Computer Aided Design

Dragonfly: An Ecological Approach to Digital Architectural Design

by Michael J. Braund

Published in ACADIA 2011: Integration Through Computation, ed. by J.M. Taron, V. Parlac, B. Kolarevic and J.S. Johnson, pp.178-186. Stroughton, WI: The Printing House, 2011.

(Co-authored with Daniel Hambleton)

In his keynote address delivered to The American Society for Esthetics in 1976, James J. Gibson wrote, “Architecture... more In his keynote address delivered to The American Society for Esthetics in 1976, James J. Gibson wrote, “Architecture and design do not have a satisfactory theoretical basis.” He then asked, “Can an ecological approach to the psychology of perception and behavior provide it?” (1976, p. 413) We believe that it can, at least in part. In this paper, we expand upon Gibson’s insights into the nature of perceptual experience by applying the concept of “affordances” to the design of architectural objects in general, and to the domain of digital architectural design in particular. On our account, the affordance-concept supplies a useful theoretical basis for conceptualizing the relationship between environments and occupants with respect to the form and behavioral meaning of geometrically constructed layouts.

Donald Norman (1988) first introduced affordances to interaction design theorists, as a conceptual tool for predicting how agents will interact with a given product. The extensive body of literature that has since emerged, from human-computer-interaction studies (Ackerman, 1996; Conn, 1995; Moran, 1997; Norman, 1999) to architectural theory and practice (Koutamanis, 2006; Maier and Fadel, 2009), has followed Norman’s lead in defining affordances, somewhat amorphously, as whichever action-related properties of objects are sufficient to elicit the intended forms of behavioral interaction between the agent and object. However, while this is correct, it is only half the story. It leaves unexplained how human perceivers detect and “pair down” on the potentially vast range of possible affordances (at a given time), to select the ones that will be relevant to the coordination and guidance of the targeted actions. Call this the “selectivity problem,” a proper treatment of which is missing from the literature. This is no small matter. If the theory of affordances is to be useful to architects and designers, if it is to have explanatory and predictive power over how perceivers will interact with their surroundings, then some account of the cognitive procedure by which affordances are selected for the deployment of specific behaviors is necessary. Otherwise, it is unclear what the theory hopes to predict or explain.

To this end, we maintain that the couching of affordances in a framework of human intentionality is not only consistent with Gibson’s theoretical views (i.e., the action-oriented definition of the concept of affordances not only suggests an intentional perspective), indeed, such a perspective is necessary if we are to succeed in implementing the affordance-concept into an architectural design context in a way that addresses the selectivity problem. This is one of the goals of “Dragonfly,” a first attempt at implementing the affordance-based control of perceptually guided-action into a digital design simulation. Dragonfly enables human interaction with geometry by encoding the basic principles of ecological psychology (including a rudimentary form of intentionality) into an interactive CAD environment. New vistas for future research and interdisciplinary approaches to design are then discussed, with a special emphasis on their applicability to architecture.

Enabling engineering support for integrated product and service innovation

by Peter Thor

Thor, P., (2011)

Licentiate thesis, Luleå University of Technology, Sweden, 2011

The increasing need for mobility in society alongside an intensifying concern for sustainability challenges today’s... more The increasing need for mobility in society alongside an intensifying concern for sustainability challenges today’s aviation industry. For companies, a Product-Service Systems (PSS) perspective puts emphasis on proving value to customers by
offering a combination of hardware and services over an extended life cycle. While opening up the room for innovation, development from an extended life cycle perspective can seem daunting for companies currently focusing on development and sale of physical goods.

This thesis highlights aspects of innovation and working practices of methodand product development, from a PSS standpoint, where the main focus today is development of physical goods being sold as hardware to aircraft engine
manufacturers. Further, the thesis addresses the need for engineering design tool support for PSS innovation, proposing a modular approach for representation of product and service elements. The goal has been to better understand how
product developers can focus on the life-cycle perspective taking into account services in early product development phases.

Seen from traditional perspective the introduction of new sets of requirements comes in conflict with traditional requirements and governing practices. However, if seen from a PSS perspective managing these new sets of requirements opens up
the firm’s ability to innovate in order to provide added value to customers. By integration of the product and service design process and collaboration with heterogeneous knowledge sources the company is likely to able to create value for
customers in different ways than before.

Knowledge Driven Preprocessing for Weld Simulations

by Peter Thor

Thesis for the degree of Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (2006)

By being aware of and reusing knowledge in the form of expertise and engineering know-how throughout the whole... more By being aware of and reusing knowledge in the form of expertise and engineering know-how throughout the whole organization large time-savings can be made. The knowledge allows for alternative studies where different configurations can be compared and balanced. A method called Knowledge Based
Engineering (KBE) can act as a valuable tool to help capturing this knowledge and guaranteeing quality of a product.

The work described in this thesis focuses on developing methods to support the generation of a weld simulation model used for a jet engine component. The geometry of the model is treated in a general manner that allows for substitution in the future. Subcomponents within the model can be individually treated or combined with other subcomponents to create a
complete system. An automated method for mesh generation is developed and implemented.

The methods not only result in shortening lead-times but also assures consistency and quality every time they are asked for. They can be reused and further expanded to support other types of configurations in the future.

