Application of artificial intelligence (Al) has been a topic of interest among researchers for the past decade or more. Years of research in the commercial application of Al, availability of hardware support for Al application and affordability of software and hardware has generated a lot of interest in this field and brought this technology within the reach of micro-computer based users. The commercial impact of AI is due to expert systems (ESs). ES technology is a collection of methods and techniques for constructing human-machine systems with specialized problem solving expertise. This project explores the application of ESs in landscape architecture by developing a prototype ES and testing implications of its use with designers while working on a hypothetical problem in a studio environment. The development process helps identify the typical difficulties of such an application, to uncover technical problems, and to identify areas needing further research. The project aims at building an ES that provides very limited preliminary data and design guidelines to initialize the design process and keeps track of the most fundamental issues necessary for planning, thus acting as an expert and assistant simultaneously. The idea is to explore the possibility of applying ESs to facilitate the design process so that designers may concentrate on other important aspects of design which include intuitive judgement about qualitative aspects. / Master of Landscape Architecture

This study proposes an Architectural Expert System (AES) to act as a design partner for architectural designers. Architectural designers are faced with a very complex task of searching a solution space, which is a labyrinth of several domains ranging from social to cultural, and from aesthetic to scientific. With the number of domains come a number of experts of that domain. After progressing through tedious analytical procedures involving the physical principles in architecture, and applying the knowledge of experience, the experts are able to convert the raw data into useful design guidelines. Research in the field of artificial intelligence has developed techniques which can capture such expertise in a computer program, which then emulates the expert. This technology is know as Expert System (ES). This study has used this technology to develop a system to aid architectural design. An AES model is derived from literature review. As the nature of a system based on this model is complex and would require custom built software, an alternative is developed based on the derived model. Based on this alternative, a prototype is developed for energy audit and energy conservation by capturing the expertise of an energy conscious design expert. This prototype module is one component of the sub-system of AES and provides an example for further modules. Various areas such as design, architecture, artificial intelligence and expert systems technology, and energy conscious design and energy conservation converge, and become parts of this study. / Master of Science

This paper discusses the results of a study of architects at work, where the focus of attention was on the information used during the life of a design project. What became apparent during this study was that the business management of the project, and the artifacts associated with that phase of work, often overwhelmed the actual design effort in terms of time and attention. A phenomenological approach to data collection was used; the author observed architects at work in two different offices over a period of several months, and assisted in the day to day work of each office. Sketches, photos, informal interviews and discussions, and extensive notes provided a rich set of data about work life in architectural practice. Structuralism was the primary analysis tool used to identify key elements of the data and their meaning in professional practice. A model was developed of the kinds of information used to manage a design project. This model includes not only the data used in project management documents, but also categorizes each piece of information according to its current level of use. The document model identifies eight primary attributes for every document, and an object-oriented class hierarchy for documents provides for the inheritance of the base attributes as well as providing additional attributes in various sub-classes to facilitate modeling specific kinds of documents like letters, memos, notes, faxes, contracts, and construction drawings. Finally, a Design Project Manager with a complete set of document manipulation, storage, and retrieval tools was defined. These information tools have specific behaviors based on the patterns of document and information use observed in the subject offices. The results suggest that the productivity of architects may be enhanced by a set of small, carefully designed information tools that help architects deal more easily with the complexity of managing design projects. / Ph. D.

Thesis. 1976. Ph.D. cn--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Bibliography: leaves 446-449. / Ph.D.cn

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / A Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) is designed to manage laboratory processes and data. It has the ability to extend the core functionality of the LIMS through configuration tools and add-on modules to support the implementation of complex laboratory workflows. The purpose of this project is to demonstrate how laboratory data and processes from a complex workflow can be implemented using a LIMS. Genomic samples have become an important part of the drug development process due to advances in molecular testing technology. This technology evaluates genomic material for disease markers and provides efficient, cost-effective, and accurate results for a growing number of clinical indications. The preparation of the genomic samples for evaluation requires a complex laboratory process called the precision aliquotting workflow. The precision aliquotting workflow processes genomic samples into precisely created aliquots for analysis. The workflow is defined by a set of aliquotting scheme attributes that are executed based on scheme specific rules logic. The aliquotting scheme defines the attributes of each aliquot based on the achieved sample recovery of the genomic sample. The scheme rules logic executes the creation of the aliquots based on the scheme definitions. LabWare LIMS is a Windows® based open architecture system that manages laboratory data and workflow processes. A LabWare LIMS model was developed to implement the precision aliquotting workflow using a combination of core functionality and configured code.