Interactive Design: Then and Now

An obvious fact of the present industrial epoch is the advancement of computing techniques that has strongly contributed to the emergence of engineering processes becoming more and more efficient, rapid and high-powerful. Computing Science has allowed efficient virtual tools to emerge. Nevertheless, today all industrial experts share the idea that computational tools do not represent a sufficient solutions for leading to innovation. Some strong transfers between Industry and Research have been developped in order to make around the virtual tools new techniques that lead to whole and complete solutions really ensuring a support to decision making in product engineering.