Design knowledge representation, retrieval and delivery for co-operative knowledge processing

Modern product development becomes increasingly collaborative and integrated, which raises the need for effectively and efficiently sharing and re-using design knowledge in a distributed and collaborative environment. To address this need, a framework is developed in this research to support design knowledge representation, retrieval, reasoning and fusion, which takes account of structural, functional and behavioral data, various design attributes and knowledge reasoning cases. Specifically, a multi-level knowledge representation based on the Base Object Model (BOM) is proposed to enable knowledge sharing using Web services technologies. On this basis, a multi-level knowledge reuse method is developed to support the retrieval, matching and assembly of knowledge records. Due to the tree structure of BOM, both depth-first and breadth-first searching strategies are employed in the retrieval algorithm while a novel measure is proposed to evaluate similarity. Moreover, a method based on the D-S evidence theory is developed to enable knowledge fusion and thus support effective decision-making. The framework has been implemented and integrated into an HLA-based simulation platform on which the development of a missile simulation example is conducted. It is demonstrated in the case study that the proposed framework and methods are useful and effective for design knowledge representation and reuse.

Representing design knowledge as a network of function, behaviour and structure

Product design tends to be more complex and needs the effective cooperation among multidisciplinary designers and engineers. An ideal product design environment, which is both collaborative and intelligent, will be much appreciated. Agent technology is an innovative and promising approach to implementing distributed systems and is becoming popular in various areas of computing in recent years. In this paper, the dynamic nature of collaborative design process and the representation of collaborative design knowledge are presented. In order to model constantly evolving design process and the rationales resulted from collaboration, a Collaborative Product Data Model (CPDM), which extends traditional Product Data Model (PDM), and a constraint-based Collaborative Design Process Model (CDPM) are proposed. These are intended to facilitate the management and coordination of collaborative product design process and knowledge management. A design example is used to illustrate CDPM. While the system is being implemented, the architecture of our agent-based collaborative product design environment based on CPDM and CDPM is described.

Automatically Learning Preliminary Design Knowledge from Design Examples

Drawing from the challenges organizations are faced with today, there is a growing understanding that future market success and long‐term survival of enterprises will increasingly be related to the effectiveness of information technology utilization. This, however, requires us to intertwine much more seriously organizational theory and research in information processing than previously. In this paper we approached this aim from the perspective of radically decentralized, computerized enterprises. We further assume that organizations are increasingly process‐oriented, rather than applying to structuring organizations based on task decomposition and assignment. This scenario reveals that, due to the inherent autonomy of organizational units, the coordination of decentralized organizational activities (workflows, processes) necessitates a cooperative style of problem solving. On this basis, the paper introduces the research area of cooperative knowledge processing, with a particular focus on multi‐agent decision support systems and human‐computer cooperative work. Finally, several important organizational applications of cooperative knowledge processing are presented that demonstrate how future enterprises can take great advantage from these new technologies.

Traditional civil aircraft manufacturing enterprises are experiencing transformation from providing products to providing the civil aircraft services based on the entire life cycle. In the process of transformation and upgrading, a well-developed knowledge management system is crucial to support the rapid and agile development of enterprises, fast delivery of orders and increase in brand awareness. However, in the research area of civil aircraft design knowledge management and related computer integrated manufacturing systems, there is a lack of investigation into knowledge modelling, management frameworks and methods of civil aircraft product design, which are vital in modern digitised manufacturing systems. Therefore, this research puts forward a design knowledge management (DKM) model for civil aircraft cabin, which is based on the analysis of design knowledge flow patterns among users, decision makers, designers and engineers. The authors have established the mapping model between historical design cases and new civil aircraft cabin design, and have built a Markov Logic Networks based design knowledge management framework which integrated time series into DKM systems to increase the accuracy and availability of knowledge matching. Finally, the specific application of the Markov Logic Networks-based knowledge management software platform is proposed.

This paper concludes a series of three, in which the formalization of “soft” architectural design knowledge is studied in the context of making it accessible to knowledge-based design systems for support of early sketch design. A wide range of design ideas with the common theme of schematic “plaza design” is studied, including design from scratch and the reconstruction of existing plazas. Formal conceptual models in Horn clause logic are suggested. The additional evidence thus provided, that “soft” design knowledge may be accessible to design support systems, is the main contribution of the paper, which is rounded off by a brief discussion of the feasibility and future development of such systems.

