Application of visual programming for automation tasks in construction

Computer integrated design systems will require an improved understanding of the engineering design process, including formalized notions of (1) the structure of the process, (2) the design tasks that need to be performed, and (3) the information required to carry out these tasks. An organizational model for the structural engineering design process, termed themultilevel selection-development (MSD) model, has been outlined in a recent paper. The current paper continues development of the MSD model by providing more detailed descriptions of the specific design tasks that must be carried out. The MSD model is briefly reviewed, and a simple example is presented. The design tasks are then classified and described.

In today’s increasingly developed and built-up environment, Civil Engineering students face the problem of how to connect the technical intricacies of building with important aspects of design, in terms of form and aesthetics. The building structure is one of the main elements in the overall design process that has to be considered by architecture practitioners, as well as engineering practitioners. Unfortunately, in the majority of cases, structural design is carried out solely by engineers, and as such, they have an important role in determining which appropriate systems comply best with architectural design. It is the author’s belief that the graduating students of Civil Engineering Faculty should be able to apply their knowledge of each technical system in the context of any architectural design project. Architects and engineers rely heavily on the use of computer tools and software in their work, especially computer-aided design (CAD) and visualization programs. In this study, we present the result of a connection between researches on the structure of string construction objects and education of engineers.

Virtual robots based on multi task scheduling algorithms in visual graphic design and digital art applications

Concurrent execution of design and construction tasks is an important way to realize the integration of them in design-build (DB) mode, but it may bring about period risk due to multiple rework and frequent information transfer in local scope. To solve this problem, this study constructs a concurrent execution strategy model from the perspective of quantitative analysis with the decision goal of minimizing the total execution duration. The results show that: first, when the probability of information change between design and construction tasks decreases gradually, the optimal overlap degree increases and the optimal parallelism decreases. Second, learning effect can effectively shorten the minimum duration corresponding to the optimal overlap degree under any degree of parallelism. Thirdly, with the decrease of the probability of information change between design and construction tasks and the strengthening of learning effect, the shortening rate of the actual execution duration corresponding to the optimal parallelism will be gradually greater than the increasing rate of the actual execution duration. The findings of the study provide suggestions for exploring the mechanism of concurrent execution in DB mode, and also provide countermeasures for better realization of integration of design and construction in DB mode.

Generative Design (GD) is a design approach that uses algorithms to generate designs. This paper investigates the role of optimisation algorithms in GD process. We study how Pareto Fronts – a classical optimization algorithm output – help designers to browse the variety associated with a design problem. Thanks to the “splitting condition” from design theory, we show that valuable Pareto Fronts for designers are those that allow the exploration of a variety of design parameters without modifying substantially the performance of the designed solution. We call “Splitting Pareto Front” the Pareto Fronts that display this property and investigate how to generate them. We compare, on an electrical battery design problem, two optimization algorithms – NSGA-II and MAP-Elites – based on the design parameters variety they generate. Our results show that MAP-Elites generates Pareto Fronts that are more splitting than those generated by NSGA-II. We then discuss this result in term of the design process: which algorithm is best suited for which design task? We conclude with the importance for future research on Generative Design Algorithms (GDA) to study jointly the functioning of GDA and their expected contribution to the design process.

The review examines the impact of structural literacy on learning the discipline of architecture at the undergraduate level, as well as its influence on design processes. To bridge the knowledge application gap between structural literacy and design application in architecture, this review synthesizes published work on learning through the application of structural literacy in design processes. It also considers learning outcome assessment, design effectiveness measurement, and new learning approaches. The review aimed to compare hands-on learning with traditional learning methods, measure teaching methods, identify new learning methods, measure the impact of structural literacy on design and learning outcomes, and observe collaborative practices across diverse disciplines. The review conducted a comprehensive survey of international research on undergraduate architecture education using mixed, qualitative, and quantitative methods. The results indicate that active, hands-on collaborative learning approaches are more effective than continuous lecture-based approaches in enhancing structural comprehension and design integration. Although financial and access constraints restrict large-scale applications, digital and physical modeling software enhances conceptual understanding and design exploration. Although institutional and curricular barriers limit its application, interdisciplinary working enhances communication skills and facilitates structural integration. Curriculum revisions that initiate structured subjects early, with design studio linkages, strengthen student motivation and design efficiency. These findings indicate the extent to which collaborative frameworks and integrated teaching impact the development of structural literacy. The review emphasizes the need for curriculum revisions and interdisciplinary instruction to equip architecture students with the skills necessary for practical, creative, and contextually aware design work.

