Knowledge-Based System Applications in Engineering Design: Research at MIT

Advances in computer hardware and software and engineering methodologies in the 1960s and 1970s led to an increased use of computers by engineers. However, a number of problems encountered in design are not amenable to purely algorithmic solutions. In this article, we describe several research projects that utilize KBS techniques for design automation. These projects are (1) the Criteria Yielding, Consistent Labeling with Optimization and Precedents-Based System (CYCLOPS), which generates innovative designs by using a three-stage process: normal search, exploration, and adaptation; (2) the Concept Generator (CONGEN), which is a domain independent framework for conceptual or preliminary design; (3) Constraint Manager (CONMAN), which is a constraint-management system that performs the evaluation and consistency maintenance of constraints arising in design; (4) the distributed and integrated environment for computer-aided engineering (DICE), which facilitates coordination, communication, and control during the entire design and construction/manufacturing phases; and (5) DESIGN-KIT, which can be envisioned as a new generation of computer-aided engineering environment for processengineering applications. The types of problems that engineers normally solve are bounded by the derivationformation spectrum.