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

智力优势：类比是创造力的基本过程。根据定义，生物灵感设计是基于跨领域的类比。该项目正在开发生物启发工程设计中创造性类比的计算模型，并建立一个互动环境，以增强生物启发设计创新。为了进行创造性的类比（例如，设计纳米级超疏水涂层的灵感来自荷叶的自清洁机制），目标问题和源案例之间在某些深层次上必须存在显著的相似性。为了使创造性类比发挥作用，类比迁移必须考虑到目标和源之间的深层相似性和差异性。假设是，在生物启发工程设计的创造性类比是？在生物学和工程学系统的抽象目的论机制的深刻相似性的知识，使？受生物系统中的物理结构与可用于实现工程系统中的抽象目的论机制的物理结构之间的深刻差异的知识的约束，？使用一个组织图式的设计情况下，捕捉目的机制和物理结构之间的关系，在生物系统，？使用生物系统的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？使用多模态表示的设计案例中，物理结构的视觉和口头表示。计算模型占问题驱动和解决方案驱动的生物启发设计，在设计解决方案中的复合类比，以及问题分解过程和类比检索，映射和转移过程之间的相互作用。一个交互式的环境提供了访问生物系统的具体设计案例，以及捕捉生物系统的抽象目的机制的一般设计模式。它将把设计案例的知识组织在一个绘图/形状，结构/行为/功能图式中，该图式捕捉了生物系统中目的机制和物理结构之间的关系，并使用多模态表示法，其中物理结构被视觉和语言表示。特别是，他们正在进行控制实验，将设计问题和知识获取作为自变量，并将认知错误的减少和设计创新质量的提高作为因变量进行测量。创新质量的提高将通过问题的演变量、设计方案中类比的数量、设计的正确性和完整性以及解释的程度来衡量。目前，生物启发设计的计算模型和支持工具很少。虽然生物启发设计很有前途，但目前的实践是临时性的。通过系统化生物灵感设计过程的知识，并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，这项研究有可能改变生物灵感设计的实践。生物启发设计是一个重要的和日益广泛的运动，在许多领域的工程设计，从机器人设计的技术，注重环境的可持续发展。该研究将有助于工程中的多个设计领域。这项研究的部分基础上进行的生物启发设计类的认知研究，提出的互动工具有可能彻底改变教学和学习的生物启发设计。

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.