Collaborative Research: Advanced Analogical Search with Integrated Function and Form: The Verrocchio Project

该奖项的研究目标是通过类比方法的设计来提高对概念生成的理解和能力。该方法是认知心理学、工程设计和计算机科学等学科之间的合作，旨在基于将功能信息和几何信息相关联的表示为设计提供新的工具，将功能相似性的语言搜索与几何相似性的多层次搜索相结合，以自动识别并向设计者呈现类比。Verrocchio项目的最初应用是为残疾人设计假肢和矫形器，这是一个创新成熟的领域。最初的搜索空间是USPTO公用事业专利库。交付成果将包括：(1)通过功能描述更有效地概括设计问题的方法；(2)使用替代功能表示搜索类比解决方案的能力；(3)通过一组功能类比搜索几何相似性的方法；以及(4)产生一组易于处理的类比供设计者使用的能力。如果成功，这项研究的结果将产生五个广泛和变革性的影响。第一个影响来自这项研究的关键成果：一种系统和自动识别类比的方法。这一工具将在许多产品领域具有广泛的适用性，并将提高在这些领域寻找创新产品的效率。其次，该研究将为类比在工程设计方法中的应用奠定基础。第三，由于这项研究将导致该方法的计算机实施，这项工作将增加该国日益增长的网络基础设施。第四，研究的跨学科性质确保了理论和研究技术在每个合作者中的交叉滋养？纪律。这种跨学科性将增加广泛采用该方法的可能性。第五，将开发教学材料，培训学生学习这种方法。这些教学材料将免费提供给其他机构的教师，鼓励更广泛地采用这种方法。

The research objective of this award is to improve understanding and capabilities in concept generation through design by analogy methods. The proposed approach, a collaboration between the disciplines of cognitive psychology, engineering design and computer science, is to provide new tools for design based on a representation that associates functional and geometric information, combining a linguistic search for functional similarity with a multi-level search for geometric similarity to automatically identify and present analogies to the designer. The initial application for the Verrocchio Project is the design of prosthetic and orthotic devices for persons with disabilities, a domain that is ripe for innovation. The initial search space is the USPTO utility patent repository. Deliverables will include: (1) means to more effectively generalize design problems through functional descriptions; (2) the ability to search for analogical solutions with alternative functional representations; (3) ways to search for geometric similarities across a set of functional analogies; and (4) the ability to produce a tractable set of analogies for use by the designer. If successful, the results of this research will have five broad and transformative impacts. The first impact arises from the key product of the research: a method for systematically and automatically identifying analogies. This tool will have broad applicability across many product domains, and will improve the efficiency of the search for innovative products in those domains. Second, the research will advance the foundation for use of analogies in engineering design methods. Third, because the research will result in a computer implementation of the method, the work will add to the growing cyber infrastructure of the country. Fourth, the interdisciplinary nature of the research ensures cross-fertilization of theory and research techniques in each of the collaborators? disciplines. This interdisciplinarity will enhance the probability of broad adoption of the approach. Fifth, instructional materials will be developed for training students in the approach. These instructional materials will be freely available to instructors at other institutions, encouraging broader adoption of the approach.