In Search of Design Genes: Chaotic versus Controlled Mitosis

在现代世界中，为了创造我们周围的许多复杂产品和系统，我们需要先进的技术。但为了使我们能够利用这一点，并创造出数量和复杂性的产品，我们还需要复杂的组织系统和流程。大型复杂组织尤其依赖系统工程流程来帮助指导复杂项目完成。许多产品，如飞机，都是因为这种系统化的方法才存在的。但这种系统性的方法也有不利的一面。为了保持对复杂设计的控制，有必要确定想法和概念，并以自上而下的方法处理细节。这种向下的流动将发展限制在最初的想法或概念的范围内，但自然地阻止了创新和变化。事实上，在某些方面，这种变化和创新是受控组织的敌人，而受控组织是让一家全球企业走上正轨所必需的。一个最大的恐惧是出现的现象；本质上是不可知的行为。但具有讽刺意味的是，为了利用复合材料或添加剂制造等新技术提供的许多机会，这种创新是迫切需要的。但将这些技术结合在一个复杂的固定组织结构和过程中显然是非常困难的。这项工作从大自然中寻找灵感，以一种不受约束的方法来创造工程设计。它寻求自下而上而不是自上而下。创建一套基于能量和平衡的基本规则，可以使设计中自然产生变化。在本质上，这些规则是盲目适用的，没有固定的最终形式。这种最终的形式只是由于其环境的结果而出现的。树就是一个很好的例子。因此，这项工作的目标是：寻找一套基本的规则，类似于设计的DNA，用于设计组件和系统。我们的假设是，通过将设计重新想象为一系列对环境和刺激做出反应的基本规则和生长机制，复杂系统的设计将被简化，涌现可以被用作超越传统范式的创新工具。我们看到了三大挑战：*获得组件种子的生长规则，使组件从活动中出现*定义将使组件种子生长的刺激，并确定这种增长是否可以通过刺激来控制。*将新出现的行为捕获到一组可与现有设计和制造系统交互的工作参数中-即是否有一组参数将定义CAD模型？在本项目中，我们将研究这种方法的理论方面，以及在工程设计中使用这些基本规则的实际意义。我们将使用智能软件代理来表示组件种子，这将根据周围环境创建设计。这些代理将成长为可以在CAD系统中预见的更完整的组件或系统。随着系统的发展，这些代理将有能力产生其他代理，以响应环境。工作的结果应该是封装在原型系统中的一组规则，该原型系统将从简单的种子定义自动创建组件。根据周围环境的信息，它会变大或变小，根据需要形成形状、形状和颜色。一个种子应该能够产生各种各样的解决方案，自然地产生创新。通过调整规则和行为，我们预计会允许一些紧急行为发生。这就反馈到了这项研究的目的--确定这些基本规则是否可以在设计中有效地使用。这项研究将评估和报告这一点、其潜力和实用性。

To create many of the complex products and systems we have around us in the modern world we have needed advanced technology. But to enable us to use this, and create the volume and complexity of products we have also needed complex organisational systems and processes. Large complex organisations have in particular relied on the Systems Engineering process, to help guide complex projects through to completion. Many products, such as aircraft, only exist because of this systematic approach. But this systematic approach has a downside. To maintain control of a complex design it is necessary to fix ideas and concepts, and work through detail in a top-down approach. This flow down keeps development within the bounds of the original idea or concept, but naturally prevents innovation and variation. In fact, such variation and innovation are in some ways the enemy of the controlled organisation needed to keep a global enterprise on track. One great fear is the phenomenon of emergence; inherently unknowable behaviour.But ironically, to take advantage of the many opportunities offered by new technologies, such as composite materials or additive manufacturing, this kind of innovation is desperately needed. But marrying these technologies within a complex fixed organisational structure and process is clearly very difficult.This work looks to nature for inspiration, for an unconstrained approach to the creation of engineering designs. It seeks to start from the bottom up rather than top down. The creation of an elemental set of rules based on energy and equilibrium, could allow variation to naturally arise in design. In nature, the rules are applied blindly with no fixed final form. That final form only arising as a consequence of its environment. Trees are a wonderful example of this.So the aim of this work is: to seek an elementary set of rules, akin to a DNA of design, for designing components & systems.Our hypothesis is that by reimagining design as a series of elemental rules and growth mechanisms that react to environment and stimuli, the design of complex systems will be simplified, and emergence could be used as a tool for innovation beyond conventional paradigms.We see three major challenges: * Obtaining growth rules for component seeds to allow components to emerge from the activity * Defining stimuli that will make the component seeds grow and establishing if that growth can be controlled via the stimuli. * Capturing the emergent behaviour into a working set of parameters which can interact with existing design and manufacturing systems - i.e. is there a set of parameters which will define a CAD model?In this project we will investigate theoretical aspects of this approach, and the practical implications of using these elementary rules in engineering design.We will use intelligent software agents to represent component seeds which will create a design depending on the environment around it. The agents will grow to form a more complete component or system which can be envisioned in a CAD system. The agents will have the ability to spawn others as the system develops in response to the environment. For example, as in forming a branch, or root, or in an engineering context a stiffener or hole.The result from the work should be a set of rules encapsulated in a prototype system that will automatically create a component from a simple seed definition. Depending on the information of its surroundings, it will grow large or small, taking form, shape & colour according to need. One seed should be capable of producing a wide variety of solutions, generating innovation naturally. By tweaking the rules and behaviours we expect to allow some emergent behaviour to occur. This feeds back to the aim of this study - to establish if these elementary rules can be put to effective use in design. This study will assess and report on this, its potential and practicality.