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Evaluating FuncSION: A software for automated synthesis of design solutions for stimulating ideation during mechanical conceptual design

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 July 2014

Ujjwal Pal ,
Ying-Chieh Liu  and
Amaresh Chakrabarti
Ujjwal Pal
Affiliation:
IdeasLab, Centre for Product Design and Manufacturing, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
Ying-Chieh Liu
Affiliation:
Department of Industrial Design, Chang Gung University, Taiwan
Amaresh Chakrabarti*
Affiliation:
IdeasLab, Centre for Product Design and Manufacturing, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
*
Reprint requests to: Amaresh Chakrabarti, IdeasLab, Centre for Product Design and Manufacturing, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The goal of the work reported in this paper is to use automated, combinatorial synthesis to generate alternative solutions to be used as stimuli by designers for ideation. FuncSION, a computational synthesis tool that can automatically synthesize solution concepts for mechanical devices by combining building blocks from a library, is used for this purpose. The objectives of FuncSION are to help generate a variety of functional requirements for a given problem and a variety of concepts to fulfill these functions. A distinctive feature of FuncSION is its focus on automated generation of spatial configurations, an aspect rarely addressed by other computational synthesis programs. This paper provides an overview of FuncSION in terms of representation of design problems, representation of building blocks, and rules with which building blocks are combined to generate concepts at three levels of abstraction: topological, spatial, and physical. The paper then provides a detailed account of evaluating FuncSION for its effectiveness in providing stimuli for enhanced ideation.

Keywords

Combinatorial SynthesisCreativityIdeationNoveltyStimuli
Type
Research Article
Information
AI EDAM , Volume 28 , Issue 3: Computational Design Synthesis , August 2014 , pp. 209 - 226
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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