Jay McCormack

Support for the Use of Hierarchical Temporal Memory Systems in Automated Design Evaluation: A First Experiment

Computational synthesis tools that automatically generate solutions to design problems are not widely used in industry despite many years of research. This deficiency can be attributed to the lack of value that these tools provide for the user in terms of time saved in design or quality improvements in the design. In order to provide sufficient quality of solution, it is proposed that more human-like evaluation of solution quality is needed including qualitative concepts, the ability to allow for anecdotal input, and general inclusion of ambiguous information. A hierarchical temporal memory system (HTM) is proposed as a viable approach for capturing design quality from exemplars and subsequently recognizing the presence of that quality in other designs. This paper includes a first experiment in using HTMs for learning and recognizing quality in the form of the visual style characteristics of Hepplewhite, Stickley, and Greene & Greene chair backs. Results show that HTMs develop a similar storage of quality to humans and are therefore a promising option for capturing and recognizing multi-modal quality information in future design automation projects.Copyright

A sophomore capstone solid modeling experience: Virtual dissection and reassembly of legacy drawings

A sophomore computer aided design course is investigated with respect to its ability to prepare students for an authentic team-based design experience surrounding solid modeling of a set of legacy drawings by a master draftsman from an earlier age. Work products include an electronic archive stored on a shared drive, part and subassembly renderings, a shop-ready drawing package, accurate animation of part assembly as well as normal operation, and reflective writing about the project. Preparation for the final project includes justin-time use of locally authored videos supplied via the course website, deployment of peer mentors within the computer lab, and scaffolding provided by four different mini-projects. Intermediate milestones given on the course website, impromptu instructor/team/mentor meetings next to computer monitors as well as an overhead projector screen, and exemplary portfolios of student work are considered essential for guiding team-based work on the final project. Significant personal growth in engineering graphics skills leading up to the final project and throughout the final project has been observed in an end-of-course surveys that explore many attributes of pre-cad sketching, part modeling, assembly modeling, and creation of engineering drawing packages. Some refinements to the survey are needed to capture more of the wisdom embedded in many legacy drawings and the wisdom typically gained through the final project.

Mini workshop — Exploration of a direct method for measuring ABET professional skills

Proficiency in professional skills related to teamwork, ethical responsibility, oral communication, impact of engineering solutions, life-long learning, and contemporary issues is critical for success in the multi-disciplinary, intercultural team interactions that characterize 21st century engineering careers. Yet, programs across the nation have struggled to define, teach, and measure professional skills since their introduction as ABET criteria for engineering programs in 2000. The Engineering Professional Skills Assessment (EPSA) is a direct assessment method centered on one of several inter-disciplinary scenarios that frame a contemporary societal problem, a generalized set of discussion questions intended to guide a meaningful, 45 minute discussion of multiple scenarios among 4–6 students, and the Engineering Professional Skills rubric that is broadly applicable for all scenarios. In this mini-workshop, participants will examine one scenario in detail along with self-scoring and peer-scoring of a scenario discussion among workshop participants. This experience will be structured to produce small-group and large-group insights about administering and scoring the EPSA in classroom situations. The intended audience for this workshop includes faculty who teach courses identified for collecting data on ABET professional skills, ABET coordinators from the entire spectrum of engineering programs, and ABET engineering program evaluators.

Participant Observations and Recommendations From an Integrated Design Project in Architecture and Engineering

An interdisciplinary design project was conducted with students in the mechanical engineering and architecture departments at the University of Idaho. In order to offer the multidisciplinary design experience within the available bandwidth of instructors, the project was structured around and integrated into existing courses and resources. Past interdisciplinary product design courses have shown the value of interdisciplinary work in the professional development of students in addition to being effective at developing innovative new products. Descriptions of these courses provide insights on conducting them with regards to team structure, course structure, design process, and other topics. This paper summarizes observations reported from students and instructors involved in this project. Observations highlight challenges in project management, examples of cultural differences between disciplines, approaches to design, specifics of project ownership, and perceptions of level of detail in work products. Based on those observations, recommendations are made to develop and deploy a design process that facilitates the strengths of both disciplines and enables mentor guided project management. In addition, these recommendations will help establish a team culture and work setting that does not violate the culture of either discipline while enabling joint decision making, and address directly the impacts of a domain biased product as the design project focus.Copyright

