Active Catalogs is a 3-year research project that will, by
providing on-line catalogs augmented by behavioral models and their
consumption environment, significantly enhance the engineering and
design support that is desirable but beyond the reach of current
engineering environments. It will realize a new "Try Before
You Buy" paradigm in the electro-mechanical engineering
domain, and will facilitate a wide range of activities from
information discovery, to information evaluation, and to information
consumption.
It is a synergy of a wide spectrum of research issues: knowledge representation,
knowledgebase and database integration, digital library, information retrieval,
electronic commerce, and electro-mechanical design. The project is just
finishing its first year.
- Objective:
To facilitate searching and using complex catalog information of
standard engineering components. The initial focus is on design
processes in distributed, heterogeneous and network-based computing
environments. The Active Catalogs information is active,
dynamic, composable, multi-modal, multi-level, reuse-able,
semantically search-able, interoperable and executable in distributed
environments. Active Catalogs information will contain various data types
including static data and simulation models.
Engineers and designers can functionally search the information on the
Net, seamlessly integrate the information into their work practices,
and try their designs before placing orders of components.
Active Catalogs will be tested in electro-mechanical design.
- Approach:
The issues of searching and incorporating complex information content
into work practices are studied by building examples in focused
domains. Last year, as a result of collaboration with Lockheed Martin on
Simulation-Based Design of ships, we worked on the domain of pumps. This
year, the domain of servo control components in the missile guidance systems
is used to demonstrate Active Catalogs technology. The approach
involves:
Construction of a rich ontology (taxonomy, terminology, and semantic
net) of servo control systems to facilitate the semantic/functional
search for the needed information and components in design.
Implementation of simulation models, such as transfer functions,
kinematics and dynamics models, to represent active and complex
multi-modal information of engineering components.
Building a database to provide active and multi-dimensional
representations of electro-mechanical components.
Building a distributed, network-based and multi-modal access interface
to complex information in Active Catalogs.
Implementation of a generic CAD environment to facilitate the
incorporation of complex information into the work practices of
engineering analysis and design.
PROJECT FINAL TECHNICAL REPORT
