Method and apparatus for generating a design for a technical system or product

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for generating a design for a technical system or for a prod uct in order to manufacture the technical system or part of the technical system or the product starting from said de sign.

Generating products or technical systems, preferably individ ualized products or technical systems, usually requires a de sign or composition, based on which the product or technical system can be manufactured. According to the state of the art, the design process of a product is usually split into at least two phases. First, the aesthetical shaping, e.g., form ing the general shape or defining surface material of a car, is performed which usually depends on the creativity and/or preferences and/or perception of a designer or a user. Sec ond, the functional and/or physical requirements are deter mined and/or designed, e.g. the aerodynamics of a car. Com puter-aided engineering methods, i.e. design algorithms like generative design, can be applied to optimize the physical and/or functional design. The computer-aided design genera tion and optimization of a product design are usually based on mathematical algorithms and therefore usually focusses on physical design variables, as aesthetical or subjective vari ables are usually difficult to quantify. Thus, one of the limitations of current generative design methods is their fo cus on physical quantities.

It is therefore an objective of the present invention to im prove the design process.

The object is solved by the features of the independent claims. The dependent claims contain further developments of the invention. The invention provides according to the first aspect a com puter-implemented method for generating a design for a tech nical system or for a product for manufacturing the technical system or product, comprising the following method steps:

(a) providing a set of first parameters specifying physical properties and second parameters specifying perceptible prop erties of the technical system or product,

(b) generating a design for the technical system or product depending on the set of first and second parameters,

(c) obtaining a performance indicator that evaluates a physi cal performance of the generated design,

(d) outputting a presentation of the generated design of the technical system or product by means of a user interface,

(e) measuring perception data in response to the presentation of the generated design by means of a perception capturing unit and deducing a perception evaluation indicator from the measured perception data,

(f) iteratively optimizing the performance indicator and/or the perception evaluation indicator by means of an optimiza tion algorithm, wherein at least one first parameter and/or at least one second parameter is adjusted and the method steps (b) to (e) are repeated,

and

(g) outputting an optimized design for manufacturing the technical system or product.

If not indicated differently the terms "calculate", "per form", "computer-implemented", "compute", "determine", "gen erate", "configure", "reconstruct", and the like, preferably are related to acts and/or processes and/or steps which change and/or generate data, wherein data can particularly be presented as physical data, and which can be performed by a computer or processor. The term "computer" can be interpreted broadly and can be a personal computer, server, pocket-PC- device, mobile computing device, a communication device which can process data, or a processor such as a central processing unit (CPU) or microprocessor. An important advantage of the present invention is the inte grated optimization of a design for a technical system, a part of a technical system or product taking perceptible and physical properties of the design into account. Furthermore, the preferences and/or taste of a user can automatically be considered without dedicated user input.

A technical system can for example be a device or a plant. A part of the technical system can comprise a subsystem, a com ponent, or similar, configured as software and/or hardware. A product can for example be a work product or a manufactured product. In particular, the product can be a consumer prod uct, preferably an individualized product.

A design of a technical system or product relates to a de scription or specification comprising physical, functional and/or aesthetical features of the technical system or prod uct to be designed and manufactured. "Design" can hence be further understood as a plan or specification, e.g., a com puter-aided drawing or model which is provided in a computer- readable format, comprising technical and additional, e.g., shaping, information for the production process.

The design is generated based on a set of given parameters. The design generation can for example be performed on a com puter. First parameters specify physical and/or functional properties of the technical system or product to be designed. Second parameters specify properties which are perceptible by humans, i.e., by a user or designer. In other words, second parameters can comprise aesthetical features, e.g., optical appearance of a product. The generated design therefore com prises first and second parameters.

The generated design is presented to a human, e.g. a user or designer, using a user interface, such as a display. The de sign can for example be rendered as a computer-aided design (CAD) model and presented to the user. The human perception in response to the generated design, e.g., a user's reaction to the optical appearance of the design shown on the display, is measured by means of a perception capturing unit, e.g., a consumer electroencephalogram (EEG) or an eye-tracking- sensor. The perception capturing unit is preferably config ured to transform human perception into measurable perception data .

The performance indicator is preferably obtained for a spe cific parameter, e.g., energy consumption or stiffness, and/or can be determined with respect to a specified perfor mance threshold. The performance indicator and/or the per ception evaluation indicator are optimized by means of an op timization algorithm, particularly a multi-objective optimi zation. An optimized design is determined by iteratively op timizing the performance indicator and/or the perception evaluation indicator. Preferably, a predefined threshold or limit can be set for the performance indicator and/or the perception evaluation if the optimization does not converge.

The combined optimization preferably allows to find a physi cally or functionally optimized design which is also attrac tive to a user. Inversely, an aesthetically optimized design, which might not be functionally optimized can be discarded.