The Chair Back Experiment: Hierarchical Temporal Memory and the Evolution of Artificial Intelligence in Architecture:

Computational synthesis tools that automatically generate solutions to design problems are not widely used in architectural practice despite many years of research. This deficiency can be attributed, in part, to the difficulty of constructing robust building specific databases. New advances in artificial intelligence such as Hierarchical Temporal Memory (HTM) have the potential to make the construction of these databases more realistic in the near future. Based on an emerging theory of human neurological function, HTMs excel at ambiguous pattern recognition. This paper includes a first experiment using HTMs for learning and recognizing patterns in the form of visual style characteristics in three distinct chair back types. Results from the experiment indicate that HTMs develop a similar storage of quality to humans and are therefore a promising option for capturing multi-modal information in future design automation efforts.

Methodology for Selection, Sequencing, and Deployment of Activities in a Capstone Design Course Using the TIDEE Web-Based Assessment System

Assessment of design process, design products, team process, and professional practice are natural fits in an engineering capstone design course. In order for instructors and students to fully experience the value of capstone course assessment activities, the activities must not only be carefully developed but must also be deployed in an appropriate manner. Course designers must choose an optimal set of assignments based on local needs, while balancing time intensive design project activities with professional growth experiences. Instructors must facilitate the complete cycle of usage of a single assignment in order to ensure that the value is understood before and after completion of the assessment. This paper introduces guidelines for achieving effectiveness in selecting, timing, and sequencing assessment activities, preparing for activity deployment, and implementing a facilitation plan. Additionally this paper reports on the feedback from students and faculty using the system that highlights the importance of naturalistically integrating assessment.Copyright

RATIONALE AND METHODOLOGY FOR DEPLOYING AXIOMATIC DESIGN IN INTERDISCIPLINARY CAPSTONE DESIGN COURSES

Capstone design courses require balanced attention to structured design processes as well as development of high quality design solutions. Process elements are commonly built into these courses through intermediate deliverables such as progress reports, design reviews, design reports, and forums for displaying prototypes as well as hardware. Despite this formal structure, steady evolution of design quality is not assured. Personal interaction with instructors, mentors, and clients is needed to evaluate intermediate designs and focus team efforts on design deficiencies as well as on promising design features. Clarification of functional requirements, determination of optimal design parameters, and implementation of viable solutions often requires considerable instructor and design team iteration. Design intent behind instructor feedback given at these junctures is not immediately obvious to many students. This paper outlines the rationale behind selecting and the methodology for deploying axiomatic design as a primary tool in an interdisciplinary design course. The selection of axiomatic design was based on 1) limited bandwidth for the introduction of new tools, 2) the desire to facilitate communication about design attributes between students and instructors, and 3) to provide continuity of application between various phases of the design process.

Aligning Shape Rule Creation With Modular Design: Minimizing the Cost of Using Shape Grammars

Shape grammars provide the means to represent the physical embodiment of a class of products in a set of generative rules. Once developed, the shape grammar can be used to generate new forms through automated synthesis or interaction by one or more designers. However, a fundamental shortcoming of this rule-based system is that creating the shape rules is time consuming and imprecise. The traditional approach to create a set of rules from an existing set of products was an ad hoc process of generalizing form, identifying feature options, and classifying logical subdivisions of the complete product geometry. This paper proposes a formal method of shape grammar creation that is aligned with well-known design methodologies and tools in order to enable the creation of a shape grammar during the product development process. The established methodologies for creating functional models and modular products provide many of the requisite steps for creating a shape grammar and provide a skeleton onto which a rule creation approach can be mapped.Copyright