The design profession is responding to the complex systems represented by architecture and planning by increasingly incorporating the power of computer technology into the design process. This represents a paradigm shift, and requires that designers rise to the challenge of both embracing modern technologies to perform increasingly sophisticated tasks without compromising their objective to create meaningful and environmentally sensitive architecture. This dissertation investigated computer-based fractal tools applied within a traditional architectural charette towards a design process with the potential to address the complex issues architects and planners face today. We developed and presented an algorithm that draws heavily from fractal mathematics and fractal theory. Fractals offer a quantitative and qualitative relation between nature, the built environment and computational mechanics and in this dissertation serve as a bridge between these realms. We investigated how qualitative/quantitative fractal tools may inform an architectural design process both in terms of generative formal solutions as well as a metric for assessing the complexity of designs and historic architecture. The primary research objective was to develop a compelling cybernetic design process and apply it to a real-world and multi-faceted case study project within a formal architectural critique. Jurors were provided a platform for evaluating design work and weighing in as practicing professional architects. Jurors' comments were documented and discussed and presented as part of the dissertation. Our intention was to open up the discussion and document the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the process we presented. First we discussed the history of generative and algorithmic design and fractals in architecture. We begin with examples in ancient Hindu temple architecture as well as Middle Eastern architecture and Gothic as well as Art Nouveau. We end this section with a discussion of fractals in the contemporary architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright and the Organic school. Next we developed a cybernetic design process incorporating a computer-based tool termed DBVgen within a closed loop designer/algorithm back and forth. The tool we developed incorporated a genetic algorithm that used fractal dimension as the primary fitness criterion. We applied our design process with mixed results as discussed by the jurors whose feedback was chunked into ten categories and assessed along with the author/designer's feedback. Generally we found that compelling designs tended to have a higher FD, whereas, the converse was not true that higher FD consistently led to more compelling designs. Finally, we further developed fractal theory towards an appropriate consideration of the

Computer-aided design (CAD) is a standard design tool used in engineering practice and by students. CAD has become increasingly analytic and inventive in incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) approaches to design, e.g., generative design (GD), to help expand designers' divergent thinking. However, generative design technologies are relatively new, we know little about generative design thinking in students. This research aims to advance our understanding of the relationship between aspects of generative design thinking and traditional design thinking. This study was set in an introductory graphics and design course where student designers used Fusion 360 to optimize a bicycle wheel frame. We collected the following data from the sample: divergent and convergent psychological tests and an open-ended response to a generative design prompt (called the generative design reasoning elicitation problem). A Spearman's rank correlation showed no statistically significant relationship between generative design reasoning and divergent thinking. However, an analysis of variance found a significant difference in generative design reasoning and convergent thinking between groups with moderate GD reasoning and low GD reasoning. This study shows that new computational tools might present the same challenges to beginning designers as conventional tools. Instructors should be aware of informed design practices and encourage students to grow into informed designers by introducing them to new technology, such as generative design.

Since 1965, the Naval Ship Engineering Center (NAVSEC) and the Naval Ship Research and Development Center (NSRDC), sponsored by the Naval Ship Systems Command, have been actively involved in developing and using computer facilities for the design and construction of naval ships. The overall goals of this effort, known as the Computer-Aided Ship Design and Construction (CASDAC) project, have been twofold---first, to achieve significant near term improvements in the performance of ship design and construction tasks, and second, to develop a long term integrated CASDAC system for all phases of the ship design and construction process.

This study described how students can apply science concepts to a Design and Technology task. It also examined whether the students could transfer their scientific knowledge to their design of technology. The study was conducted at an urban school in Philadelphia where a sample of 36 eighth grade students were taught a science unit, Energy, Machines, and Motion, and engaged in a technology design task that was chosen based on the scientific content of the unit. Two approaches of relating teaching science to technological design were observed and described. Through the first approach, the students were given technology lessons in addition to their science lessons. This was to provide them with the technological knowledge that they needed in designing technology such as learning about the design process, selection of appropriate materials, and selection of appropriate tools and how to use them. Also, the students were taught the social skills that will enable them to develop an effective collaborative relationship with their peers such as conflict-management and brainstorming. Through the second approach, the students were taught the science unit and then at the end of the unit the students were given the design task as an assessment of their scientific knowledge. The students' experience of designing technology for each approach was described. The study was conducted using multiple tools and instruments such as observation, videotaping, interviews, and testing. The students were also given the survey PATT-USA to measure their attitude toward technology. The study showed that the students' learning of science was impacted by their weak prerequisite knowledge in science, their poor verbal and written communication skills and their style as dependent learners. Also, the study showed the great impact of the school and classroom cultures on the participation of the students in a Design and Technology activity. The students in this study showed great resistant to participating in a Design and Technology activity. The study linked that to the culture of the classroom where the technology period was considered by the students a period of "free time" to be spent mainly on the computer, playing educational games or engaged in short term, non-demanding projects.