Landscape design research is important for cultivating spatial intelligence in landscape architecture. This study explores GIS (geographic information systems) as a tool for landscape design research - investigating landscape designs to understand them as architectonic compositions (architectonic plan analysis). The concept ‘composition’ refers to a conceivable arrangement, an architectural expression of a mental construct that is legible and open to interpretation. Landscape architectonic compositions and their representations embody a great wealth of design knowledge as objects of our material culture and reflect the possible treatment of the ground, space, image and program as a characteristic coherence. By exploring landscape architectonic compositions with GIS, design researchers can acquire design knowledge that can be used in the creation and refinement of a design. The research aims to identify and illustrate the potential role of GIS as a tool in landscape design research, so as to provide insight into the possibilities and limitations of using GIS in this capacity. The critical, information-oriented case of Stourhead landscape garden (Wiltshire, UK), an example of a designed landscape that covers the scope and remit of landscape architecture design, forms the heart of the study. The exploration of Stourhead by means of GIS can be understood as a plausibility probe. Here the case study is considered a form of ‘quasi-experiment’, testing the hypothesis and generating a learning process that constitutes a prerequisite for advanced understanding, while using an adjusted version of the framework for landscape design analysis by Steenbergen and Reh (2003). This is a theoretically informed analytical method based on the formal interpretation of the landscape architectonic composition addressing four landscape architectonic categories: the basic, the spatial, the symbolic and the programmatic form. This study includes new aspects to be analysed, such as the visible form and the shape of the walk, and serves as the basis for the landscape architectonic analysis in which GIS is used as the primary analytical tool. GIS-based design research has the possibility to cultivate spatial intelligence in landscape architecture through three fields of operation: GIS-based modelling: description of existing and future landscape architectonic compositions in digital form; GIS-based analysis: exploration, analysis and synthesis of landscape architectonic compositions in order to reveal latent architectonic relationships and principles, while utilizing the processing capacities and possibilities of computers for ex-ante and ex-post simulation and evaluation; GIS-based visual representation: representation of (virtual) landscape architectonic compositions in space and time, in order to retrieve and communicate information and knowledge of the landscape design. Though there are limitations, this study exemplifies that GIS is a powerful instrument to acquire knowledge from landscape architectonic compositions. The study points out that the application of GIS in landscape design research can be seen as an extension of the fundamental cycle of observation, visual representation, analysis and interpretation in the process of knowledge acquisition, with alternative visualisations and digital landscape models as important means for this process. Using the calculating power of computers, combined with inventive modelling, analysis and visualisation concepts in an interactive process, opened up possibilities to reveal new information and knowledge about the basic, spatial, symbolic and programmatic form of Stourhead. GIS extended the design researchers’ perception via measurement, simulation and experimentation, and at the same time offered alternative ways of understanding the landscape architectonic composition. This gave rise to the possibility of exploring new elements in the framework of landscape design research, such as the visible form and kinaesthetic aspects, analysing the composition from eyelevel perspective. Moreover, the case study showcases that GIS has the potential to measure phenomena that are often subject to intuitive and experimental design, combining general scientific knowledge of, for instance, visual perception and way-finding, with the examination of site-specific design applications. GIS also enabled one to understand the landscape architectonic composition of Stourhead as a product of time, via the analysis of its development through reconstruction and evaluation of several crucial time-slice snapshots. The study illustrates that GIS can be regarded an external cognitive tool that facilitates and mediates in design knowledge acquisition. GIS facilitates in the sense that it can address the ‘same types of design-knowledge’ regarding the basic, spatial, symbolic and programmatic form, but in a more precise, systematic, transparent, and quantified manner. GIS mediates in the sense that it influences what and how aspects of the composition can be understood and therefore enables design researchers to generate ‘new types of design-knowledge’ by advanced spatial analysis and the possibility of linking or integrating other information layers, fields of science and data sources. The research contributes to the development and distribution of knowledge of GIS-applications in landscape architecture in two ways: (1) by ‘following’ the discipline and developing aspects of it, and (2) by setting in motion fundamental developments in the field, providing alternative readings of landscape architecture designs.

