Automatically Generating Form Concepts According to Consumer Preference: A Shape Grammar Implementation With Software Agents

In new product development, quickly generating many concepts that a potential consumer prefers is a challenge. This paper presents the inaugural application of software agents implementing a shape grammar to generate product designs according to a utility function that represents consumer preference. The method is composed of three sub-processes: a shape grammar interpreter, an agent interpreter, and a utility investigator. These work together to explore the design space and can constrain product form designs according to a utility function that represents consumer design preference.Copyright © 2008 by ASME