Problems with the Calculation of Novelty Metrics

Shah, Vargas-Hernandez & Smith [2003] (SVS) have proposed a widely adopted and very influential set of metrics, including one for novelty. They attempted to make them specifically appropriate for Engineering Design, while keeping principles from Cognitive Psychology in mind. In this position paper we view the SVS proposal for possible use in Computational Design Creativity systems. Unfortunately we conclude that, while it appears to be useful for human assessment of design novelty it poses significant problems for computer use.