Design Synthesis

Engineering design synthesis is considered as a fundamental subset of the process of engineering design that helps in the transformation of function into alternative, creative structures that can satisfy the function. Many researchers consider engineering design synthesis as a central area of design research. Earlier work in this area can be categorised under one or more of the following questions: What is engineering design synthesis?

Several researchers have defined engineering design synthesis. The definitions are often overlapping and comprise: synthesis as designing, synthesis as problem solving, synthesis as design solution generation, synthesis as design problem and solution generation and synthesis as exploration, which together comprise the processes of task formulation, design representation, composition, design generation, design interpretation and re-interpretation, design evaluation, search and optimization. How is engineering design synthesis currently done carried out?

This involves understanding several theories, models and approaches proposed earlier for engineering design synthesis. This understanding serves as the basis for the improvement of engineering design synthesis. How to support design synthesis?

Based on an understanding of how engineering design synthesis is performed, guidelines, methods, tools, etc. are developed and evaluated to better support engineering design synthesis.

Design Creativity

Design Creativity is the ability to identify, visualize and interpret a problem in unusual and interesting ways and to synthesise and develop novel and interesting ideas and solutions. Our research led to the development of: (1) a common definition of creativity that provided an overarching view of what were reflected variously in the myriad definitions by earlier authors, (2) a set of empirically validated measures for the two crucial components of technical creativity , novelty and usefulness , and their relationships to creativity, and (3) the major factors that influence design creativity. A major observational study undertaken discovered that only four fundamental search processes occurred in engineering design, irrespective of what design problems are solved, by whom, and whether individually or in teams.

Design Synthesis and Creativity

Space Mechanisms

All Terrain Vehicles

Sensors and Actuators

Micro and Nano Systems

Mechanical Devices and Systems

Design Synthesis and Creativity

A Computational Aid for Developing Novel Mechanisms with Inspiration from Nature (ISRO, India)

Systematic conceptual design and demonstrator (table top) model development for a Lunar Vehicle (mobility system) using biomimetics software IDEA INSPIRE (ISRO, India)

Developing a Customised Version of Idea-Inspire (IMI-Vision, UK)