The method according to the invention can be used for any kind of product design where visual or other perceptual as pects play a role. The physical or functional design objec tives are advantageously expanded by including the product's or system's appearance or aesthetics. The method enables quantifying a product's aesthetics by measuring a user's per ception in response to the product's design, such that the perception data can be combined with design objectives. Fur thermore, the method enables a user or designer to generate an individualized design for a technical system or product. The design can further be evaluated and/or optimized based on the performance indicator and/or the perception evaluation indicator .

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a com puter-aided physical or functional simulation of the tech- nical system or product can be performed depending on the generated design and wherein the performance indicator is ob tained from the computer-aided physical or functional simula tion .

Using a computer-aided physical simulation, reproducing phys ical properties and/or constraints of the technical system or product, the design can be tested and/or evaluated. A func tional optimization is an iterative process, which may re quire multiple simulations to achieve the desired end func tionality of the design. Preferably, the generated or opti mized design is outputted in a computer-readable format such that it can be used as an input for a computer-aided simula tion. The performance indicator can be deduced from the com puter-aided simulation. The performance indicator, which can also be called key performance indicator, can for example be a feature size or value.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the presentation of the generated design can comprise a visuali zation and/or an olfactory test and/or a sound test and/or a haptic test.

The user' s perception of the generated design can preferably be based on various types of presentations suitable for the type of technical system or product. The presentation is preferably provided by suitable presentation means, such as a screen or speakers .

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the op timization algorithm can comprise a heuristic method and/or a gradient-based method.

The optimization algorithm can for example also comprise a meta-heuristic method. Optimization can be based on a genetic algorithm or a gradient descent method. Gradient information is usually available for model-based approaches for the pre dictive physical models. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the generated and/or optimized design can be stored in a storage unit or a database.

Stored designs can for example be reused or used as a start ing point for further optimization steps or for presentation to another user. Furthermore, a design database can be used for comparison of the generated and/or optimized designs. A database of designs can be used as a data set for training an artificial intelligence for subsequent design generation or design selection.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a weight can be allocated to the performance indicator and/or a weight is allocated to the perception evaluation indicator and the optimization is performed taking the respective weight into account.

Preferably a user or designer can choose different criteria for optimization and weights of different objectives. There fore, an individualization of the design can be achieved by prioritization. A weight can for example be configured as a statistical weight.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a vari ety of designs can be used as training data for training a machine learning method for determining an optimized design.

Furthermore, the respective assigned performance indicators and perception evaluation indicators for each of the designs of a variety of designs, e.g., generated and/or optimized de signs, can be used as training data for training an artifi cial intelligence or machine learning method. A machine learning method can for example be at least one artificial neural network trained to output a preferred design or a de sign proposal based on user input data.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the op timized design can be transferred to an additive manufactur- ing system for manufacturing the technical system or product by the additive manufacturing system using the optimized de sign.

Preferably the optimized design is outputted in a suitable, e.g., computer-readable, format in order to directly use it as input for a manufacturing machine.

The invention provides according to the second aspect an ap paratus for generating a design for a technical system or a product for manufacturing the technical system or product, comprising :

- an interface unit configured to provide a set of first pa rameters specifying physical properties and second parameters specifying perceptible properties of the technical system or product,

- a design generator configured to generate a design for the technical system or product depending on the set of first and second parameters,

- a computing unit configured to obtain a performance indica tor that evaluates the physical performance of the generated design,

- a user interface configured to output a presentation of the generated design of the generated design of the technical system or product,

- a perception capturing unit configured to measure percep tion data in response to the presentation of the generated design and to deduce a perception evaluation indicator from measured perception data,

- an optimization unit configured to iteratively optimize the performance indicator and/or the perception evaluation indi cator by means of an optimization algorithm

and

- an output unit configured to output an optimized design for manufacturing the technical system or product.

The apparatus and/or at least one of its units can further comprise at least one processor or computer to perform the method steps according to the invention. Furthermore, at least one of the respective units can be realized by means of cloud computing.

The respective unit, e.g. the interface device, may be imple mented in hardware and/or in software. If said unit is imple mented in hardware, it may be embodied as a device, e.g. as a computer or as a processor or as a part of a system, e.g. a computer system. If said unit is implemented in software it may be embodied as a computer program product, as a function, as a routine, as a program code or as an executable object.

The interface unit can for example be configured as a key board, a database or storage access, or a port. The design generator preferably comprises a processor. A user interface can for example be a screen, an augmented reality device, a mixed reality device, speakers or an odor source or any de vice enabling a user interaction. A perception capturing unit can for example be an electroencephalogram (EEG) or an eye tracking system, preferably coupled to a processor. The out put unit preferably provides a data structure or data format comprising the optimized design.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the com puting unit can be configured to perform a computer-aided physical or functional simulation of the technical system or product depending on the generated design and to obtain a performance indicator from the computer-aided physical or functional simulation.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the ap paratus can be connected to an additive manufacturing device.

