Searching for biological analogies appropriate for design problems is a core process of biologically inspired design (BID). Through in situ observations of student BIDs, we discovered that student designers struggle with two issues that bookend the problem of search: design problem formulation, which generates the set of conditions to be used for search; and evaluation of the appropriateness of the retrieved analogies, which depends both on problem formulation and the retrieved analogy. We describe a method for problem formulation and analogy evaluation in BID that we call the Four-Box method. We show that the Four-Box method can be rapidly and accurately used by designers for both problem formulation and analogy evaluation, and that designers find the method valuable for the intended tasks.
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November 2014
Research-Article
The Four-Box Method: Problem Formulation and Analogy Evaluation in Biologically Inspired Design
Michael Helms,
Michael Helms
School of Interactive Computing,
e-mail: mhelms3@cc.gatech.edu
Georgia Institute of Technology
,85 Fifth Street NW
,Atlanta
, GA 30308e-mail: mhelms3@cc.gatech.edu
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Ashok K. Goel
Ashok K. Goel
School of Interactive Computing,
e-mail: goel@cc.gatech.edu
Georgia Institute of Technology
,85 Fifth Street NW
,Atlanta
, GA 30308e-mail: goel@cc.gatech.edu
Search for other works by this author on:
Michael Helms
School of Interactive Computing,
e-mail: mhelms3@cc.gatech.edu
Georgia Institute of Technology
,85 Fifth Street NW
,Atlanta
, GA 30308e-mail: mhelms3@cc.gatech.edu
Ashok K. Goel
School of Interactive Computing,
e-mail: goel@cc.gatech.edu
Georgia Institute of Technology
,85 Fifth Street NW
,Atlanta
, GA 30308e-mail: goel@cc.gatech.edu
Contributed by the Design Theory and Methodology Committee of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL DESIGN. Manuscript received January 24, 2014; final manuscript received July 30, 2014; published online October 8, 2014. Assoc. Editor: Robert B. Stone.
J. Mech. Des. Nov 2014, 136(11): 111106 (12 pages)
Published Online: October 8, 2014
Article history
Received:
January 24, 2014
Revision Received:
July 30, 2014
Citation
Helms, M., and Goel, A. K. (October 8, 2014). "The Four-Box Method: Problem Formulation and Analogy Evaluation in Biologically Inspired Design." ASME. J. Mech. Des. November 2014; 136(11): 111106. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4028172
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