Design Synthesis and Creativity

SAPPhIRE Model of Causality

GEMS of SAPPhIRE Model of Designing

GEMS of SAPPhIRE Framework for Designing

Idea Inspire Software

Theory of Functional Reasoning

FuncSION Software

Design Synthesis and Creativity Publications

• [1] Chakrabarti, A., Regno, R., Sarkar, B., and Srinivasan, V. A tool for automated synthesis and side-effects detection in sensor designs, International Conference on Research into Design (ICoRD’11), Bangalore, January, 2011. [pdf]
• [2] Sarkar, P. and Chakrabarti, A. Assessing Design Creativity: Measures of Novelty, Usefulness and Design Creativity, Design Studies Journal (In Press). [pdf]
• [3] Chakrabarti, A. Motivation as a Major Direction for Design Creativity Research, International Conference on Design Creativity (ICDC’2010), Kobe, Japan, 2010.
• [4] Chakrabarti, A. Motivation as a Major Direction for Design Creativity Research, Toshitaru Taura (Editor), First International Conference on Design Creativity, Springer, 2010 [pdf]
• [5] Chakrabarti, A., and Shu, Li. Guest Editorial: Biologically Inspired Design, Amaresh Chakrabarti, And Li Shu (Eds.), AI EDAM, Vol.24, No.4, 453–454, 2010, DOI:10.1017/S0890060410000326. [pdf]
• [6] Liu, Y.C., and Chakrabarti, A. Investigation of Design Heuristics for Pruning the Number of Mechanism Solutions in Computer-Based Conceptual Design, 2nd International Conference on Computer and Automation Engineering (ICCAE 2010), Feb 26 - 28, 2010, Singapore. [pdf]
• [7] Sartori, J., Pal, U., and Chakrabarti, A. A Methodology for Supporting 'Transfer' in Biomimetic Design, Amaresh Chakrabarti, And Li Shu (Eds.), AI EDAM, Vol.24, No.4, 483–505, 2010 DOI:10.1017/S0890060410000351. [pdf]
• [8] Srinivasan, V., and Chakrabarti, A. Supporting Process and Product Knowledge in Biomimetic Design, Special issue on Design in Nature, Ille C. Gebeshuber and Hisham Abdel-Aal (eds.), Intl. Journal of Design Engineering (IJDE), 2010 (in Press).
• [9] Srinivasan, V., and Chakrabarti, A. An Integrated Model of Designing, Special Issue on Knowledge Based Design, Ashok K. Goel and Andrés Gómez de Silva Garza (eds.), ASME Journal for Information in Science and Engineering (JCISE), September 2010; DOI: 10.1115/1.3467011. [pdf]
• [10] Srinivasan, V., and Chakrabarti, A. Investigating Novelty-SAPPhIRE Relationships in Engineering Design, Special Issue on Creativity: Simulation, Stimulation and Studies, Mary Lou Maher, Yong Se Kim and Nathalie Bonnardel (Eds.), AI EDAM, Vol. 24, No. 2, 161-178, 2010, DOI: 10.1017/S089006041000003X. [pdf]
• [11] Srinivasan, V., and Chakrabarti, A. Development of a Catalogue of Physical Laws and Effects Using SAPPhIRE Model, 1st International Conference on Design Creativity (ICDC2010), Kobe, November, 2010.
• [12] Srinivasan, V., Pal, U., Ranjan, B.S.C., Ojha, S.P., Chakrabarti, A., and Ranganath, R. Development of Novel Concepts for a Lunar Vehicle Mobility System Using a Systematic Design Framework and IDEA-INSPIRE, 10th National Seminar and Exhibition on Aerospace and Related Mechanisms, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, November, 2010. [pdf]
• [13] Chakrabarti, A. Design Creativity Research at IdeasLab, IISc, Raghavan, N. R. Srinivasa, and Cafeo, John A. (Eds.), The Art and Science Behind Successful Product Launches, Springer, 2009. [pdf]
• [14] Chakrabarti, A. Supporting Biomimetic and Artificial Inspiration of New Ideas for Novel Micro and Nano-systems design, 4th Indo-Japan Seminar, Pune, 8-15 March 2009.
• [15] Chakrabarti, A., Ojha, S.P., Pal, U., Ranjan, B.S.C., Srinivasan, V., Ranganath, R. Exploring Serially Connected Multi-Tracked All-Terrain Vehicles for Improved Obstacle Climbing Performance, 14th National Conference on Machines and Mechanisms (NaCoMM09), NIT Durgapur, 17-18 December, 2009. [pdf]
• [16] Chakrabarti, A., Srinivasan, V., Pal, U., Ranjan, B.S.C., Ojha, S.P., Ranganath, R., Nataraju, B.S. Systematic Conceptual Design of a Lunar Vehicle Mobility System using “IDEA-INSPIREâ€?, E-Newsletter, Indian National Society for Aerospace and Related Mechanisms (INSARM), Bangalore Chapter, 3(3-4), August-November 2009. [pdf]
