AbstractA design problem with deficient information is generally described as wicked or ill-defined. The information insufficiency leaves designers with loose settings, free environments, and a lack of strict boundaries, which provides them with more opportunities to facilitate innovation. Therefore, to capture the opportunity behind the uncertainty of a design problem, this study models an innovative design as a composite solving process, where the problem is clarified and resolved from fuzziness to satisfying solutions by interplay among design problems, knowledge, and solutions. Additionally, a triple-helix structured model for the innovative product design process is proposed based on the co-evolution of the problem, solution, and knowledge spaces, to provide designers with a distinct design strategy and method for innovative design. The three spaces interact and co-evolve through iterative mappings, including problem structuring, knowledge expansion, and solution generation. The mappings carry the information processing and decision-making activities of the design, and create the path to satisfying solutions. Finally, a case study of a reactor coolant flow distribution device is presented to demonstrate the practicability of this model and the method for innovative product design.
Biomimicry in Product Design through Materials Selection and Computer Aided Engineering
