Representation and problem-solving: the foundations of engineering design

Engineering design, a discipline of vital importance to US industry, is often perceived as lacking rigor and structure. An operational definition of engineering design is offered, to stress that representation is the key element in design. Recent developments in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) provide new techniques for design representation that enable better explication of design concepts. Further, the increased power and the flexibility of AI-based, computer-aided design tools offer opportunities for automating routine design and for creating designer's assistants to support the exploration of design alternatives.