On the long-term retention of geometry-centric digital engineering artifacts

This paper discusses the challenges of long-term preservation of digital geometric models and the engineering processes associated with them. For engineering, design, manufacturing, and physics-based simulation data this requires formats that are accessible potentially indefinitely into the future. One of the fundamental challenges is the development of digital geometry-centric engineering representations that are self describing and assured to be interpretable over the long lifespans required by archival applications. Additionally, future users may have needs that require other information, going beyond geometry, be also accessible to fully interpret the model. These problems are highly interdisciplinary and not exclusively algorithmic or technical. To provide context, the paper introduces a case study illustrating an overall portrait of the problem. Based on observations from this case study, we present a framework for enhancing the preservation of geometry-centric engineering knowledge. This framework is currently being used on a number of projects in engineering education.

[1]  Timothy W. Simpson,et al.  Semantics for Digital Engineering Archives Supporting Engineering Design Education , 2010, AI Mag..

[2]  Ram D. Sriram,et al.  Standardized data exchange of CAD models with design intent , 2007, Comput. Aided Des..

[3]  Ari Rappoport,et al.  An architecture for universal CAD data exchange , 2003, SM '03.

[4]  Steven J. Fenves,et al.  A product information modeling framework for product lifecycle management , 2005, Comput. Aided Des..

[5]  Richard McClatchey,et al.  The integration of product data and workflow management systems in a large scale engineering database application , 1998, Proceedings. IDEAS'98. International Database Engineering and Applications Symposium (Cat. No.98EX156).

[6]  N. F. Noy,et al.  Ontology Development 101: A Guide to Creating Your First Ontology , 2001 .

[7]  Willem F. Bronsvoort,et al.  Solving topological constraints for declarative families of objects , 2006, SPM '06.

[8]  ARISTIDES A. G. REQUICHA,et al.  Representations for Rigid Solids: Theory, Methods, and Systems , 1980, CSUR.

[9]  Mitsutane Fujita,et al.  Definition of a web ontology for design-oriented material selection , 2006, Data Sci. J..

[10]  Sudha Ram,et al.  Understanding the Semantics of Data Provenance to Support Active Conceptual Modeling , 2006, Active Conceptual Modeling of Learning.

[11]  Steven J. Fenves,et al.  Information sharing and exchange in the context of product lifecycle management: Role of standards , 2008, Comput. Aided Des..

[12]  Mark S. Fox,et al.  A Requirement Ontology for Engineering Design , 1996 .

[13]  Vadim Shapiro,et al.  Shape sensitivity of constructive representations , 2007, Symposium on Solid and Physical Modeling.

[14]  Ram D. Sriram,et al.  The Role of Knowledge in Next-generation Product Development Systems , 2001, J. Comput. Inf. Sci. Eng..

[15]  Nigel Shadbolt,et al.  Resource Description Framework (RDF) , 2009 .

[16]  Ram D. Sriram,et al.  Design Repositories: Engineering Design's New Knowledge Base , 2000, IEEE Intell. Syst..

[17]  Henry M. Gladney,et al.  Principles for digital preservation , 2004, CACM.

[18]  Vadim Shapiro,et al.  Homotopy Conditions for Tolerant Geometric Queries , 2008, Reliable Implementation of Real Number Algorithms.

[19]  William C. Regli,et al.  Functional Modeling of Engineering Designs for the Semantic Web , 2003, IEEE Data Eng. Bull..

[20]  Joan Wellington,et al.  A Technical Briefing on the Initial Graphics Exchange Specification (IEGS) , 1981 .

[21]  Christoph M. Hoffmann,et al.  Towards feature attachment , 1995, Comput. Aided Des..

[22]  Kemper Lewis,et al.  Using Cyberinfrastructure to Enhance Product Dissection in the Classroom , 2007 .

[23]  Hans-Peter Seidel,et al.  Proceedings of the seventh ACM symposium on Solid modeling and applications , 2002 .

[24]  S. Abrams,et al.  World Library and Information Congress: 69th Ifla General Conference and Council towards a Global Digital Format Registry , 2022 .

[25]  Michael Grüninger,et al.  The Process Specification Language (PSL) Theory and Applications , 2003, AI Mag..

[26]  Christoph M. Hoffmann,et al.  On validating STEP product data exchange , 2008, Comput. Aided Des..

[27]  A. H. Ball,et al.  Briefing Paper: the OAIS Reference Model , 2006 .

[28]  Vadim Shapiro,et al.  Shape sensitivity of constructively represented geometric models , 2008, Comput. Aided Geom. Des..

[29]  Geoffrey C. Fox,et al.  Examining the Challenges of Scientific Workflows , 2007, Computer.

[30]  V. Kumara,et al.  A framework for object modeling , 1999 .