• [17] Chakrabarti, A., Srinivasan, V., Pal, U., Ranjan, B.S.C., Ojha, S.P., Ranganath, R., Nataraju, B.S.. Systematic conceptual design of a lunar vehicle mobility system using “IDEA-INSPIREâ€?, Annual Symposium, ISRO-IISc Space Technology Cell, January, 2009.
• [18] Mulet, E., Chakrabarti, A., Chulvi, V., Lopez, B.M., Gonzalez, M.C., Porcar, A., Galan, J. How Strongly Does Functional Analysis Influence Creativity?, AIEPRO 2009, Bandoz, Spain, 2009. [pdf]
• [19] Sarkar, P., and Chakrabarti, A. Analyzing Creativity Methods, Research into Design – Supporting Multiple Facets of Product Development, A Chakrabarti (Ed.),3-10, 2009. [pdf]
• [20] Srinivasan, V. and Chakrabarti, A. Designing Novel Artefacts - A Novel Systematic Framework, Research into Design – Supporting Multiple Facets of Product Development, A Chakrabarti (Ed.),67-75, 2009. [pdf]
• [21] Srinivasan, V., and Chakrabarti, A. A Theoretical Comparison of a Framework with Existing Models and Frameworks, International Association of Societies of Design Research Conference (IASDR2009), 18-22 October, 2009.
• [22] Srinivasan, V., and Chakrabarti, A. An Empirical Evaluation of Novelty-Sapphire Relationship, Proceedings of the ASME 2009 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences \& Computers and Information in Engineering Conference, IDETC/CIE 2009, San Diego, California, USA August 30 - September 2, 2009. [pdf]
• [23] Srinivasan, V., and Chakrabarti, A. SAPPhIRE – an Approach to Analysis and Synthesis, 17th International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED09), Stanford, USA, 23-27 August, 2009. [pdf]
• [24] Todeti, S.R. and Chakrabarti, A. How Engineers Synthesize Multiple State Mechanical Devices – an Observational Study, Research into Design – Supporting Multiple Facets of Product Development, A Chakrabarti (Ed.), 35-44, 2009.
• [25] Todeti, S.R., and Chakrabarti, A. an Empirical Model of the Process of Synthesis of Multiple State Mechanical Devices, 17th International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED09), Stanford, USA, 23-27 August, 2009. [pdf]
• [26] Chakrabarti, A., Srinivasan, V., Pal, U., Ranganath, R., Nataraju, B.S. Progress in Systematic conceptual design of a lunar vehicle mobility system using “IDEA-INSPIREâ€?, Annual Symposium, ISRO-IISc Space Technology Cell, January, 2008.
• [27] Sarkar, P. and Chakrabarti, A. Studying Engineering Design Creativity- Developing a Common Definition and Associated Measures, John Gero (Ed.), Studying Design Creativity, Springer, 2008 (also Invited Paper at the NSF Workshop on Studying Design Creativity – Aix-en-Provonce, France, 2008). [pdf]
• [28] Sarkar, P., and Chakrabarti, A. The effect of representations of triggers on design outcomes, Special Issue on Multi-Modal Design, A Goel, R Davis and J Gero (Eds.), Artificial Intelligence in Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing (AI EDAM), 22, 101-116, Spring 2008. [pdf]
• [29] Sarkar, P. Phaneendra, S., and Chakrabarti, A. Developing Engineering Products Using Inspiration From Nature, ASME J for Information in Science and Eng (JCISE), 8(3), September 2008. [pdf]
• [30] Srinivasan, V., and Chakrabarti, A., Design for Novelty – A Framework?, International Design Conference (Design2008), Dubrovnik, May 2008. [pdf]
• [31] Tsujimoto, K., Miura, S., Tsumaya, A., Nagai, Y., Chakrabarti, A., and Taura, T. Method for Creative Behavioral Design Based on Analogy and Blending from Natural Things, ASME 2008 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences \& Computers and Information in Engineering Conference (IDETC/CIE 2008), NY, August 3-6 2008.
• [32] Chakrabarti, A. Research in Eng Design Creativity-Some Recent Findings, Keynote Paper at the Workshop on Design Creativity – Special Interest Group on Design Creativity, International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED07), Paris, France, 2007.