Landscape design research is important for cultivating spatial intelligence in landscape architecture. This study explores GIS (geographic information systems) as a tool for landscape design research - investigating landscape designs to understand them as architectonic compositions (architectonic plan analysis). The concept ‘composition’ refers to a conceivable arrangement, an architectural expression of a mental construct that is legible and open to interpretation. Landscape architectonic compositions and their representations embody a great wealth of design knowledge as objects of our material culture and reflect the possible treatment of the ground, space, image and program as a characteristic coherence. By exploring landscape architectonic compositions with GIS, design researchers can acquire design knowledge that can be used in the creation and refinement of a design. The research aims to identify and illustrate the potential role of GIS as a tool in landscape design research, so as to provide insight into the possibilities and limitations of using GIS in this capacity. The critical, information-oriented case of Stourhead landscape garden (Wiltshire, UK), an example of a designed landscape that covers the scope and remit of landscape architecture design, forms the heart of the study. The exploration of Stourhead by means of GIS can be understood as a plausibility probe. Here the case study is considered a form of ‘quasi-experiment’, testing the hypothesis and generating a learning process that constitutes a prerequisite for advanced understanding, while using an adjusted version of the framework for landscape design analysis by Steenbergen and Reh (2003). This is a theoretically informed analytical method based on the formal interpretation of the landscape architectonic composition addressing four landscape architectonic categories: the basic, the spatial, the symbolic and the programmatic form. This study includes new aspects to be analysed, such as the visible form and the shape of the walk, and serves as the basis for the landscape architectonic analysis in which GIS is used as the primary analytical tool. GIS-based design research has the possibility to cultivate spatial intelligence in landscape architecture through three fields of operation: GIS-based modelling: description of existing and future landscape architectonic compositions in digital form; GIS-based analysis: exploration, analysis and synthesis of landscape architectonic compositions in order to reveal latent architectonic relationships and principles, while utilizing the processing capacities and possibilities of computers for ex-ante and ex-post simulation and evaluation; GIS-based visual representation: representation of (virtual) landscape architectonic compositions in space and time, in order to retrieve and communicate information and knowledge of the landscape design. Though there are limitations, this study exemplifies that GIS is a powerful instrument to acquire knowledge from landscape architectonic compositions. The study points out that the application of GIS in landscape design research can be seen as an extension of the fundamental cycle of observation, visual representation, analysis and interpretation in the process of knowledge acquisition, with alternative visualisations and digital landscape models as important means for this process. Using the calculating power of computers, combined with inventive modelling, analysis and visualisation concepts in an interactive process, opened up possibilities to reveal new information and knowledge about the basic, spatial, symbolic and programmatic form of Stourhead. GIS extended the design researchers’ perception via measurement, simulation and experimentation, and at the same time offered alternative ways of understanding the landscape architectonic composition. This gave rise to the possibility of exploring new elements in the framework of landscape design research, such as the visible form and kinaesthetic aspects, analysing the composition from eyelevel perspective. Moreover, the case study showcases that GIS has the potential to measure phenomena that are often subject to intuitive and experimental design, combining general scientific knowledge of, for instance, visual perception and way-finding, with the examination of site-specific design applications. GIS also enabled one to understand the landscape architectonic composition of Stourhead as a product of time, via the analysis of its development through reconstruction and evaluation of several crucial time-slice snapshots. The study illustrates that GIS can be regarded an external cognitive tool that facilitates and mediates in design knowledge acquisition. GIS facilitates in the sense that it can address the ‘same types of design-knowledge’ regarding the basic, spatial, symbolic and programmatic form, but in a more precise, systematic, transparent, and quantified manner. GIS mediates in the sense that it influences what and how aspects of the composition can be understood and therefore enables design researchers to generate ‘new types of design-knowledge’ by advanced spatial analysis and the possibility of linking or integrating other information layers, fields of science and data sources. The research contributes to the development and distribution of knowledge of GIS-applications in landscape architecture in two ways: (1) by ‘following’ the discipline and developing aspects of it, and (2) by setting in motion fundamental developments in the field, providing alternative readings of landscape architecture designs.

