USING SELF ORGANIZING MAPS AS A DESIGN EXPLORATION TOOL

A significant amount of design work is based on modifying current products to meet new specifications. The problem with such work is answering the question: ‘how do the new design specifications constrain the design space?’. This paper proposes a tool that (1) provides a means for visualizing the design domain, and (2) provides an interactive means for constraining the design space and visualizing the results. Visualization is achieved by using a Self Organizing Map. An interactive user interface for editing the design constraints as part of the exploration process has been developed. The method is illustrated using two case studies: the first is a hand-crafted flat screen display design domain and the second is the design of a gas turbine combustor. Preliminary studies indicate encouraging results, and also provide direction for future development of this tool