• [33] Chakrabarti, A., and Singh, V. A Method for Structure Sharing to Enhance Resource-Effectiveness, Journal of Engineering Design, 18(1), 73-91, February 2007. [pdf]
• [34] Rao, T.S., and Chakrabarti, A. An Empirical Study of Synthesis of Multiple State Devices by Engineering Designers, National Conference on Machines and Mechanisms (NaCoMM07), Bangalore, December 2007. [pdf]
• [35] Sarkar, P., and Chakrabarti, A. Development of a Method for Assessing Design Creativity, International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED07), Paris, France, August 2007. [pdf]
• [36] Sarkar, P., and Chakrabarti, A. Understanding Search in Design, International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED07), Paris, France, August 2007. [pdf]
• [37] Sarkar, P., and Chakrabarti, A. Developing Novel Technical Systems using Ideas from Nature, International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED07), Paris, France, August 2007. [pdf]
• [38] Sarkar, P., and Chakrabarti, A. A tool for Supporting Protocol Analysis, International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED07), Paris, France, August 2007. [pdf]
• [39] Srinivasan, V., and Chakrabarti, A. GEMS of SAPPhIRE: A Framework for Designing?, National Conference on Machines and Mechanisms (NaCoMM07), Bangalore, December 2007. [pdf]
• [40] Chakrabarti, A. Defining and Supporting Design Creativity, Keynote Paper, Proceedings of Design 2006 – International Design Conference, Dubrovnik, Croatia, 2006. [pdf]
• [41] Chakrabarti, A., and Taura, T. Computational Support of Synthesis and Analysis of Behaviour of Artefacts Using Physical Effects: Some Challenges, Proceedings of the Design2006- 9th International Design Conference, Vol 1, 1-8, Dubrovnik, 2006. [pdf]
• [42] Escrig , E., Mulet, E., Chakrabarti, A., Nadal, R. Search and Combination Cycles for an Interactive Framework for Supporting Conceptual Design, X Congreso Internacional De Ingenieria De Proyectos, VALENCIA, 13-15 September, 2006. [pdf]
• [43] Sarkar, P., and Chakrabarti, A. Determining and measuring product novelty to ascertain innovation in product development cycle, National Conference on Design for Product Life Cycle – 2006, Birla Institute Of Technology And Science, Pilani, Rajasthan, India, Feb 17-18, 2006. [pdf]
• [44] Sarkar, P., and Chakrabarti, A., 'Assessing Degree of Novelty of Products to Ascertain Innovative Products, in Product Life Cycle Management – Going Beyond Product Development and Delivery', A. Bouras, B. Gurumoorthy and S. Han (Eds.), Inderscience Enterprises, Geneve, pp3-13, 2006. [pdf]
• [45] Chakrabarti, A. Definition, Influences, Measures and Training of Design Creativity, Prashant Kumar (Ed.), Special Issue on Produce and Media Communication, Directions, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India, pp 11-17, 7(1), March 2005.
• [46] Chakrabarti, A. Some Thoughts on Definition, Influences and Measures for Design Creativity, in in 'Engineering design - theory and practice' - A symposium in honour of Ken Wallace, Clarkson, P.J. and Huhtala, M.J. (Eds.), Engineering Design Centre, University of Cambridge, UK, 2005; also invited paper at the International Symposium on Engineering Design, University of Cambridge, 4-5 April, 2005.
• [47] Chakrabarti, A. A New Computational Approach to Structure Sharing, Proceedings of the International Symposium on Product Design, Keio University, Tokyo, 2005.
• [48] Chakrabarti, A., Sarkar, P., Leelavathamma, B., Nataraju, B.S. A Behavioural Model for Representing Biological and Artificial Systems for Inspiring Novel Designs, International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED05), Melbourne, Australia, August, 2005. [pdf]
• [49] Chakrabarti, A., Sarkar, P., Leelavathamma, B., Nataraju, B.S. A Functional Representation for Aiding Biomimetic and Artificial Inspiration of New Ideas, AI EDAM 19(2): 113-132, 2005. [pdf]
• [50] Chakrabarti, A., Sarkar, P., Phaneendra, S. and Nataraju, BS. A Behavioural Model for Representing Natural and Artificial Systems for Inspiring Novel Designs, 5th National Seminar and Exhibition on Aerospace and Related Mechanisms, ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore, 18-19 November, 2005.
