This paper presents a new search method that has been developed specifically for search trees defined by a generative grammar. Generative grammars are useful in design as a way to encapsulate the design decisions that lead to candidate solutions. Since the candidate solutions are not confined to a single configuration or topology and thus useful in conceptual design, they may be difficult to computationally analyze. Analysis is achieved in this method by querying the user. A formal definition of a rule-based interactive tree-search is presented in this paper. The user interaction is kept to 30 pair-wise comparisons of candidates. From the data gathered from the comparisons, a stochastic decision-making process infers what candidate solutions best match the known optimal. The method is implemented and applied to a grammar for tying neckties. It is shown through 21 user experiments and 4000 automated experiments that the method consistently finds solutions within the 99.8 percentile. The computational complexity of the proposed algorithm is also studied. The implications of this method for conceptual design are expounded on in the conclusions.
Issue Section:
Research Papers
References
1.
Cagan
, J.
, 2001
, “Engineering Shape Grammars
,” Formal Engineering Design Synthesis
, E. K.
Antonsson
, and J.
Cagan
, eds., Cambridge University Press
, Cambridge, UK.2.
Kurtoglu
, T.
, and Campbell
, M.
, 2009
, “Automated Synthesis of Electromechanical Design Configurations From Empirical Analysis of Function to Form Mapping
,” J. Eng. Des.
, 20
(1
), pp. 83
–104
.10.1080/095448207015461653.
Sridharan
, P.
, and Campbell
, M. I.
, 2004
, “A Grammar for Function Structures
,” Proceedings of ASME 2004 International Design Engineering and Technical Conference and Computers and Information in Engineering Conferences
, Salt Lake City, UT
, Sept. 28–Oct. 2
, DETC04/DTM-57130.4.
Soman
, A.
, Padhye
, S.
, and Campbell
, M. I.
, 2003
, “Towards an Automated Approach to the Design of Sheet Metal Components
,” Artif. Intell. Eng. Des. Anal. Manuf.
, 17
(4
), pp. 187
–204
.10.1017/s08900604031730395.
Kurtoglu
, T.
, and Campbell
, M.
, 2009
, “An Evaluation Scheme for Assessing the Worth of Automatically Generated Design Alternatives
,” Res. Eng. Des.
, 20
(1
), pp. 59
–76
.10.1007/s00163-008-0062-16.
Mosbah
, M.
, 1996
, “Probabilistic Hyperedge Replacement Grammar
,” Theor. Comput. Sci.
, 159
(1
), pp. 81
–102
.10.1016/0304-3975(95)00202-27.
Agarwal
, M.
, and Cagan
, J.
, 1998
, “A Blend of Different Tastes: The Language of Coffee Makers
,” Environ. Plan. B: Plan. Des.
, 25
(2
), pp. 205
–226
.10.1068/b2502058.
Shea
, K.
, Cagan
, J.
, and Fenves
, S. J.
, 1997
, “A Shape Annealing Approach to Optimal Truss Design With Dynamic Grouping of Members
,” ASME J. Mech. Des.
, 119
(3
), pp. 388
–394
.10.1115/1.28263609.
Brown
, K. N.
, and Cagan
, J.
, 1997
, “Optimized Process Planning by Generative Simulated Annealing
,” Artif. Intell. Eng. Des. Anal. Manuf.
, 11
, pp. 219
–235
.10.1017/S089006040000314010.
Schmidt
, L.
, and Cagan
, J.
, 1995
, “Recursive Annealing: A Computational Model for Machine Design
,” Res. Eng. Des.
, 7
(2
), pp. 102
–125
.10.1007/BF0160690511.
Starling
, A. C.
, and Shea
, K.
, 2003
, “A Grammatical Approach to Computational Generation of Mechanical Clock Designs
,” Proceedings of ICED’03 International Conference on Engineering Design
, Stockholm, Sweden
.12.
Starling
, A. C.
, and Shea
, K.
, 2005
, “Virtual Synthesizers for Mechanical Gear Systems
,” Proceedings of ICED’05 International Conference on Engineering Design
, Melbourne, Australia
.13.
Pugh
, S.
