Toward Improved Models of Mechanical Design Methology

本研究的目的是提高我们对机械设计过程的理解。这一理解将改进未来的计算机辅助设计工具。获得这种理解的方法将是执行一项实验，在该实验中，设计人员被给予精心构造的问题，并研究他们的协议，以创建从规范到实现的设计。使用人工智能领域的现有模型，协议将被形式化。该研究项目的主要工作将致力于开发一种用于陈述规范的形式化语言、一种用于描述构件(对象、过程或系统)的形式化语言、一种用于定性模拟和约束传播的系统，以及一种支持设计的智能数据库系统。这些领域中的任何一个领域的突破都将是设计理论的重大进步。

The goal of this research is to improve our understanding of the process of mechanical design. This understanding will improve future computer-aided design tools. The method for gaining this understanding will be to perform an experiment in which designers are given carefully constructed problems and to study their protocols for creating a design from specifications to implementation. Using existing models from the field of artificial intelligence, the protocols will be formalized. A major effort of this research project will be directed toward developing a formal language for stating specifications, a formal language for describing artifacts (objects, processes, or systems), a system for qualitative simulation and constraint propagation, and an intelligent database system to support design. A breakthrough in any of these areas would be a major advance for design theory.