An Application for Computer Aided Design of Card Stunt Shows

by Mehmet Tekerek

International Educational Technolgy Conference Proceeding Book 282- 288 pp. 2009

Programmed design of ship forms

by Leonardo Fernández-Jambrina

A. Rodríguez, L. Fernández-Jambrina, Computer-Aided Design 44, 687-696 (2012)

This paper describes a new category of CAD applications devoted to the definition and parameterization of hull forms,... more This paper describes a new category of CAD applications devoted to the definition and parameterization of hull forms, called programmed design. Programmed design relies on two prerequisites. The first one is a product model with a variety of types large enough to face the modeling of any type of ship. The second one is a design language dedicated to create the product model. The main purpose of the language is to publish the modeling algorithms of the application in the designer knowledge domain to let the designer create parametric model scripts. The programmed design is an evolution of the parametric design but it is not just parametric design. It is a tool to create parametric design tools. It provides a methodology to extract the design knowledge by abstracting a design experience in order to store and reuse it.

Programmed design is related with the organizational and architectural aspects of the CAD applications but not with the development of modeling algorithms. It is built on top and relies on existing algorithms provided by a comprehensive product model. Programmed design can be useful to develop new applications, to support the evolution of existing applications or even to integrate different types of application in a single one.

A three-level software architecture is proposed to make the implementation of the programmed design easier. These levels are the conceptual level based on the design language, the mathematical level based on the geometric formulation of the product model and the visual level based on the polyhedral representation of the model as required by the graphic card.

Finally, some scenarios of the use of programmed design are discussed. For instance, the development of specialized parametric hull form generators for a ship type or a family of ships or the creation of palettes of hull form components to be used as parametric design patterns. Also two new processes of reverse engineering which can considerably improve the application have been detected: the creation of the mathematical level from the visual level and the creation of the conceptual level from the mathematical level.

Collaborative Design and Live Interaction with Parametric Models using UbiMash

by Yelta Köm

Dynamic three‐dimensional illustrator for teaching descriptive geometry and training visualisation skills

by Jorge Martin-Gutierrez

A Design Perspective of Mechanical Function and Its Object-Oriented Representation Scheme

by Graeme Britton

Deng, Y.-M.; Britton, G.A.; & Tor, S.B. 1998. A Design Perspective of Mechanical Function and Its Object-Oriented Representation Scheme, Engineering With Computers, 14, pp. 309-320

A Dual-Stage Functional Modelling Framework with Multi-level Design Knowledge for Conceptual Mechanical Design

by Graeme Britton

Deng, Y.-M.; Tor, S.B.; & Britton, G.A. 2000. A Dual-Stage Functional Modelling Framework with Multi-level Design Knowledge for Conceptual Mechanical Design, Journal of Engineering Design, 11(4), pp. 347-375

Constraint-based Functional Design Verification for Conceptual Design

by Graeme Britton

Deng, Y.-M.; Britton, G.A.; & Tor S.B. 2000. Constraint-based Functional Design Verification for Conceptual Design, CAD, 32(14), pp. 889-899

Abstracting and Exploring Functional Design Information for Conceptual Mechanical Product Design

by Graeme Britton

Deng, Y.-M.; Tor, S.B.; & Britton, G.A. 2000. Abstracting and Exploring Functional Design Information for Conceptual Mechanical Product Design, Engineering With Computers, 16, pp. 36-52

A Prototype Knowledge-based System for Conceptual Design Synthesis of the Design Process

by Graeme Britton

Zhang, W.Y.; Tor, S.B.; & Britton, G.A. 2001. A Prototype Knowledge-based System for Conceptual Design Synthesis of the Design Process, The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 17(8), pp. 549-557

EFDEX: A Knowledge-based Expert System for Functional Design of Engineering Systems

by Graeme Britton

Zhang, W.Y.; Tor, S.B.; Britton, G.A.; & Deng, Y.-M. 2001. EFDEX: A Knowledge-based Expert System for Functional Design of Engineering Systems, Engineering With Computers, 17(4), pp. 339-353

Modelling Functional Design Information for Injection Mould Design

by Graeme Britton

Britton, G.A.; Tor, S.B.; Lam, Y.C.; Deng, Y.-M. 2001. Modelling Functional Design Information for Injection Mould Design, International Journal of Production Research, 39(12), pp. 2501-2515

Automated Functional design of Engineering Systems

by Graeme Britton

Zhang, W.Y.; Tor, S.B.; & Britton, G.A. 2002. Automated Functional design of Engineering Systems, Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, 13(2), pp. 119-133

Guiding Functional Design of Mechanical Products Through Rule-based Causal Behavioral Reasoning

by Graeme Britton

Tor, S.B.; Britton, G.A.; Zhang, W.Y.; & Deng, Y.-M. 2002. Guiding Functional Design of Mechanical Products Through Rule-based Causal Behavioral Reasoning, International Journal of Production Research, 40(3), pp. 667-682

A Heuristic State-Space Approach to the Functional Design of Mechanical Systems

by Graeme Britton

Zhang, W.Y.; Tor,S.B.; & Britton,G.A. 2002. A Heuristic State-Space Approach to the Functional Design of Mechanical Systems, The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 19(4), pp. 235-244

A Two-level Modeling Approach to Acquire Functional Design Knowledge in Engineering Systems

by Graeme Britton

Zhang, W.Y.; Tor, S.B.; & Britton, G.A. 2002. A Two-level Modeling Approach to Acquire Functional Design Knowledge in Engineering Systems, The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 19(6), pp. 454-460

A Feature-Based CAD-CAE Integration Model for Injection Moulded Product Design

by Graeme Britton

Deng, Y.-M.; Britton, G.A.; Lam, Y.C.; Tor, S.B.; & Ma, Y.S. 2002. A Feature-Based CAD-CAE Integration Model for Injection Moulded Product Design, International Journal of Production Research, 40(15), pp. 3737-3750

A CAD-CAE Integrated Injection Molding Design System

by Graeme Britton

Deng, Y.-M.; Lam, Y.C.; Tor, S.B.; & Britton, G.A. 2002. A CAD-CAE Integrated Injection Molding Design System, Engineering With Computers, 18, pp. 80-92