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The purpose of this paper is to establish a cyber physical environment for digital product design and manufacturing. To realize this goal, the specific issue of integrating design knowledge-based system (KBS) and 3D printing (3DP) system is focused. A graphics generation method is thereby developed to transform the KBS outputs into graphical format which can be directly read and manufactured by 3DP system.

A graphics generation method is proposed in this paper. Through organizing alphanumeric outputs of the consultation session with a design KBS into parametric format, the consultation results can be directly used by computer-aided design (CAD) tools to generate graphical models which can be further exported into a 3DP system to produce physical objects.

The proposed graphics generation method can be effective to link design KBS and 3DP. Therefore, the seamless connection between design and prototyping systems can be realized, which further lays the communication foundation for a cyber physical environment for digital design and manufacturing.

This study provides research insights about potential cyber physical system applications in digital design and manufacturing area. Moreover, this paper contributes an effective technique to integrate design KBS and 3DP.

The purpose of this paper is to present a novel modeling approach that combines a balanced systems engineering design model with a geospatial model to explore the complex interactions between natural hazards and engineered systems.

The approach taken in this work was to assemble a combined systems engineering design/geospatial model and interface it with a physics‐based hazard model to assess how to visualize the coupling of potential hazard effects from the physical domain into the functional/requirements domain.

It was demonstrated that it is possible to combine the two models and apply them to realistic hazard cases. A number of potential benefits are described and made possible by this approach including the generation of systems‐level damage assessments, the potential reduction of geo‐information data collection requirements, the incorporation of socio‐technical elements, the generation of functional templates, and the creation of a superior mitigation framework.

This approach offers a way to better understand natural hazard impacts on built systems, systemic effects of hazards, functional interdependencies between infrastructural elements, and a practical means to reduce geo‐information collection requirements.

The work is original in that it is the first time a balanced systems engineering design model has been made spatially aware and used to explore the impact of natural disasters on human systems. This work is valuable in that it directly addresses the shortcomings of spatial‐only approaches and could be used in data‐poor regions of the world.

This paper aims to develop the role of autonomy in the emergence of the design process. It shows how the design process is facilitated by autonomy, how autonomy is enhanced through the design process and how the emergence of anticipatory and future‐oriented representational content in an autonomous cognitive system provides the functionality needed for the strengthening of both its autonomy and the design process, in which the autonomous cognitive system purposefully engages.

Initially, the essential characteristics of the design process and of the cognitive systems participating in it will be identified. Then, an attempt to demonstrate the ability of an enhanced second‐order cybernetic framework to satisfy these characteristics will be made. Next, an analytic description of the design process under this framework is presented and the respective implications are critically discussed.

The role of autonomy is crucial for the design process, as it seems that autonomy is both the primary motive and the goal for a cognitive system to engage in a design process. A second‐order cybernetic framework is suitable for the analysis of such a complex process, as long as both the constructive and the interactive aspects of a self‐organising system are taken under consideration.

The modelling of the complex design process under the framework of second‐order cybernetics and the indication of the fundamental characteristics of an autonomous cognitive system as well as their interrelations may provide useful insights in multiple levels, from the purely theoretical (i.e. better understanding of the design process and the conditions for each creative fostering), to the purely technical (i.e. the design of artificial agents with design capabilities).

The innovative aspect of the paper is that it attempts an analysis of the design process under a framework of second‐order cybernetics, by attempting to analyse and explain the emergence of such a process from the point of view of an autonomous cognitive system. This results in some interesting implications regarding the nature of the design process, as well as regarding its “mechanisms” of emergence and evolution, with respect to the characteristics of the participating autonomous systems.

An effective system development paradigm and its associated design tools can streamline the production of flexible manufacturing systems. In view of the technological advances in developing complex manufacturing systems, a framework and its associated graphical development environment are presented in this paper. This framework aims at providing a unified platform to develop complex manufacturing systems with enhanced formality. Features include procedures for requirement analysis, simulation of system behavior, and formal verification of abstract implementation. The proposed framework helps to shorten lifecycle for system designs and helps engineers to produce manufacturing systems that conform better with original specifications with better quality. A flexible conveyor‐based production system is chosen as a case example to illustrate the capabilities of the proposed framework.

A systems perspective of waste management allows an integrated approach not only to the five basic functional elements of waste management itself (generation, reduction, collection, recycling, disposal), but to the problems arising at the interfaces with the management of energy, nature conservation, environmental protection, economic factors like unemployment and productivity, etc. This monograph separately describes present practices and the problems to be solved in each of the functional areas of waste management and at the important interfaces. Strategies for more efficient control are then proposed from a systems perspective. Systematic and objective means of solving problems become possible leading to optimal management and a positive contribution to economic development, not least through resource conservation. India is the particular context within which waste generation and management are discussed. In considering waste disposal techniques, special attention is given to sewage and radioactive wastes.

Even though design as a purposeful activity naturally fits into the realm of cybernetics, the emphasis on control has limited the scope of using cybernetic principles in design. The idea of organization, another fundamental concept in cybernetics, has received less attention in design research and seems worthy of further exploration. The purpose of the paper is to review the two concepts and clarify their role and meaning in design. Overall, using insights from complex systems science, the paper attempts to recast the relationship between cybernetics and design.

The treatment uses category theory as a language and methodological approach in order to formally express the concepts of “organization” “control” and “design” and then study the relations between them.

Organization is defined using the mathematical concept of sketch, i.e. as a characterization of the complementary relation between theories and models. The paper demonstrates that the peculiarity of design rests on the fact that the distinction between theories and models is an anticipated but emergent state. In contrast, control‐based representations assume that the theory‐model distinction is given in advance, as an intrinsic characteristic. The paper demonstrates that design is a distinct paradigm in relation to control, yet it falls within the domain of cybernetic and complex systems enquiry.

The paper contributes to the understanding of design as a distinct type of problem in cybernetics by exposing differences between control and design problems. The paper also further lays the foundations for developing a cybernetic theory of design based on the concept of organization.

Presents a new design methodology and an integrated approach for the design of manufacturing systems. The methodology discusses the steps leading to design of manufacturing systems; the integrated approach suggests ways of integrating the different stages of manufacturing system design using genetic algorithms. The methodology and approach has been used for an industrial case study and the result has shown that the approach is effective.

The paper offers an intelligent approach to analyze and determine the design parameters minimizing the total cost and achieving the desired performance measures in the maintenance float systems. The expected total cost in a maintenance float system includes the cost of lost production, the cost of repair persons and the cost of standby machines. The developed design procedure integrates simulation, metamodel and genetic algorithms. Neural networks are able to approximate functions based on a set of sample data, i.e. construct metamodels from simulation results in this study. The objective of metamodels is to predict simulation responses in order to significantly reduce the amount of simulation runs. The predictive performance of neural metamodels comparably outperforms the traditional regression metamodels. The neural metamodels are further extended to formulate a decision model for optimizing the maintenance float systems by using genetic algorithms.

Involvement in the effective design and use of computer‐based information systems is essential for the manager of the 1990s. To be most effective, systems must be designed for the requirements of the manager‐user. Too often there is a communication gap between managers who are too busy, uninterested or unwilling to become directly involved, on the one hand, and on the other, the consultant who is more usually engrossed in the special nature of the system. The author aims to provide an up‐to‐date and integrated treatment of organisation and management, as well as to emphasise the utilisation of management information systems to improve the art of managing.

Examines the thirteenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.