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DIDS: rapidly prototyping configuration design systems

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The domain independent design system (DIDS) provides a set of tools for rapidly constructing new configuration design systems from a library of reusable software elements called mechanisms. A DIDS user begins by creating a model of the problem domain and the task to be automated. This includes describing a library of parts from which new artifacts could be configured, optimization and preference criteria, and functionality constraints. DIDS analyzes this input and automatically builds an operational prototype system by selecting and combining mechanisms. DIDS' ability to automate this process is derived from its model of configuration design, which enables reusable mechanisms to be identified and automatically selected based on a problem's characteristics. The use of DIDS is illustrated by showing how DIDS solved an elevator-configuration problem.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department, The University of Michigan, 48109, Ann Arbor, M1, USA

    Alan Balkany, Bruce Maxim & Jay T. Runkel

  2. Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, The University of Michigan, 48109, Ann Arbor, M1, USA

    Iris D. Tommelein

  3. Computer and Information Science Department (Dearborn), The University of Michigan, 48109, Ann Arbor, M1, USA

    William P. Birmingham

Authors
  1. Alan Balkany
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  2. William P. Birmingham
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  3. Bruce Maxim
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  4. Jay T. Runkel
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  5. Iris D. Tommelein
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Balkany, A., Birmingham, W.P., Maxim, B. et al. DIDS: rapidly prototyping configuration design systems. J Intell Manuf 5, 33–45 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00124685

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