SBIR-STTR Award

The primary objective of this project is to develop a prototype of a unique approach to unified life cycle engineering (ULCE), called the ramsearch computer-aided life cycle engineering (CALCE) workstation in preparation for implementation in the SBIR phase II. The CALCE workstation software system is an intelligent shell structure for a design engineering decision support system which can be adapted by search using organization to its own particular supportability design . - needs. CALCE will employ both expert system and natural language interface techniques. This will include a mechanism for creating, updating, and using a design rule database which can be adapted to defense contractor's needs. CALCE will be useful to designers in any discipline who wish to adopt the life cycle view of design. CALCE is aimed at increasing the interaction between various design disciplines and providing the ability to optimize among competing design goals so that supportability considerations can be an effective element of the design process.

The objective of this project is to develop a decision support software system for Unified Life Cycle Engineering (ULCE), called the Computer-Aided Life Cycle Engineering (CALCE) workstation. The CALCE workstation software system is an intelligent shell structure for a life cycle, multi-objective design decision support system capable of combining heuristic and algorithmic approaches to design optimization. CALCE can be adapted by each using organization of its own particular life cycle design criteria. CALCE will include support for multi-goal modeling, cooperative and concurrent design, negotiation and arbitration between design groups, tradeoffs among competing design goals, knowledge-based design, and interfacing with analysis and cad software. The CALCE system will be useful in mechanical, electronic, and systems engineering. The Phase II project will consist of full-scale implementation of the CALCE prototype created in Phase I.