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The central aim of the current research programme was to gain an understanding of the cognitive processes involved in engineering design. Since little previous empirical research has investigated this domain, two major exploratory studies were undertaken here. Study One monitored seven final-year students tackling extended design projects. Diary and interview data were used to construct detailed design behaviour graphs that decomposed activities into structured representations reflecting the goals and subgoals that were pursued. Study Two involved individual observation (using video) of six professional engineers "thinking-aloud" as they tackled a small-scale design problem in a laboratory setting. A taxonomic scheme was developed to classify all verbal protocol units and other observable behaviours. In interpreting the data extensive use was made of theoretical concepts (e. g. schemas and mental models) deriving from current research on human problem solving and thinking. Evidence indicated that the engineers studied had many similar methods of working which could be described at a high level of abstraction in terms of a common "design schema". A central aspect of this schema was a problem reduction strategy which was used to break down complex design problems into more manageable subproblems. The data additionally revealed certain differences in design strategy between engineers' solution modelling activities and also showed up tendencies toward error and suboptimal performance. In this latter respect a particularly common tendency was for designers to "satisfice", that is to focus exclusively on initial solution concepts rather than comparing alternatives with the aim of optimising choices. The general implications of the present findings are discussed in relation to both the training of design skills and the development of intelligent computer systems to aid or automate the design process. A final, smaller scale of experimental study is also reported which investigated the possibility of improving design processes via subtle interventions aimed at imposing greater structure on design behaviours.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Victoria University (Melbourne, Vic.), 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. S.)--Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. / Committee Chair: Paredis, Chris; Committee Member: McGinnis, Leon; Committee Member: Schaefer, Dirk

Thesis (M.S.)--Missouri University of Science and Technology, 2009. / Vita. The entire thesis text is included in file. Title from title screen of thesis/dissertation PDF file (viewed November 23, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 66-68).

Thesis (M.S.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Industrial Engineering. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis describes the development of a prototype Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) enabled intelligent component system, called Architectural General Object System (ARGOS), to facilitate the storage of design information in lightweight cases that can be used on the desktop computer over the total life of the facility. It uses CBR techniques combined with Microsoft ActiveX controls (object technology) to provide a useful autonomous component to implement some of the software requirements of such a system within the context of the global design and construction environment. These technologies ensure a platform independent environment and integration into the Internet. The use of XML (Extensible Mark-up Language) as a design language is explored to facilitate the storage of design data in a persistent and neutral manner independent from the software that originally created it. This ensures a long data life and the enables different actors over the life cycle of a facility to use their own relevant software to process the design information. During the development of AEDES (Architectural Evaluation and Design System), the research team realised that the problem of structuring design knowledge in such a way to support relevant software systems across the life cycle of a facility is far more complex than originally anticipated. Although there are many similarities between the construction and the manufacturing industries, there are also significant and problematic differences. Architectural design tasks take place in an open world where the reasoner's knowledge is incomplete or inconsistent. Due to this the focus in computer-aided architectural design research has shifted back and forth from attempts to totally automate the entire design process to its partial support through drafting tools. In an attempt to overcome some of the enormous complexities, that researchers struggled with over the past 35 years, a prototype intelligent autonomous design component ARGOS is developed in this research. It is clear that automated design methods are not tractable and it is therefore more worthwhile to pursue the creation of a neutral design language and the creation of intelligent and flexible design tools to manipulate these design fragments. An in-depth study is made of various important out-of-industry manufacturing techniques, CBR and object technology and to establish clearly what the desirable characteristics of ARGOS should be. An important requirement is that ARGOS should be generic and non-prescriptive and should work in a Microsoft Windows compliant environment. A solution without the use of CAD is proposed that ensure a generic solution that could add value to many different construction industry actors in many different environments. More recently attempts are being made to introduce post-modern Artificial Intelligence (AI) into design and architecture. Despite all these efforts it is clear that architectural briefing and design has not reached the status of a science and it is unlikely ever to. This is confirmed by recent breakthroughs in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Knowledge Management that provide deeper insights into the cognitive processes of the designer. This study indicates that XML is a viable means of expressing design knowledge and a feasible alternative for the complex Building Product Models currently proposed whilst at the same time supporting operations in the Internet environment. Design information and the ability to retrieve it is now more important than the software application that originally created it. The autonomous intelligent component ARGOS provides a method to encapsulate design knowledge at both tacit and explicit cognitive levels whilst at the same time providing global communication in a convenient desktop environment. ARGOS is designed in a parametric way that supports any design process that requires positional, volumetric and spatial relationship analysis in both 2D and 3D. Multiple autonomous copies can be placed in a container environment such as Excel. Any process written in any computer language that supports the use of ActiveX controls can be used to manipulate the ARGOS instances. / Dissertation (Ph.D. (Applied Sciences))--University of Pretoria, 2000. / Architecture / unrestricted

The research reported in this thesis is focused on the creation of a CAE system to support Reverse Engineering. It is centred around the computational representation of products (Product Model) and manufacturing capabilities (Manufacturing Model). These models are essential for modem and future software systems aimed to assist the design process, enabling data sharing among the participants who use various computational tools. Reverse Engineering is employed as a particular context and motivation for exploring the application of the models. The research builds on the achievements of the recently finished Model Oriented Simultaneous Engineering System (MOSES) project, undertaken jointly by Leeds University and the Department of Manufacturing Engineering of Loughborough University. MOSES' work on information modelling was analysed and combined together with the original proposals of the author to elaborate a suitable support to Reverse Engineering, applicable to redesign in general. A process for Reverse Engineering is proposed and documented and a data model driven CAE system to support it is specified. The CAE system includes a Product Model, a Manufacturing Model and two software application environments. The Product Model of the system is based on the information requirements of the Reverse Engineering process and is suitable for representing multi-component products, from different perspectives through its life cycle. The applications assist the characteristic activities of Reverse Engineering. In particular, the system is used for exploring the application of Product and Manufacturing Models in supporting Design for Manufacture. The theoretical research is tested by the use of a case study which explores the Reverse Engineering of a component. This work is supported by a prototype software instance of the CAE system. The case study component is an axle which forms part of a product designed and manufactured by a collaborating company.

Thesis (M.S.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 55-56).

Thesis (MSc (Computer Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / Super cially realistic worlds can easily be created using fractal landscapes. Such landscapes are limited in that real-world geological features such as caves and overhangs are impossible using a standard height eld representation. Interactive, realistic simulation of terrain evolution on such landscapes has proved elusive and does not generally provide direct control over the placement of landscape features. This thesis presents an interactive terrain design system, which enables the user to generate localised, speci c terrain features, as well as generalised global characteristics. A fully volumetric terrain representation is used to allow varied three dimensional terrain features. A hybrid rendering algorithm is employed to e ciently render the volumetric data set, while allowing interactive terrain deformation. Small terrain deformation is enabled using voxel carving, while larger terrain features is generated using an adoption of the Wires algorithm. A fractal river network generation technique is presented and adopted for voxel terrain. These tools provide the user with interactive feedback to allow for more dynamic terrain design.