Ryan Arlitt

COMPLEXITY AS A SURROGATE MAPPING BETWEEN FUNCTION MODELS AND MARKET VALUE

The purpose of this paper is to investigate if early stage function models of design can be used to predict the marketvalue of a commercial product. In previous research, several metrics of complexity of graph-based product models have been proposed and suitably chosen combinations of these metrics have been shown to predict the time required in assembling commercial products. By extension, this research investigates if this approach, using new sets of combinations of complexity metrics, can predict market-value. To this end, the complexity values of function structures for eighteen products from the Design Repository are determined from their function structure graphs, while their market values are procured from different vendor quotes in the open market. The complexity and value information for fourteen samples are used to train a neural net program to define a predictive mapping scheme. This program is then used to predict the value of the final four products. The results of this approach demonstrate that complexity metrics can be used as inputs to neural networks to establish an accurate mapping from function structure design representations to market values to within the distribution of values for products of similar type.

Using Human Computation to Assist Biologically Inspired Design: Evaluating a Game-With-a-Purpose

Locating relevant biological analogies is a challenge that lies at the heart of practicing biologically inspired design. One promising solution involves computationally providing relevant inspiration to the designer. This paper presents a novel human computation game for collecting computable descriptions of biological strategies, an assessment of the quality of these descriptions gathered from experimental data, and an evaluation of the game’s user experience. This human computation approach to collecting and organizing biological phenomena improves upon the breadth of curated database approaches without sacrificing the accuracy afforded by human reasoning skills. The Biology Phenomenon Categorizer (BioP-C); a cooperative, asymmetric, online game; was deployed in a small engineering graduate class in order to collect assertions about the biological phenomenon of cell division. Through the course of playing, the students formed assertions describing key concepts in the passage. These assertions are assessed for their factual correctness, and these correctness ratings are used to identify directly measurable indicators of assertion truth. Areas for improved game design are also identified.Copyright

Functional Impact Comparison of Common and Innovative Products

Innovation has been touted as a means toward providing sustainability. Innovations in materials, manufacturing, and product design can lead to a reduction of global environmental impacts while helping to realize the goals of a sustainable society. This research aims to explore whether or not product functionality has an effect on environmental impact and if the flow of energy, materials, and signals (EMS) have an effect on product environmental impact. Innovative and common products are identified and life cycle assessment is performed for each product at the component level. Using function impact matrices, the environmental impacts of the product components are propagated back to the functional level, where their impacts are compared. The innovative products of the comparisons conducted appear to be more environmentally impact; more work must be done to understand whether the result is generalizable. The intended use of this research is during the conceptual design phase when little is known about the final form of a product. With approximate impacts of functions known, designers can better utilize their design efforts to reduce overall product environmental impact.Copyright

Evaluating TRIZ as a Provider of Provocative Stimuli

The Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (known by its Russian acronym TRIZ) is used across the globe to help engineers working on product design and development. In previous papers the authors developed a Function-Based TRIZ method and began a validation process. A single innovative feature was identified in a sample of innovative products, and these features were traced backwards on the Function-Based TRIZ matrix. The Function-Based TRIZ matrix was deemed successful in cases where any inventive principle suggested by the matrix could have produced the innovative feature. During this process, the authors observed that no matter which principle was used, some mental leap was needed to apply it. Additionally, many different inventive principles can lead to the same concept. This paper examines a new hypothesis: that the provocative stimulus presented by any randomly selected inventive principle facilitates concept generation just as effectively as using the historical contradiction matrix to guide inventive principle selection. This paper presents a study on the benefits of using the TRIZ contradiction matrix to select the “correct” principles during concept generation. During this study, participants were asked to come up with concepts using one of two TRIZ matrices: the real one that contains historical knowledge from an extensive patent search, or a randomly populated one. The results of this exercise were then examined using modified versions of two concept evaluation metrics set forth by Shah: quantity and variety. This paper offers two contributions to the field. The first is a step toward understanding the role and importance of conflict mappings in TRIZ and TRIZ-like problem-solving methodologies. The second is a method for evaluating process variety (as opposed to outcome variety) when TRIZ is used to generate ideas.© 2012 ASME

Applying Designer Feedback to Generate Requirements for an Intuitive Biologically Inspired Design Tool

This research provides a comparison of a set of Bio-Inspired Design (BID) tools to determine advantages and disadvantages of each, with particular focus on database-directed design processes. The result of this comparison is a set of beneficial attributes, discussed to develop requirements for formulating an effective BID tool. In this study, each tool is evaluated in terms of both the effectiveness of the concept generation process, and designer feedback concerning the effective elements. The comparison between tools uses concept sketches and feedback generated from a classroom of graduate and undergraduate engineering students. Over the course of a ten-week class, each BID technique was formally presented to the students. Following this presentation, students were given a new design problem and instructed to use the new BID technique to generate a set of solution concepts. Quantity of concepts generated was used to assess the goodness of each concept generation activity outcome, which forms one basis for comparing the different tools. In addition, questionnaires were used to assess and identify the various positive and negative elements of each BID tool.Copyright

