An evaluation scheme for assessing the worth of automatically generated design alternatives

Abstract

This paper introduces a tool called the designer preference modeler (DPM) that analyzes the designer's decision making during concept evaluation, and constructs a designer preference model to be used for evaluation of automatically generated design alternatives. The method is based on establishing an interaction between a designer and a computational synthesis tool during conceptual design. The synthesis software generates design alternatives using a catalog of design knowledge formulated as grammar rules which describe how electromechanical designs are built. DPM carefully selects a set from these alternatives and presents it to the designer for evaluation. The designer's evaluations are translated into a preference model that is subsequently used to search the solution space for best designs. Application of the method to the design of a consumer product shows DPM's range of capabilities. © 2009 Springer-Verlag London Limited.