Complex engineering design problems consist of
numerous factors of varying criticalities. Considering fundamental features of design and inferior details alike will result in an extensive
waste of time and effort. Design parameters should be introduced gradually as appropriate based on their significance relevant to the
problem context. This motivates the representation of design parameters at multiple levels of an abstraction hierarchy. However, developing abstraction hierarchies is an area that is not well
understood. Our research proposes a novel hierarchical abstraction methodology to plan effective engineering designs and processes. It
provides a theoretically sound foundation to represent, abstract and stratify engineering design parameters and tasks according to causality and criticality. The methodology creates abstraction
hierarchies in a recursive and bottom-up approach that guarantees no
backtracking across any of the abstraction levels. The methodology consists of three main phases, representation, abstraction, and layering to multiple hierarchical levels. The effectiveness of the
developed methodology is demonstrated by a design problem.
[1] Lam, K.P., "Hierarchical Method for Large-Scale Two-Dimensional Layout". Journal of Mechanical Design, 1983. 105(2): p. 242-248.
[2] Sebastia, L., E. Onaindia, and E. Marzal, Decomposition of planning problems". Ai Communications, 2006. 19(1): p. 49-81.
[3] Holte, R.C. and B.Y. Choueiry, "Abstraction and reformulation in artificial intelligence". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B-Biological Sciences, 2003. 358(1435): p. 1197-1204.
[4] Goldin, S.E. and P. Klahr. Learning and Abstraction in Simulation. in International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence. 1981: American
Assoc for Artificial Intelligence.
[5] Sacerdoti, E., "Planning in a Hierarchy of Abstraction Spaces". Artificial
Intelligence, 1974. 5(2): p. 115-135.
[6] Taylor, L.E. and M.R. Henderson. Roles of features and abstraction in
mechanical design. in 6th International Conference on Design Theory
and Methodology American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Design
Engineering Division (Publication) DE. 1994. New York, NY: ASME.
[7] Reddy, S.Y., "Learning abstract models for system design". Ai Edam-
Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Design Analysis and Manufacturing, 1996. 10(2): p. 167-169.
[8] Hoover, S.P. and J.R. Rinderle. Abstractions, design views and focusing.
in 6th International Conference on Design Theory and Methodology
American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Design Engineering
Division (Publication) DE. 1994: ASME, New York, NY.
[9] Sarjoughian, H.S., B.P. Zeigler, and F.E. Cellier. Evaluating model
abstractions: A quantitative approach. in Proceedings of SPIE Enabling
Technology for Simulation Science II. 1998. Orlando, FL, United States.
[10] Kiran, A.S., T. Cetinkaya, and J. Cabrera, "Hierarchical modeling of a
shipyard integrated with an external scheduling application". Winter
Simulation Conference Proceedings, 2001. 2: p. 877-881 (IEEE cat n
01CH37304).
[11] McGraw, R.M. and R.A. MacDonald, "Abstract modeling for
engineering and engagement level simulations". Winter Simulation Conference Proceedings, 2000. 1: p. 326-334.
[12] Zeigler, B.P., "Hierarchical, Modular Discrete-Event Modelling in an Object-Oriented Envirionment". Simulation, 1987. 49(5): p. 219-230.
[13] Lin, J.T., K.C. Yeh, and L.C. Sheu, "A context-based object-oriented application framework for discrete event simulation". Computers &
Industrial Engineering, 1996. 30(4): p. 579-597.
[14] Praehofer, H., "Object oriented, modular hierarchical simulation modeling: towards reuse of simulation code". Simulation Practice &
Theory, 1996. 4(4): p. 4.
[15] Pidd, M. and R.B. Castro. Hierarchical modular modelling in discrete
simulation. in Winter Simulation Conference. 1998: IEEE, Piscataway, NJ.
[16] Chen, S.-J., "Project task coordination and team organization in concurrent engineering", in Department of Industrial Engineering. 1999, State University of New York at Buffalo: Buffalo, NY.
[17] Knoblock, C., "Automatically generating abstractions for planning".
Artificial Intelligence, 1994. 68(2 Aug): p. 243-302.
[18] Giunchiglia, F. and T. Walsh, "A Theory of Abstraction". Artificial
Intelligence, 1992. 57(2-3): p. 323-389.
[19] Armano, G., G. Cherchi, and E. Vargiu, "Planning by abstraction using
HW[], in Book" in Planning by abstraction using HW[]. 2003. p. 349-361.
[20] Fishwick, P.A., "Role of Process Abstraction in Simulation". IEEE
Transactions on Systems, Man & Cybernetics, 1988. 18(1): p. 18-39.
[21] Fishwick, P.A., Simulation model design and execution : building digital worlds. Prentice-Hall international series in industrial and systems engineering. 1995, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall. xvi, 448 p.
[22] Holte, R.C., et al., "Speeding up problem solving by abstraction: a graph
oriented approach". Artificial Intelligence, 1996. 85(1-2 Aug): p. 321-361.
World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology 21 2008
[23] Caughlin, D. and A.F. Sisti. A summary of model abstraction techniques.
in Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering. 1997: SPIE.
[24] Sisti, A.F. and S.D. Farr. Model abstraction techniques: an intuitive overview. in National Aerospace and Electronics Conference,
Proceedings of the IEEE 1998. 1998: IEEE, Piscataway, NJ.
[25] Giunchiglia, F., "Using Abstrips abstractions - Where do we stand?".
Artificial Intelligence Review, 1999. 13(3): p. 201-213.