• [51] Chakrabarti, A., and Singh, V. A method for structure sharing to enhance resource effectiveness, International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED05), Melbourne, Australia, August, 2005. [pdf]
• [52] Stone, R.B., and Chakrabarti, A. Special Issue: Engineering Applications of Representations of Function – Part 1, AI EDAM 19(3): 137-137, 2005. [pdf]
• [53] Stone, R.B., and Chakrabarti, A. Special Issue: Engineering Applications of Representations of Function – Part 2, AI EDAM 19(2): 63-63, 2005.
• [54] Chakrabarti, A. A new Approach to Structure Sharing, ASME JCISE, 1(1), 1-78, 2004. [pdf]
• [55] Chakrabarti, A. Towards a measure for Assessing Creative Effects of a Creativity Technique, Proceedings of the Intl. Conference on Engineering Design (ICED03), Stockholm, 2003. [pdf]
• [56] Chakrabarti, A., and Khadilkar, P. A Measure for Assessing Product Novelty, Proc. of the Intl. Conference on Engineering Design (ICED01), Proc of the International Conf. on Engg. Design (ICED03), Stockholm, 2003. [pdf]
• [57] Liu, Y.C., Chakrabarti, A., and Bligh, T.P. Towards an Ideal Approach for Concept Generation, Design Studies, 24(4), 341-355, 2003. [pdf]
• [58] Chakrabarti, A. Editor’s Introduction: Engineering Design Synthesis, Engineering Design Synthesis: Understanding, Approaches and Tools, pp-vii-xvi, Springer, London, 2002.
• [59] Chakrabarti, A. (Editor). Design Synthesis: Issues, Understanding and Methods, Springer-Verlag, London, 2002.
• [60] Chakrabarti, A., Langdon, P., Liu, Y.C., and Bligh, T.P. Supporting Compositional Synthesis on Computers, Engineering Design Synthesis: Understanding, Approaches and Tools, pp-179-197, Springer, London, 2002.
• [61] Chakrabarti, A. Sharing in Design: Categories, Importance and Issues, Proc. of the Intl. Conference on Engineering Design (ICED01), Design Methods for Performance and Sustainability, 563-570, Glasgow, 2001. [pdf]
• [62] Chakrabarti, A. Towards Hybrid Methods for Synthesis, Proc. of the Intl. Conference on Engineering Design (ICED01), Design Research – Theories, Methodologies, and Product Modelling, pp-379-386, Glasgow, 2001. [pdf]
• [63] Chakrabarti, A. Improving Efficiency of Procedures for Compositional Synthesis Using Bi-Directional Search, AI in Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing, 15, 1, 67-80, 2001. [pdf]
• [64] Chakrabarti, A., and Bligh, T.P. A Scheme for Functional Reasoning in Mechanical Conceptual Design, Design Studies, 22, 6, 493-517, 2001. [pdf]
• [65] Chakrabarti, A., and Regno, R. A New Approach to Structure Sharing, Proc. of the Intl. Conf. on Engineering Design (ICED01), Design Methods for Performance and Sustainability, pp-155-162, Glasgow, 2001. [pdf]
• [66] Langdon, P., and Chakrabarti. Improving Access to Design Solution Spaces Using Visualisation and Data Reduction Techniques, Proc. of the International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED01), Design Management – Process and Information Issues, pp-3-10, Glasgow, 2001.
• [67] Chakrabarti, A. Increasing Efficiency of Compositional Synthesis by Improving the Database of its Building Blocks, AI in Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing, 14, 5, pp-403-414, 2000. [pdf]
• [68] Chakrabarti, A., and Blessing, L.T.M. A Summary of the 1st Cambridge Design Synthesis Workshop, Synthesis 2000 Symposium, Japan Society for Promotion of Science, Tokyo, December 2000.
• [69] Liu, Y.C., Chakrabarti, A., and Bligh, T.P. Further Developments of FuncSION, , Artificial Intelligence in Design’00, J.S. Gero (Ed.), pp- 499-519, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000.
• [70] Chakrabarti, A. A Product Design Principle, Proc. of the Intl. Conf. on Engineering Design (ICED99), Vol. 2, pp-751-756, Munich, 1999. [pdf]
• [71] Chakrabarti, A., and Blessing, L.T.M. Computational Compositional Synthesis, 1st Cambridge Design Synthesis Workshop (CDS99), Cambridge, September 1999.