Further the invention relates to a computer program product directly loadable into the internal memory of a digital com puter, comprising software code portions for performing the steps of one of a method according to the invention when said product is run on a computer. The invention further comprises a computer program product directly loadable into the internal memory of a digital com puter, comprising software code portions for performing the steps of the said method when said product is run on a com puter .

A computer program product, such as a computer program means, may be embodied as a memory card, USB stick, CD-ROM, DVD or as a file which may be downloaded from a server in a network. For example, such a file may be provided by transferring the file comprising the computer program product from a wireless communication network.

The invention will be explained in more detail by reference to the accompanying figures.

Fig. 1 shows a flow chart including method steps involved in an embodiment of a computer-implemented method for generating a design for a technical system or a product ;

Fig. 2 shows a schematic representation of an embodiment of a computer-implemented method for generating a design for a technical system or a product; and

Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of an apparatus for generating a design for a technical system or a product.

Equivalent parts in the different figures are labeled with the same reference signs.

Figure 1 shows a flow chart of steps of the computer- implemented method according to the invention for generating a design for a technical system or a product.

The first step SI involves providing a set of first and sec ond parameters of the technical system or product. The first parameters specify physical and/or functional properties of the technical system or product. The second parameters speci fy perceptible properties of the technical system of product. In other words, second parameters describe properties of the technical system or product which can particularly be per ceived or sensed by a human. The first parameters can also be perceived or sensed by a human, whereas the first parameters are preferably describing physical or functional features which determine the functionality of the technical system or product, e.g., elasticity, working temperature or material hardness. In other words, albeit first parameters predomi nantly specify functional or physical properties of a tech nical system or product, these properties can also be percep tible by a human.

The first and second parameters can for example be stored in a database or on storage medium and queried from there. Al ternatively, first and/or second parameters can be (pre- ) selected and set by a user or a program.

Based on the set of first and second parameters, a design is generated in the next step S2 by means of a design generator. The generation of the design comprises for example the draft ing of a plan, model or specification comprising technical, functional and aesthetical features of the technical system or product to be designed and manufactured. The generated de sign can for example be outputted as a data structure. The generated design is particularly based on first and second parameters .

In the next step S3, a performance indicator that evaluates a physical performance of the generated design is obtained. Therefore, the performance is evaluated depending on the set of first and second parameters.

Preferably, based on the generated design, a physical or functional simulation is performed in order to obtain the performance indicator. In other words, using for example pre dictive models, e.g. simulation models, the generated design is evaluated, and a performance indicator is provided. Using for example an interactive simulation, physical behavior of the designed system or product can be simulated and evaluat ed. A performance indicator for a design for a car can for example refer to an energy consumption or aerodynamics.

In the next step S4, the generated design is presented to a user by means of a user interface. The presentation can also be shown in real-time or in parallel to performing the physi cal or functional simulation. Depending on the type of tech nical system or product, the presentation can comprise a vis ualization and/or an olfactory test and/or a sound test and/or a haptic test.

A visualization can for example be based on a computer-aided design (CAD) model which can be provided based on the given design. An olfactory test can for example be based on a spe cific material or substance used for the design and the cor responding odorous substance can be outputted by an olfactory output unit. A sound test can for example be provided by speakers. A haptic test can be based on a surface material used for the design. In order to provide the respective test, a database of appropriate sound, smell or sample material is preferably provided. The respective user interface depends on the type of presentation and can preferably be coupled to the design generator.

In the next step S5, the user's perception in response to the presented generated design is measured by means of a percep tion capturing unit. The generated design is for example vis ualized and presented to a user on a screen. Perception data are for example measured by using an electroencephalogram. Hence, a reaction of the user is measured by sensors measur ing the electrical activity of the brain. By means of the perception capturing unit, the perception of the user can be quantified outputting sensor data, such that a perception evaluation indicator can be deduced from the sensor data. In other words, measuring the brain activity using an electroen cephalogram, the level of attractivity of the generated de sign can be quantified. Alternatively, the user's perception in response to the presented generated design can be measured by means of a perception capturing unit configured to track points of gaze or the motion of an eye relative to the head. Based on such eye tracking data, the perception of the user can be quantified.

