Design Tool

Slide-3
Design Tool

History:

The developed tool (or rather a tool box with four separate tools based on various generation mechanisms) is the last one in a sequence of tools developed earlier for the inventive design and based on the random generation of design concepts. The next one will use evolutionary computing as a mechanism for the concept generation.

Assumptions:

A design representation space is provided.
Design constrains and design requirements are understood as combinations of attributes and their values. In the case of constraints, such combinations must not occur in the generated concepts, while in the case of requirements, they must occur.
Design constraints if any, are known and they are to be avoided in the concept to be generated.
Design requirements, if any, are known and they have to be satisfied by the concepts to be generated.
The novelty level can be indirectly controlled through the number and nature of the imposed constraints.
Generation of design concepts from a given design representation space is random.
Depending on the design situation, the designer has four possibilities to generate design concepts:
1. Purely random generation, neither constraints nor requirements imposed
2. Constraint satisfaction, random generation, but the produced concepts must satisfy the imposed constraints.
3. Requirement satisfaction, random generation, but the produced concept must satisfy the imposed requirements
4. Combined approach: constraints and requirements satisfaction, random generation, but the produced concepts must satisfy both the imposed constraints and requirements.