Impacts of Function-Related Research on Education and Industry

Designers have long understood that a device must function well in order to satisfy its users, but only relatively recently has function been studied formally and extensively. The corresponding function-based paradigm focuses on abstracting what a system does separately from what it is. Within this paradigm, it is important to communicate abstract functions in a consistent manner, without binding them to their embodiments. This chapter discusses two recent outcomes in function-based design research, their impacts on education and industry, and the authors’ observations regarding their adoption into practice. The first of these outcomes is an information schema for capturing design artifact knowledge, which includes a standardized function taxonomy. The information schema provides guidance for teaching functional thinking, and also supports basic computational design techniques during conceptual design. The second research outcome is a conceptual linking between functions and failure modes, enabling new types of failure analysis techniques in early design. Both research outcomes are likely still in the early stages of impacting practice, but evidence points toward the most immediate impacts occurring during education. While the industry is typically more reserved regarding the details of their design practices, the chapter also presents several instances of practical interest in function-based design approaches.

Towards Automated Design of Mechanically Functional Molecules

Metal Organic Responsive Frameworks (MORFs) are a proposed new class of smart materials consisting of a Metal Organic Framework (MOF) with photoisomerizing beams (also known as linkers) that fold in response to light. Within a device these new light responsive materials could provide the capabilities such as photo-actuation, photo-tunable rigidity, and photo-tunable porosity. However, conventional MOF architectures are too rigid to allow isomerization of photoactive sub-molecules. We propose a new computational approach for designing MOF linkers to have the required mechanical properties to allow the photoisomer to fold by borrowing concepts from de novo molecular design and graph synthesis. Here we show how this approach can be used to design compliant linkers with the necessary flexibility to be actuated by photoisomerization and used to design MORFs with desired functionality.Copyright

Using Molecular Fingerprinting to Infer Functional Similarity in Engineered Systems

Design of new and advanced materials with shape-shifting or origami-like capabilities is an area that bears a strong similarity to the design of electromechanical products yet has not leveraged such systematic approaches. In this paper, computational methods to design Metal Organic Responsive Frameworks (MORFs) — which are a theoretical type of material that can change their shape and porosity in response to light — are investigated. However, it is a significant challenge to computationally identify MORFs that are both feasible and useful, i.e., systemic invention (as opposed to discovery) of new MORFs. The proposed framework utilizes the typical product design process to iteratively generate new candidates, evaluate their properties, and then guide the generation of the next set of candidates. A materials designer could then leverage this knowledge to generate structures or substructures with specific functional goals in mind. In this paper an approach to inferring functional similarity of systems using structural information — based on both drug design and database-driven product design — is evaluated. The results demonstrate an observable correlation between structural fingerprints of electromechanical products and electromechanical function. This evidence, combined with the well-established similar property principle in drug design, supports the usage of molecular fingerprinting for providing high-level functional guidance in a MORF design framework based on purely structural information.Copyright

Investigating Divergent Thinking in Creativity Exercises Through Alternative Uses Tests

Creativity is a valuable skill for today’s workplace and one that universities should be emphasizing in the classroom. Teaching creativity usually involves the completion of “creative exercises” that help an individual understand how to think outside the box. Often individuals that are considered creative “practice” creativity on a daily basis, either through their own will or through their occupation, which increases their creative potential. Creativity is shown to be divided into multiple aspects, one of which is divergent thinking. This study examines participants’ divergent thinking skills over nine weeks as they perform a simple design task each week. The participants are split into two groups as they perform an alternative uses test on a weekly basis. Each week a new item is presented and the results are collected and entered in a database. The number of entries per card is analyzed to determine if the participants have increased their divergent thinking ability throughout the nine weeks.Copyright

Functional analysis of systems using a Functional Basis

This paper details a step toward introducing an electromechanical Functional Basis into the functional modeling stage of the systems engineering process. The Functional Basis proposed by Hirtz et al. gained visibility in the product design community, but it has had limited exposure in the systems engineering community. The purpose of this paper is to propose the addition of a functional modeling technique that uses this Functional Basis to the systems engineering process. The models proposed in this paper achieve a higher degree of detail earlier in the process than models created using classical system engineering methodologies, although those without prior exposure to this methodology found it difficult to use the functional model. The value of the proposed approach is demonstrated through an example case, verified based on stakeholder input through interviews.