In order to find an optimized design for a technical system or product with respect to physical performance and user' s perception, the performance indicator and/or the perception evaluation indicator are iteratively optimized by means of a multi-objective optimization algorithm in step S6. The opti mization algorithm can comprise a heuristic method, e.g., a genetic algorithm, and/or a gradient-based method, e.g., gra dient descent method. The iterative optimization comprises the steps of generating a design depending on a set of first and second parameters (step S2), obtaining a performance in dicator (step S3), presenting the generated design to a user (step S4), and measuring perception data in response to the presentation and deducing a perception evaluation indicator (step S5) , wherein at least one first parameter and/or at least on second parameter is modified for each optimization loop. In other words, the said method steps are iterated for a different set of first and second parameters until an opti mum or limit of the performance indicator and perception evaluation indicator is found. Preferably, a threshold or constraints are defined in order to determine an optimized design if the optimization algorithm does not converge or if computing time is limited.

In the next step S7, the corresponding optimized design, cor responding to the optimized performance indicator and opti mized perception evaluation indicator is outputted. The opti mized design can preferably be provided as a document, data structure or in another computer-readable format.

The optimized design can for example be stored in a database or storage unit, step S8. Therefore, a variety of optimized designs can be created and further used as a database for training a machine learning algorithm for selecting a pre ferred design.

Alternatively, the optimized design can be transferred to a manufacturing device, preferably an additive manufacturing system for manufacturing the technical system or product ac cording to the optimized design. In that way, an individual ized technical system or product can be produced in corre spondence with a specific user's taste or preference.

Figure 2 shows a schematic representation of an embodiment of a computer-implemented method for generating a design for a technical system or a product, e.g., a car design. In partic ular, Figure 2 shows the iterative optimization loop for finding the optimized design. Depending on a selected or giv en set of first parameters PI, specifying physical properties of a car, and second parameters P2 specifying perceptible properties of the car, a design for the car is generated by means of a design generator 103. The design generator 103 can be coupled with a computing unit, e.g., implemented as a cloud CL, in order to exchange information and data. The com puting unit CL can be configured to obtain a performance in dicator KPI1 based on the generated design, for example by using a computer-aided physical simulation. By means of the physical simulation of the car, the physical performance can be evaluated and quantified.

The generated design of the car is transferred to a user in terface 104, e.g., a screen, wherein the generated design is visualized and presented to a user. The user interface 104 enables the interaction with the user providing information about the car and providing a stimulus, e.g., a visual stimu lus. The user's perception is quantified by measuring percep tion data PD with a perception capturing device 105. The per ception capturing device 105 can for example be configured as an eye tracking system, measuring fixation points in time and/or space, or a consumer electroencephalogram measuring brain activity as response to the presentation. A perception evaluation indicator KPI2 can be deduced from the perception data PD. The perception data PD can for example be further analyzed using a predefined activity threshold or similar.

The perception capturing unit can also comprise a processing unit to condense a number of input factors to one number or a set of numbers or measures. Using this unit, an emotional re sponse regarding a product which occurs due to a visual in teraction device displaying a product, for e.g., aesthetics of the product, can be quantified into a meaningful number.

The generated design is evaluated based on the performance indicator KPI1 and the perception evaluation indicator KPI2. Based on the result of the evaluation, a different parameter set can be selected, and an optimized design is determined.

In order to obtain an optimized design D_opt in accordance with an optimum physical and/or functional performance and user's preferences, the shown steps are iteratively performed wherein first and/or second parameters are modified until an optimized design D_opt is found and can be outputted. If for example the performance indicator KPI1 is already at an opti mum, whereas the perception evaluation indicator KPI2 has not reached an optimum, at least one of the second parameters can be modified and a modified design can be generated and evalu ated and so forth.

Given a set of physical design targets, e.g. "minimize weight" or "reduce energy consumption", combined with aes thetically design targets, e.g. maximize the aesthetics meas ure, the design generator generates a new design proposal by means of an optimization algorithm. The new design proposal is then evaluated by means of a physical or functional simu lation with respect to its physical design performance and by means of the perception capturing unit with respect to its aesthetics .

Furthermore, the performance indicator KPI1 and/or the per ception evaluation indicator KPI2 can be weighted according to given criteria. For example, a user can provide a priori- tization and weights are set accordingly. The weighted per formance indicator KPI1 and/or weighted perception evaluation indicator KPI2 can further be used for the optimization.

The design space can be only a few first and/or second param eters, e.g., ratio of length and width, size of certain fea tures or a complete free form optimization process such as shape or topology optimization.

Figure 3 shows an apparatus 100 according to the invention as a schematic block diagram. The apparatus 100 comprises an in terface unit 101, a design generator 102, a computing unit 103, a user interface 104, a perception capturing unit 105, an optimization unit 106, and an output unit 107. Alterna tively, the respective units can be separately configured and coupled with each other in order to exchange data.

The apparatus 100 is preferably coupled with an additive man ufacturing system (not shown) such that the found optimized design can be directly transferred and manufactured. This setup preferably enables manufacturing of individualized products .

Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiment, it is to be un derstood that the present invention is not limited by the disclosed examples, and that numerous additional modifica tions and variations could be made thereto by a person skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention .