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Design-by-analogy: experimental evaluation of a functional analogy search methodology for concept generation improvement

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Abstract

Design-by-analogy is a growing field of study and practice, due to its power to augment and extend traditional concept generation methods by expanding the set of generated ideas using similarity relationships from solutions to analogous problems. This paper presents the results of experimentally testing a new method for extracting functional analogies from general data sources, such as patent databases, to assist designers in systematically seeking and identifying analogies. In summary, the approach produces significantly improved results on the novelty of solutions generated and no significant change in the total quantity of solutions generated. Computationally, this design-by-analogy facilitation methodology uses a novel functional vector space representation to quantify the functional similarity between represented design problems and, in this case, patent descriptions of products. The mapping of the patents into the functional analogous words enables the generation of functionally relevant novel ideas that can be customized in various ways. Overall, this approach provides functionally relevant novel sources of design-by-analogy inspiration to designers and design teams.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Matthew Campbell, Dr. Richard Crawford, and Dr. Joseph Beaman for their discussions and insights on this work. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation, Grant Numbers CMMI-0855326, CMMI-0855510, and CMMI-0855293, and support from the SUTD-MIT International Design Centre (IDC), http://idc.sutd.edu.sg.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Katherine Fu & Maria Yang

  2. Engineering Product Development Pillar, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore, Republic of Singapore

    Katherine Fu, Kevin Otto & Kristin Wood

  3. Schlumberger Limited, Sugarland, TX, USA

    Jeremy Murphy

  4. United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO, USA

    Dan Jensen

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Correspondence to Katherine Fu.

Appendix 1: Abstracts of patent analogical stimuli by treatment condition

Appendix 1: Abstracts of patent analogical stimuli by treatment condition

1.1 Analogy Group 1: single subfunction

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1.2 Analogy Group 2: subfunction pair

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1.3 Analogy Group 3: all subfunctions

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Abstract: An elongated U-shaped pipeline has floats pivoted on transverse axes for rocking thereon in response to wave action in water which the floats are buoyant. Rocking of the floats operates pumps arranged in pressure compounding relation, and the fluid under pressure is delivered to a shore-based storage tank. The storage tank being sealed allows buildup of a pressure head. The fluid is let out through a regulator to operate machinery. Spent fluid from the plant is spilled out into a recovery tank, directly under the motor or turbine. It is then picked up by the lower leg of the pipeline and returned to repeat its cycle again. The floats support the pipeline and can be flooded to sink below the surface to avoid damage by storm waves.

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Abstract: An internal combustion engine and its method of operation including at least one embodiment operating on a six-stroke cycle and including at least one piston and cylinder assembly. The six-stroke cycle includes two power strokes, the latter of which is the result of a water-to-steam conversion process utilizing the heat of the exhaust gas from the first power stroke. A second embodiment comprises a hybrid power generating assembly incorporating alternative, first and second power sources, respectively, comprising an internal combustion engine and a water injection engine, the latter of which operates on the water-to-steam conversion process, wherein the required heat therefore is derived from the exhaust gas of the internal combustion engine. Another preferred embodiment comprises the utilization of different normally wasted heat sources from an IC engine for the generation of sufficient work energy to drive a power takeoff, such as hybrid drive assembly.

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Abstract: A heat generation and storage device supplements building heating and hot water systems. A roof cap including an air passage is connected to air outlets disposed within the roof structure of a building and to air passages formed by panels mounted over the surface of a building’s roof. The roof cap is connected to a vent which either exhausts air to the atmosphere and/or recirculates air to a liquid heat storage tank. Heated air and heated water from the storage tank supplement a building’s heating and hot water systems.

US Patent 7521816: Water current-powered motor

Abstract: A water-powered motor for extracting raw energy from a water current and converting it to kinetic energy. The water-powered motor is generally rectangular in shape with a generally round water wheel consisting of foldable vanes. The vanes receive raw energy produced by water current transforming that raw energy into usable energy for powering a pump, electric generator, or as a general power source to power other equipment such as desalinization machinery.

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Fu, K., Murphy, J., Yang, M. et al. Design-by-analogy: experimental evaluation of a functional analogy search methodology for concept generation improvement. Res Eng Design 26, 77–95 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00163-014-0186-4

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