MAJOR: Computational Tools for Enhancing Creativity in Biologically Inspired Engineering Design

智力优势：类比是创造的基本过程。根据定义，生物灵感设计是基于跨域类比的。该项目正在开发生物灵感工程设计中创造性类比的计算模型，并为增强生物灵感设计创新建立一个互动环境。为了进行创造性的类比(例如，设计受荷叶自清洁机制启发的纳米级超疏水涂层)，目标问题和源案例必须在某些深层次上具有显著的相似性。为了让创造性的类比发挥作用，类比迁移必须同时考虑到目标和源语之间的深层相似性和不同之处。假设生物启发的工程设计中的创造性类比是什么？通过对生物和工程系统抽象目的论机制的深刻相似性的了解，？受制于生物系统中的物理结构与工程系统中实现抽象目的论机制的物理结构之间的深刻差异的知识，？使用组织架构来设计案例，以捕捉生物系统中目的论机制和物理结构之间的关系，？使用生物系统特定设计案例的知识(用于问题理解)和捕获其抽象目的论机制的一般设计模式的知识(用于解决方案生成)，以及？对于物理结构既直观又直观的设计案例，使用多模式表示。计算模型同时考虑问题驱动和解决方案驱动的生物启发设计、设计解决方案中的复合类比以及问题分解过程与类比提取、映射和转移过程之间的交互作用。交互环境提供对生物系统的具体设计案例的访问，以及捕捉生物系统的抽象目的论机制的一般设计模式。它将设计案例的知识组织在图形/形状、结构/行为/功能图式中，捕捉生物系统中目的论机制和物理结构之间的关系，并使用多模式表示法，其中物理结构既可视又可用语言表示。PI正在通过体外和体内研究评估一种交互工具。特别是，他们正在进行受控实验，将设计问题和获取知识作为自变量，并以减少认知错误和提高设计创新质量为因变量。创新质量的提高将通过问题演变的数量、设计解决方案中的类比数量、设计及其解释的正确和完整程度来衡量。目前，生物启发设计的计算模型很少，支持它的工具也很少。尽管生物灵感设计很有前途，但它今天的实践是特别的。通过系统化生物灵感设计过程的知识，通过开发创造性类比的计算模型和支持基于类比的设计的计算工具，本研究具有改变生物灵感设计实践的潜力。广泛的影响：生物灵感设计是从机器人设计到环境意识可持续发展技术等许多工程设计领域的重要且日益广泛的运动。本文的研究将有助于工程设计领域的多元化发展。这项研究部分是基于在课堂上进行的关于生物灵感设计的认知研究，拟议的互动工具有可能彻底改变生物灵感设计的教与学。

Intellectual Merits: Analogy is a fundamental process of creativity. By definition, biologically inspired design is based on cross-domain analogies. This project is developing a computational model of creative analogies in biologically inspired engineering design, and building an interactive environment for enhancing biologically inspired design innovations. For a creative analogy to occur (e.g., design of nano-scale super-hydrophobic coatings inspired by the self-cleaning mechanism of lotus leafs), there must be significant similarity between the target problem and the source case at some deep level. For a creative analogy to work well, analogical transfer must take into account both the deep similarities and the dissimilarities between the target and the source. The hypotheses are that creative analogies in biologically inspired engineering design are ? enabled by knowledge of deep similarities in the abstract teleological mechanisms of biological and engineering systems, ? constrained by knowledge of deep dissimilarities between the physical structures in biological systems and the physical structures available to realize an abstract teleological mechanism in an engineering system, ? use an organizational schemata for the design cases that captures the relationships between teleological mechanisms and the physical structures in a biological system, ? use knowledge of specific design cases of biological systems (for problem understanding) and knowledge of general design patterns that capture their abstract teleological mechanisms (for solution generation), and ? use multimodal representations for the design cases in which the physical structures are represented both visually and verbally.The computational model accounts for both problem-driven and solution-driven biologically inspired design, compound analogies in the design solution, and interactions between the process of problem decomposition and the processes of analogical retrieval, mapping and transfer. An interactive environment provides access to specific design cases of biological systems as well as general design patterns that capture the abstract teleological mechanisms of biological systems. It will organize knowledge of design cases in a drawing/shape, structure/behavior/function schemata that captures the relationships between the teleological mechanisms and the physical structures in a biological system, and uses multimodal representations in which the physical structures are represented both visually and verbally.The PIs are evaluating an interactive tool through in vitro and in vivo studies. In particular, they are conducting controlled experiments that vary the design problem and access to knowledge as independent variables, and measure reduction in cognitive errors and improvement in quality of design innovations as the dependent variables. Improvement in the quality of innovations will be measured in terms of the amount of problem evolution, the number of analogies in the design solution, and the degree of correctness and completeness of the design and its explanation.At present, there are few computational models of biologically inspired design and few tools for supporting it. Although biological inspired design is promising, its practice today is ad hoc. By systemizing knowledge of the processes of biologically inspired design, and by developing computational models of creative analogy and computational tools for supporting analogy based design, this research has the potential for transforming the practice of biologically inspired design.Broader Impacts: Biologically inspired design is an important and increasingly wide spread movement in many areas of engineering design ranging from robot design to technologies for environmentally conscious sustainable development. This research will contribute to multiple design domains in engineering. This research is based in part on cognitive studies conducted in classes on biologically inspired design, and the proposed interactive tool has the potential to revolutionize teaching and learning of biologically inspired design.