Special Sessions

1. Design knowledge utilization

Organized by:
Dr. Kazuo Hiekata,
Assistant Professor, Department of Systems Innovation,
Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo

Theme

"Knowledge" of design engineers definitely creates values for the organization, but it's difficult to utilize. This session focuses on knowledge utilization in design work considering the life cycle of design knowledge in companies. The first step of the life cycle of knowledge is capture or extraction in a variety of ways. Then, the knowledge is described in some media to share in the organization. Natural language processing, contents management, metadata, data mining and groupware are powerful technology for the life cycle. The life cycle of knowledge is very simple, but it's difficult to deploy in a company. This session contributes the deployment of knowledge utilization in companies.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following.

  • Information system for knowledge management
  • Design knowledge description
  • Knowledge sharing
  • Knowledge distribution
  • Design support system using AI technology
  • Knowledge CAD

2. Lean Product Development (LeanPD)

Organized by:
Dr. Ahmed Al-Ashaab,
Cranfield University,
Email a.al-ashaab@cranfield.ac.uk

Theme

Manufacturing companies are in need of a new model that goes beyond lean manufacturing in order to ensure the transformation of the enterprise into a lean environment. This is to respond to market demands for value creation, incorporating sustainability and customisation. A significant change in enterprise performance can come from the adoption of lean thinking throughout the entire product life cycle. This is the new paradigm of Lean Product Development (LeanPD). This special session on LeanPD is seeking research papers on one of the following topics:-

  • Toyota Product Development System
  • Lean Thinking applications in product development
  • Set-Based Concurrent Engineering
  • Lean Product Development Model
  • Lean Design
  • Product development Value Stream Mapping
  • Product Development in Knowledge Based Environment
  • Knowledge Driven Design
  • Value Drive Design
  • Test-Then-Design approach
  • Trade-off Curve applications
  • LeanPD assessment tool

3. Digital Material Representation in Concurrent Engineering

Organized by:
Dr Lukasz Rauch, Dr Lukasz Madej
Department of Applied Computer Science and Modelling,
AGH – University of Science and Technology, Krakow

Theme

Detailed analysis of material behaviour during production processes plays crucial role in many engineering areas e.g. design of production technology, development of manufacturing equipment or preparation of innovative materials. This is clearly visible especially in applications of highly advanced modern materials like TRIP, IF, DP steels, functionally gradient materials, ceramics or composites, which are extensively used in the key industries including automotive, space and bioengineering branches. The sophisticated analysis of processing of mentioned materials can be performed only by application of novel numerical approaches, taking the material representation explicitly into account. Thus, the main topic of this special session is focused on applications Digital Material Representation (DMR) idea in numerical simulations of complex industrial processes.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Development of the methods for creation of digital microstructures e.g. Voronoi tessellation, 2D and 3D optical image based microstructures, 3D tomography based microstructures, statistically similar microstructures
  • Modelling and process control based on computational techniques with digital material representation
  • Development of the microstructure evolution models for innovative materials during manufacturing and exploitation stages
  • Life cycle modelling supported by the Digital Material Representation (DMR) idea
  • Applications of artificial intelligence and optimization techniques in Digital Material Representation area
  • Development of the multi scale methods through coupling that are based on Digital Material Representation e.g. multi scale X-Finite Element Method, Boundary Element Method – Molecular Dynamics, Crystal-Plasticity Finite Element Method, Cellular Automata – Finite Element Method

4. Human-Centric Product Design and Development

Organized by:
Dr. Chun-Hsien Chen
Associate Professor, School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering,
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore,
E-mail: mchchen@ntu.edu.sg

Theme

Since the primary role of product design is to bridge users and technological systems in contexts of product use, it is increasingly important to focus on human-centric concerns, such as understanding the users’ behavior, needs and requirements of different social and cultural segments. As these human centric factors become more important in product development along with increasing complexity from technological advances such as networking and embedded technologies, multi-disciplinary information management becomes critical for achieving high product integrity. Yet, because of the complexity, uncertainty and cross-disciplinary nature of human and societal factors, formal mechanisms for incorporating these factors consistently into the product design and development process have not been well established. This special session focuses on the theoretical and methodological development to construct a knowledge foundation for building effective human-centric approaches in product design and development practice.

Relevant topics may include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • User-centric product conceptualization, planning and definition strategies
  • Participatory design / open innovation
  • Affective/emotional design
  • Kansei Engineering
  • User knowledge and requirements acquisition methodologies
  • Identification and modeling methods for social and cultural aspects of products
  • Incorporation of human aspects into product modeling and representation methods
  • Informatics approaches to prototyping, evaluation, and decision-making for human-centric product design

5. The Smart Grid

Organized by:
Eric Simmon,
Electronic Information Group,
National Institute of Standards and Technology,
Gaithersburg, MD, USA

Theme

The basic goal of the power grid is simple; deliver electrical power to consumers, but the actual systems to do this are quite complex. Over the last few decades advanced control system have been added to optimize specific portions of the grid. Today, as energy resources become more of a concern and energy usage continues to increase, these individual systems are being combined into a complex system of systems often referred to as the smart grid.

The smart grid will enable new functionality and technology that will make the 21st century grid more efficient and more robust than previously possible. Some of the goals of the smart grid include; efficient use of bulk generation, integration of distributed alternate energy sources, grid stability, and controlled charging of electric vehicles. To meet the goals of this 21st century power grid a holistic approach to power grid control systems design is needed.

This session focuses on the design of the smart grid infrastructure that will enable needed functionality today at the same time supporting the requirements of the future.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Smart Grid Architecture
  • System analysis and design for multiple stakeholders
  • Integration of distributed energy sources
  • Information interoperability in heterogeneous systems
  • Smart power systems using AI technology
  • Design for market-based control