Engineering design and Artificial Intelligence: a promising marriage?

An increasing interest in the application of artificial intelligence tools and techniques can be observed in several fields, including engineering design. Due to their natures, engineering design and artificial intelligence, more than "conventional" programming paradigms, seem to be made for each other or at least seem to promise an important leap forwards in the development of computer tools for complex tasks. However, the same natures demand more research to be done not only in the field of artificial intelligence, but also in the field of engineering design. For a genuine integration of Artificial Intelligence with Engineering Design both research areas should go hand in hand.

After a short history of the relation between artificial intelligence and engineering design and some of the typical characteristics of engineering design, an overview is given of the different aspects of the design process supported already by artificial intelligence. Finally research areas are described that emerge if the areas supported are projected in the design space. The point of view taken is engineering design with an emphasis on mechanical engineering design.