• [72] Chakrabarti, A., and Johnson, A.L. Detecting Side Effects in Solution Principles, Proc. of the Intl. Conference on Engineering Design (ICED99), Vol. 2, pp-661-666, Munich, 1999. [pdf]
• [73] Langdon, P., and Chakrabarti, A. Browsing a Large Solution Space in Breadth and Depth, Proc. of the International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED99), Vol. 3, pp-1865-1868, Munich, 1999.
• [74] Langdon, P., and Chakrabarti, A. Cluster-Based Browsing and Visualisation of Large Mechanical Design Solution Spaces, Accepted for 8th Intl. Conference on Human Computer Interaction (HCI99), Munich, 1999. [pdf]
• [75] Liu, Y.C., Chakrabarti, A., and Bligh, T.P. A Strategy for Functional Design, Proc. of the International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED99), Vol. 2, pp-1187-1190, Munich, 1999. [pdf]
• [76] Liu, Y.C., Chakrabarti, A., and Bligh, T.P. Transforming Functional Solutions into Physical Solutions, Proc. of the ASME Design Theory and Methodology Conference (DTM99), Las Vegas, Nevada, September 1999. [pdf]
• [77] Chakrabarti, A. Supporting two Views of Function in Mechanical Design, Workshop on Functional Modelling and Teleological Reasoning, Fifteenth AAAI National Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Wisconsin, 1998. [pdf]
• [78] Chakrabarti, A. A Framework for Browsing Solutions in Breadth and Depth, Technical Report No. CUED/C-EDC/TR62-February 1998, University of Cambridge, 1998.
• [79] Chakrabarti, A. A Measure of the Newness of a Solution Set Generated Using a Database of Building Blocks, and the Database Parameters which Control its Newness, CUED/C-EDC/TR64-April 1998, University of Cambridge, 1998.
• [80] Chakrabarti, A. Generation and Exploration of Conceptual Design Solutions on Computers, Proceedings of the International Seminar and Workshops on Engineering Design in Integrated Product Development, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland, 1998.
• [81] Chakrabarti, A. and Bligh, T.P. A Scheme for Functional Reasoning in Mechanical Conceptual Design, Technical Report No. CUED/C-EDC/TR60-January 1998, University of Cambridge, 1998.
• [82] Chakrabarti, A. and Bligh, T.P. Exploring Basicness of Building Blocks for Supporting Innovative Design of Mechanical Systems using the Building Blocks Metaphor, Technical Report No. CUED/C-EDC/TR61-January 1998, University of Cambridge, 1998. [pdf]
• [83] Chakrabarti, A. and Johnson, A.L. Detecting Side-Effects in Solution Principles, Proc. Workshop on Collaborative Design Environment for the Design of Intelligent Artifacts, Tokyo, Japan, March 1998.
• [84] Chakrabarti, A. Deep Understanding and Problem Solving Using Function Structures: A Case Study, Proc. Intl. Conference in Engineering Design, Vol. 3, pp-71-76, Tampere, 1997. [pdf]
• [85] Chakrabarti, A. A Theoretical Comparison of the Computational Performance of the Paradigm Model with Exhaustive Search, The First General Design Theory Workshop, Churchill College, Cambridge, UK, 10-12 December 1997.
• [86] Chakrabarti, A., Johnson, A.L., and Kiriyama, T. An Approach to Automated Synthesis of Solution Principles for Micro-Sensor Designs, Proc. Intl. Conference in Engineering Design, Vol. 2, pp-125-128, Tampere, 1997. [pdf]
• [87] Chakrabarti, A. Evaluation of the Program for Synthesis of Solution Principles, Proc. Workshop on Collaborative Research into Environmental Design and Production Technologies, Cambridge, UK, December 1996. [pdf]
• [88] Chakrabarti, A., and Blessing, L.T.M. Special Issue: Representing Functionality in Design, AI in Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing, Vol. 10, No. 4, pp-251-253, 1996. [pdf]
• [89] Chakrabarti, A. and Bligh, T.P. Functional Synthesis of Solution-Concepts in Mechanical Conceptual Design. Part II: Kind Synthesis, Research in Engg. Design, 8, 1, pp-52-62, 1996. [pdf]
• [90] Chakrabarti, A. and Bligh, T.P. Functional Synthesis of Solution-Concepts in Mechanical Conceptual Design. Part III: Spatial Configuration, Research in Engineering Design, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp-116-124, 1996. [pdf]
