressive medium of hypermedia (hypertext incorporating multimedia) to account for the concerns of `customers' not previously considered.
Abstract: Conceptual design requires processing information from diverse sources in order to define the functional requirements, operating constraints, and evaluation criteria pertinent to accomplishing a prescribed goal.Historically, the design process focused on the functionality of an artifact for the end customer. Concurrent engineering broadens this focus to account for the concerns of `customers' not previously considered --those along the entire life cycle of an artifact, i.e. marketing, design, manufacture, distribution, operation and disposal. Expanding the design focus to include all of these customers places far greater informationaldemands on the designer. Case-based reasoning applies experience stored in a computerized form to solving similar problems in slightly altered contexts. It has been applied successfully to routine design whereboth the form and the content of design information can be encoded symbolically and manipulated using artificial intelligence techniques. Concurrent conceptual design presents unique problems for such anapproach because design information must be considered at many levels of abstraction and from many viewpoints.We describe an approach that provides the designer with case-based conceptual design information stored in the richly expressive medium of hypermedia (hypertext incorporating multimedia). Design cases ofindustry `best practices' in concurrent engineering are indexed to provide access through multiple interfaces, allowing the user to browse, explore, or pinpoint design case information. The Conceptual DesignInformation Server (CDIS) is implemented using emerging internet standards, such as those associated with the World Wide Web (WWW) and Wide Area Information Service (WAIS), coupled to a robustStructured Query Language (SQL) database and traditional cad packages.
111Â citations
Cites background from "Dominic: A Domain-Independent Progr..."
...Howe et al.(1986) describes DOMINIC, a multi-domain parametric design system in which more general design goals are explicitly represented related to design parameters through heuristic measures....
[...]
...A link to the WAIS free-text index is also provided. looking document....
[...]
References
More filters
Book•
01 Jan 1969TL;DR: A new edition of Simon's classic work on artificial intelligence as mentioned in this paper adds a chapter that sorts out the current themes and tools for analyzing complexity and complex systems, taking into account important advances in cognitive psychology and the science of design while confirming and extending Simon's basic thesis that a physical symbol system has the necessary and sufficient means for intelligent action.
Abstract: Continuing his exploration of the organization of complexity and the science of design, this new edition of Herbert Simon's classic work on artificial intelligence adds a chapter that sorts out the current themes and tools -- chaos, adaptive systems, genetic algorithms -- for analyzing complexity and complex systems. There are updates throughout the book as well. These take into account important advances in cognitive psychology and the science of design while confirming and extending the book's basic thesis: that a physical symbol system has the necessary and sufficient means for intelligent action. The chapter "Economic Reality" has also been revised to reflect a change in emphasis in Simon's thinking about the respective roles of organizations and markets in economic systems.
11,845Â citations
Book•
01 Jan 1981
TL;DR: Part 1 of a three volume set that contains some 200 articles on AI as discussed by the authors discusses the goals of AI research, the history of the field and the current active areas of research.
Abstract: Part 1 of a three volume set that contains some 200 articles on AI. Volume 1 discusses the goals of AI research, the history of the field and the current active areas of research. It explains how the book is organized, and the literature of the field. How to access journal articles and technical reports for further reading
1,673Â citations
TL;DR: Some of the most important ideas emerging from current AI research on design especially ideas for better models design are presented.
Abstract: What are the powerful new ideas in knowledge based design? What important research issues require further investigation? Perhaps the key research problem in AI-based design for the 1980's is to develop better models of the design process. A comprehensive model of design should address the following aspects of the design process:the state of the design ; the goal structure of the design process;design decisions; rationales for design decisions; control of the design process; and the role of learning in design. This article presents some of the most important ideas emerging from current AI research on design especially ideas for better models design. It is organized into sections dealing with each of the aspects of design listed above.
273Â citations
TL;DR: Experience with designing the same or similar artifacts allows an engineer to quickly solve the problem and knowledge plays a key role in carrying out this task.
Abstract: knowledge specific to the class of artifact being defined) as well as considerable problem-solving skill. Typically, one starts with a description of what function or functions the artifact should perform, and the task of \"design\" becomes one ofcoming up with an artifact that will function as intended. Knowledge plays a key role in carrying out this task. Experience with designing the same or similar artifacts allows an engineer to quickly solve the problem. Some of this experience can be viewed as knowledge that associates some of the requirements to parts of the artifact that carry out those requirements. Similarly, past experience can teach us how to
200Â citations