[31]  Michael Gruninger,et al.  Methodology for the Design and Evaluation of Ontologies , 1995, IJCAI 1995.

[32]  Vadim Shapiro,et al.  Topological framework for part families , 2002, SMA '02.

[33]  Michael J. Pratt,et al.  Introduction to ISO 10303 - the STEP Standard for Product Data Exchange. pp , 2001, J. Comput. Inf. Sci. Eng..

[34]  Willem F. Bronsvoort,et al.  Semantic feature modelling , 2000, Comput. Aided Des..

[35]  Charles M. Eastman,et al.  BIM Handbook: A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers and Contractors , 2008 .

[36]  Raymond A. Lorie,et al.  A methodology and system for preserving digital data , 2002, JCDL '02.

[37]  Willem F. Bronsvoort,et al.  Tracking topological changes in feature models , 2007, Symposium on Solid and Physical Modeling.

[38]  Christoph M. Hoffmann,et al.  Robustness in Geometric Computations , 2001, J. Comput. Inf. Sci. Eng..

[39]  Dinesh Manocha,et al.  Proceedings of the 2007 ACM Symposium on Solid and Physical Modeling, Beijing, China, June 4-6, 2007 , 2007, Symposium on Solid and Physical Modeling.

[40]  Christoph M. Hoffmann,et al.  CAD and the product master model , 1998, Comput. Aided Des..

[41]  A. Siadat,et al.  MASON: A Proposal For An Ontology Of Manufacturing Domain , 2006, IEEE Workshop on Distributed Intelligent Systems: Collective Intelligence and Its Applications (DIS'06).

[42]  Michael J. Pratt,et al.  Experience in the exchange of procedural shape models using ISO 10303 (STEP) , 2006, SPM '06.

[43]  Vadim Shapiro,et al.  Single-set and class-of-sets semantics for geometric models , 2006, Comput. Aided Des..

[44]  Gershon Elber,et al.  Proceedings of the Ninth ACM Symposium on Solid Modeling and Applications, Genova, Italy, June 09-11, 2004 , 2004, Symposium on Solid Modeling and Applications.

[45]  Willem F. Bronsvoort,et al.  Tracking topological changes in parametric models , 2010, Comput. Aided Geom. Des..

[46]  Willem F. Bronsvoort,et al.  Solving topological constraints for declarative families of objects , 2007, Comput. Aided Des..

[47]  Vadim Shapiro,et al.  Consistent updates in dual representation systems , 1999, SMA '99.

[48]  Ari Rappoport,et al.  Integrated feature-based and geometric CAD data exchange , 2004, SM '04.

[49]  Michael J. Pratt.  Practical Aspects of Using the STEP Standard , 2001, J. Comput. Inf. Sci. Eng..

[50]  Michael J. Pratt,et al.  Towards the standardized exchange of parameterized feature-based CAD models , 2005, Comput. Aided Des..

[51]  Michael J. Pratt,et al.  A shape modelling applications programming interface for the STEP standard , 2001, Comput. Aided Des..

[52]  Christoph M. Hoffmann,et al.  Towards valid parametric CAD models , 2001, Comput. Aided Des..

[53]  Sudarsan Rachuri,et al.  Long Term Knowledge Retention Workshop Summary , 2006 .

[54]  Ari Rappoport,et al.  One-dimensional selections for feature-based data exchange , 2005, SPM '05.

[55]  Vadim Shapiro,et al.  Chain modeling for life cycle systems engineering , 1997 .

[56]  Vadim Shapiro,et al.  epsilon-Topological formulation of tolerant solid modeling , 2006, Comput. Aided Des..

[57]  Mansur J. Darlington,et al.  Investigating ontology development for engineering design support , 2008, Adv. Eng. Informatics.

[58]  Henry M. Gladney,et al.  Trustworthy 100-year digital objects: Evidence after every witness is dead , 2004, TOIS.

[59]  toExcel.  Extensible Markup Language (Xml) 1.0 Specifications: From the W3c Recommendations , 2000 .

[60]  William C. Regli,et al.  A Survey of Design Rationale Systems: Approaches, Representation, Capture and Retrieval , 2000, Engineering with Computers.

[61]  Michael J. Pratt.  Extension of the STEP Standard for Parametric CAD Models , 2001, J. Comput. Inf. Sci. Eng..

[62]  Raymond A. Lorie,et al.  Trustworthy 100-year digital objects: durable encoding for when it's too late to ask , 2004, TOIS.

[63]  Vinod Kumar,et al.  A framework for object modeling , 1999, Comput. Aided Des..

[64]  Marc Spraragen,et al.  An intelligent assistant for interactive workflow composition , 2004, IUI '04.