• [91] Chakrabarti, A., and Bligh, T.P. An Approach to Functional Synthesis of Design Concepts: Theory, Application, and Emerging Research Issues, AI in Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing, Vol. 10, No. 4, pp-313-331, 1996. [pdf]
• [92] Chakrabarti, A., and Johnson, A.L. An Approach to Synthesis of Solution Principles for Transducer Designs, Proceedings of the Workshop on Collaborative Design Environment for the Design of Intelligent Artifacts, Tokyo, January 1996. [pdf]
• [93] Chakrabarti, A. and Tang, M.X. Generating Conceptual Solutions on FuncSION: Evolution of a Functional Synthesiser, Artificial Intelligence in Design ’96, J.S. Gero and F. Sudweeks (Eds.), pp-603-622, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1996. [pdf]
• [94] Chakrabarti, A. Towards a framework for supporting Generation and Exploration of Solutions in Conceptual Design, Proceedings of the RACE-EDC Joint Workshop on Micromechanisms, Tokyo, January 1995. [pdf]
• [95] Chakrabarti, A. FuncSION: A Software for Synthesis of Mechanical Designs, Engineering Computing Newsletter, Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory, Oxford, UK, December 1995.
• [96] Chakrabarti, A., and Bligh, T.P. Generation and Exploration of Conceptual Design Solutions on Computers, Proceedings of the International Conference on Advances in Mechanical Engineering, Bangalore, India, pp-321-331, December 1995.
• [97] Chakrabarti, A. Supporting Functional Reasoning in Design, Workshop notes for the “Representing Function in Designâ€? Workshop in AI in Design Conference, Lausanne, 1994. [pdf]
• [98] Chakrabarti, A. The work on the Functional Synthesis software appeared as a cover article (written by its editor Dave Wilson) in the Design Engineering Magazine as: Software offers various design alternatives, Design Engineering, pp-61-68, October 1994.
• [99] Chakrabarti, A., Blessing, L.T.M. and Holden, T. (Editors). Representing Function in Design, Workshop Notes on “Representing Function in Designâ€?, AI in Design Conference, Lausanne, 1994.
• [100] Chakrabarti, A. and Bligh, T.P. A Two-Step Approach to Conceptual Design of Mechanical Devices, Artificial Intelligence in Design ‘94, J.S. Gero and F. Sudweeks (Eds.), pp-21-38, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1994. [pdf]
• [101] Chakrabarti, A. and Bligh, T.P. Functional Synthesis of Solution-Concepts in Mechanical Conceptual Design. Part I: Knowledge Representation, Research in Engineering Design, Vol. 6, No. 3, pp-127-141, 1994. [pdf]
• [102] Chakrabarti, A. Towards a Theory for Functional Reasoning, Proceedings of the International Conference in Engineering Design (ICED93), The Hague, Vol. 1, pp-1-8, 1993. [pdf]
• [103] Chakrabarti, A. Function as a Common Representation for Design Problem Solving, Proceedings of the Work-shop on Function, Form and Function-Form Evolution in Design, Ken Wallace and David Ullman (Eds.), The Engineering Design Centre, University of Cambridge, UK, 17-19 June, 1992.
• [104] Chakrabarti, A. and Bligh, T.P. A Knowledge-based System for Synthesis of Single Input Single Output Systems in Mechanical Conceptual Design, Accepted for Publication in the Proceedings of the Fourth Joint Europe-USA. Conference on AI and Expert Systems Applications (EXPERSYS-92), Houston, USA, 1-2 October 1992.
• [105] Chakrabarti, A., Bligh, T.P. and Holden, T. Towards a Decision-Support Framework for the Embodiment Phase of Mechanical Design, International Journal for AI in Engineering, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp-21-36, 1992. [pdf]
• [106] Chakrabarti, A. Functional Synthesis of Single Input Single Output Systems in Mechanical Conceptual Design, in Technical Report no. CUED/C-EDC/TR8-October 1991, University of Cambridge, 1991. [pdf]
• [107] Chakrabarti, A. and Bligh, T.P. Towards a decision-Support Framework for Mechanical Conceptual Design, Proceedings of the International Conference in Engineering Design, Zurich, Vol. 1, pp-384-389, 1991. [pdf]