, 1991
, Total Design: Integrated Methods for Successful Product Engineering
, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company
, Workingham, UK
.14.
Ullman
, D.
, 1995
, The Mechanical Design Process
, McGraw-Hill
, New York
.15.
Saaty
, T.
, 1980
, The Analytic Hierarchy Process
, McGraw-Hill
, New York
.16.
Keeney
, R. L.
, and Raiffa
, H.
, 1976
, Decisions With Multiple Objectives: Preferences and Value Tradeoffs
, John Wiley & Sons
, New York
.17.
Orsborn
, S.
, Cagan
, J.
, and Boatwright
, P.
, 2009
, “Quantifying Aesthetic Form Preference in a Utility Function
,” ASME J. Mech. Des.
, 131
(6
), pp. 397
–407
.10.1115/1.311626018.
Semet
, Y.
, 2002
, “Interactive Evolutionary Computation: A Survey of Existing Theory
,” University of Illinois, Technical Paper No. GE493DEG.19.
Takagi
, H.
, 2001
, “Interactive Evolutionary Computation: Fusion of the Capacities of EC Optimization and Human Evaluation
,” Proceedings of the IEEE 89
, 9
, pp. 1275
–1296
.20.
Juillé
, H.
, and Pollack
, J.
, 1998
, “A Stochastic Search Approach to Grammar Induction
,” Lecture Notes in Computer Science
, vol. 1433
, V. Honavar and G. Slutzki, eds., Springer-Verlag
, Berlin/Heidelberg, pp. 126
–137
.21.
Sycara
, K.
, and Navin-Chandra
, D.
, 1989
, “Integrating Case-Based Reasoning and Qualitative Reasoning in Engineering Design
,” Artificial Intelligence in Engineering Design
, J.
Gero
, ed., Computational Mechanics Publications
Southhampton, UK
.22.
Maher
, M. L.
, 1988
, “Engineering Design Synthesis: A Domain-Independent Representation
,” Artif. Intell. Eng. Des. Anal. Manuf.
, 1
(3
), pp. 207
–213
.10.1017/S089006040000029923.
Chandrasekaran
, B.
, 1990
, “Design Problem Solving: A Task Analysis
,” AI Mag.
, Winter
, pp. 59
–73
.24.
Schmidt
, W. E.
1989
, “As Neckwear Goes, This Knot's News
,” N.Y. Times, August 30.25.
Fink
, T. M.
, and Yong
, M.
, 2001
, The 85 Ways to Tie a Tie: The Science and Aesthetics of Tie Knots
, Fourth Estate Ltd
, London, UK
.26.
Campbell
, M. I.
, 2006
, “The Official GraphSynth Site
,” http://www.graphsynth.com, University of Texas at Austin.27.
Hornby
, G.
, 2004
, “Functional Scalability Through Generative Representations: The Evolution of Table Designs
,” Environ. Plann. B
, 31
(4
), pp. 569
–588
.10.1068/b301528.
Box
, G.
, and Wilson
, K.
, 1954
, “The Exploration and Exploitation of Response Surfaces: Some General Considerations and Examples
,” Biometrics
, 10
(1
), pp. 16
–60
.10.2307/300166329.
Goldberg
, D. E.
, and Deb.
, K.
, 1991
, “A Comparative Analysis of Selection Schemes Used in Genetic Algorithms
,” Found. Genet. Algorithms
, 1
, pp. 69
–93
.30.
Golub
, G.
, and Van Loan
, C.
, 1996
, Matrix Computations
, The Johns Hopkins Press
, Baltimore, MD
.31.
Kirkpatrick
, S.
, Gelatt
, C.
, Jr., and Vecchi
, M.
, 1983
, “Optimization by Simulated Annealing
,” Science
, 220
, pp. 671
–679
.10.1126/science.220.4598.67132.
Pine
, B. J.
, 1992
, Mass Customization: The New Frontier in Business Competition
, Harvard University Press
, Cambridge, MA
.33.
Hornby
, G.
, and Kurtoglu
, T.
, 2009
, “Toward a Smarter Web
,” Science
, 325
, pp. 277–278.10.1126/science.1174400Copyright © 2012 by ASME
You do not currently have access to this content.