A computational framework for low-cycle fatigue in polycrystalline materials

Recent developments of high-performance materials, construction technologies and methods of structural analysis facilitate design of increasingly complex and slender structures. These structures may be vulnerable to unfavourable effects of extreme events including man-made hazards. In most cases, failures of structures exposed to such events may hardly be completely prevented. However, for sufficiently robust structures, failure consequences can be significantly reduced and safety of occupants essentially increased. The paper summarises present achievements in present codes and technical literature. Appropriate structural models, exposure conditions and construction measures for design of new structures and assessment of existing structures are discussed. It appears that structural robustness can become a key concept in design of modern structures. Despite significance of structural robustness, its quantification and methods of assessment are not yet sufficiently developed and further improvements are urgently needed. Available experience indicates that decisions concerning structural robustness can be efficiently based on methods of risk assessment and on the theory of reliability.

Product design is the most critical activity for innovation and value-adding in a product development lifecycle. Product design task management is an important feature of design frameworks. A proper design task management solution can definitely increase the design process efficiency. This paper presents an integrated approach for managing design tasks, designer capacities, task execution and monitoring in product development lifecycles. In the proposed approach, design tasks are associated directly with product design data. Each designer's capacity is synchronized and updated automatically during design task creation and assignment. Design tasks are routed to assigned designers, and task execution, progress and effort spent by designers can be automatically monitored, controlled and tracked. The proposed design task management approach can be seamlessly integrated with the upstream and downstream activities of a product lifecycle in terms of its processes and information needs, leveraging on workflow/lifecycle technology. Developed as part of an enterprise system and implemented in the design department of a local mould making company, it has shown that the proposed approach can significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of design task management, and thereby facilitating the design process in the company.

Chapter 1 Introduction of swarm intelligent algorithms.- Chapter 2 Application of particle swarm optimization algorithm to engineering structures.- Chapter 3 Optimum design of structures with heuristic particle swarm optimization algorithm .-Chapter 4 Optimum design of structures with group search optimizer algorithm .-Chapter 5 Improvements and applications of group search optimizer in structural optimal design .-Chapter 6 Optimum design of structures with quick group search optimization algorithm .-Chapter 7 Group search optimizer and its applications on multi-objective structural optimal design .-Chapter 8 Prospecting swarm intelligent algorithms.

This study extends the scope of architecture beyond visual perception by exploring the parallelism between visual and auditory experiences. It aims to examine the potential outcomes of integrating auditory elements into the design process. Investigating the relationship between auditory stimuli and architecture within the context of design language, the study adopts an experimental approach to explore various dimensions, such as the interaction between sound and architectural thinking and its influence on design processes. Through two-and three-dimensional abstractions of auditory compositions — processed as non-visual design inputs — the study seeks to enhance students' creative thinking capacities. In this context, it examines how variations in auditory tones and stylistic changes influence basic design exercises and architectural reflections. The research consists of an experimental study involving 14 students from the Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design, Faculty of Fine Arts, at Selcuk University. Over several weeks, students were exposed to two distinct auditory environments — one characterized by harmony and balance, the other by intensity and dynamism — and tasked with creating designs based on rhythm and structure. To strengthen the study and obtain more objective data, an additional phase was introduced, where the same participants were assigned a different design task — furniture design — following the same methodological approach. This allowed for a comparative analysis of how auditory influences extended across different design contexts. To analyze the relationship between auditory input and basic design, as well as its impact on architectural form, the collected data were systematically structured. The findings indicate that in two separate experiments conducted with the same participants, individuals produced softer lines and forms when exposed to more harmonious stimuli, whereas they preferred sharper, more rigid lines and forms when engaging with high-intensity auditory input.