This paper highlights the ways in which Shape Grammar inductive reasoning can analyze and represent design knowledge in a tacit environment. Deductive Shape Grammar has effectively examined designs from the past, where access to the artifacts’ authors is not possible. However, in a condition where access to the craftsperson and the making process is possible, there is an opportunity to induce design grammar from the evidence on-site. Nevertheless, in such contexts, direct access to the craftsperson does not necessarily mean that access to their design knowledge is straightforward, as reflected in our case study, Passura: a Traditional Glyph in Toraja, Indonesia. In this article, the formulation of inductive Shape Grammar is provided, and applications on the tacit environment are discussed.

Knowledge and reasoning in design systems

In order to support distributed design work, it is necessary to use all kinds of geographically dispersed design expertise and knowledge as soon as possible. At the same time, all the knowledge base is asked to accumulate and update, as well as to retrieve and share. This paper focus on the knowledge map and knowledge management tools to support distributed design. Design activity in distributed product design includes calculation and reasoning, as well as simulation and evaluation. Design knowledge includes formula and rules, as well as constraints. The object of product design knowledge management includes the knowledge of the product domain, the design process knowledge and the expert with design knowledge. Knowledge management architecture can be described as four layers, which are management tool layer and basic management layer, as well as high management layer and knowledge integration layer. Knowledge map is used to connect all knowledge nodes with different kinds of knowledge base. To increase the transparency and agility of knowledge map, the knowledge indexing is a very important work. Knowledge expert can move along six paths that are central for effective knowledge visualization in product design contexts. The XML based knowledge index support building knowledge map automatically, and provide user information about the design knowledge. The map is constructed in the text based SVG format, so user can search the needed knowledge by key words. The basic element of product design knowledge is represented as BNF format. Some technologies of management tools had been analyses.KeywordsDistributed designKnowledge mapKnowledge management tool

With the increasing complexity and stringent requirements of modern large-scale distributed systems, well-structured representations of software design knowledge arise as a promising approach to keep delivering high quality products in a timely and cost-effective way. Although domain-specific architecture styles and reference architectures help in conveying such design knowledge, the lack of systematic and structured representations makes it hard to grasp design alternatives promptly and support well-informed trade-off analysis. This short paper presents DuSE-MT - a supporting tool for the DuSE approach to architectural design of self-adaptive systems. DuSE-MT implements: i) a generic met model or systematic representation of design spaces (DuSE), which enables automated architecture design and analysis, ii) a specific design space for the self-adaptive systems domain (SA:DuSE), iii) a set of metrics that capture quality attributes of resulting self-adaptive architectures, and iv) a multi-objective optimization approach to explicitly elicit trade-off decision by finding out a set of Pareto-optimal candidate architectures. Our approach has been evaluated in a case study involving self-adaptive cloud-based services.

Conceptual design plays a pivotal role in generating creative design solutions and, in most cases, reuse of existing design knowledge is necessary. However, lack of a consistent design knowledge representation model and neglect of an integrated approach to support various formats of design knowledge reuse constrain conceptual design from transforming design requirements into practical promising design solutions. In order to solve these problems, this paper presents a constrained function-behavior-structure knowledge cell (CFBS) model to provide conceptual design process with a consistent knowledge representation model. CFBS-based integrated approach for design knowledge reuse is proposed, which includes three-level CFBS retrieval process to obtain most relevant CFBS expressed in various types, three-stage design synthesis process to produce suggested design solutions, and evaluation process to select the most feasible design solutions. The effectiveness of the proposed design process was illustrated with conceptual design of the micro-feed drive module of insulin pump based on the CFBS library.

This chapter explores issues related to integration, management, and use of multidisciplinary, user-centered system design knowledge. A pressing need exists for theory, techniques, and tools for management of the knowledge emergent in complex system development efforts. Challenges to effective system design knowledge management are many, and span the range of engineering, psychological, and social sciences. We need repositories and other points of exchange for system design knowledge, and conceptual catalysts to support value-added integration of the results from multi-disciplinary, user-centered design research and practice. This chapter outlines a research program for design knowledge management based on the use of scenarios as anchors for design rationale, and on the importance of interaction activity design as a means to make this knowledge accessible. We describe an example of how the approach is being applied and report on our on-going projects in the area.