[26] Minton, S., "Learning Effective Search Control Knowledge: An
Explanation-Based Approach". 1988, Carnegie-Mellon University. p.231.
[27] Yang, Q. and J. Tenenberg. Abtweak: Abstracting a Nonlinear, Least Commitment Planner. in Proceedings of the 8th National Conference on
Artificial Intelligence. 1990. Boston, MA.
[28] Christensen, J., "Automatic Abstraction in Planning", in Department of
Computer Science. 1991, Stanford University: Stanford, Ca. p. 153.
[29] Bacchus, F. and Q. Yang. Expected value of hierarchical problemsolving.
in AAAI-92. 1992.
[30] Friske, L.M. and C.H.C. Ribeiro, "Planning under uncertainty with
abstraction hierarchies, in Book" in Planning under uncertainty with
abstraction hierarchies. 2006. p. 1057-1066.
[31] Marie, d., R. Priyang, and G. Lise, "Learning structured Bayesian networks: combining abstraction hierarchies and tree-structured conditional probability tables". Computational Intelligence, 2008. 24(1):p. 1.
[32] Knoblock, C. Search reduction in hierarchical problem solving. in
AAAI. 1991. Anaheim, CA.
[33] Bacchus, F. and Q. Yang, "Downward refinement and the efficiency of
hierarchical problem solving". Artificial Intelligence, 1994. 71(1 Nov): p. 43-100.
[34] Helmert, M., "The Fast Downward planning system". Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research, 2006. 26: p. 191-246.
[35] Gimenez, O. and A. Jonsson, "The complexity of planning problems
with simple causal graphs". Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research,
2008. 31: p. 319-351.
[36] Bylander, T., "Computational complexity of propositional STRIPS
planning". Artificial Intelligence, 1994. 69(1-2): p. 165-204.
[37] Kemke, C. and E. Walker, "Planning with action abstraction and Plan
Decomposition Hierarchies". 2006 Ieee/Wic/Acm International
Conference on Intelligent Agent Technology, Proceedings, 2006: p. 447-
451.
[38] Kemeny, J.G. and J.L. Snell, Finite markov chains. 1960, Princeton, N.J.,: Van Nostrand. 210 p.
[39] Dartmouth College Writing Group and E. Cogan, Modern mathematical
methods and models; a book of experimental text materials. Vol. 2.
1958, Ann Arbor, MI.
[40] Gaver, D.P. and G.L. Thompson, Programming and probability models
in operations research. 1973, Monterey, Ca: Brooks/Cole Pub. Co. xiii,683 p.
[41] Russell, S.J. and P. Norvig, Artificial intelligence : a modern approach.
Prentice Hall series in artificial intelligence. 1995, Englewood Cliffs,
N.J.: Prentice Hall. xxviii, 932 p.
[42] Chen, S.J. and L. Lin, "A project task coordination model for team
organization in concurrent engineering". Concurrent Engineering-
Research and Applications, 2002. 10(3): p. 187-202.
[1] Lam, K.P., "Hierarchical Method for Large-Scale Two-Dimensional Layout". Journal of Mechanical Design, 1983. 105(2): p. 242-248.
[2] Sebastia, L., E. Onaindia, and E. Marzal, Decomposition of planning problems". Ai Communications, 2006. 19(1): p. 49-81.
[3] Holte, R.C. and B.Y. Choueiry, "Abstraction and reformulation in artificial intelligence". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B-Biological Sciences, 2003. 358(1435): p. 1197-1204.
[4] Goldin, S.E. and P. Klahr. Learning and Abstraction in Simulation. in International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence. 1981: American
Assoc for Artificial Intelligence.
[5] Sacerdoti, E., "Planning in a Hierarchy of Abstraction Spaces". Artificial
Intelligence, 1974. 5(2): p. 115-135.
[6] Taylor, L.E. and M.R. Henderson. Roles of features and abstraction in
mechanical design. in 6th International Conference on Design Theory
and Methodology American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Design
Engineering Division (Publication) DE. 1994. New York, NY: ASME.
[7] Reddy, S.Y., "Learning abstract models for system design". Ai Edam-
Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Design Analysis and Manufacturing, 1996. 10(2): p. 167-169.
[8] Hoover, S.P. and J.R. Rinderle. Abstractions, design views and focusing.
in 6th International Conference on Design Theory and Methodology
American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Design Engineering
Division (Publication) DE. 1994: ASME, New York, NY.
[9] Sarjoughian, H.S., B.P. Zeigler, and F.E. Cellier. Evaluating model
abstractions: A quantitative approach. in Proceedings of SPIE Enabling
Technology for Simulation Science II. 1998. Orlando, FL, United States.
[10] Kiran, A.S., T. Cetinkaya, and J. Cabrera, "Hierarchical modeling of a
shipyard integrated with an external scheduling application". Winter
Simulation Conference Proceedings, 2001. 2: p. 877-881 (IEEE cat n
01CH37304).
[11] McGraw, R.M. and R.A. MacDonald, "Abstract modeling for
engineering and engagement level simulations". Winter Simulation Conference Proceedings, 2000. 1: p. 326-334.
[12] Zeigler, B.P., "Hierarchical, Modular Discrete-Event Modelling in an Object-Oriented Envirionment". Simulation, 1987. 49(5): p. 219-230.
[13] Lin, J.T., K.C. Yeh, and L.C. Sheu, "A context-based object-oriented application framework for discrete event simulation". Computers &
Industrial Engineering, 1996. 30(4): p. 579-597.
[14] Praehofer, H., "Object oriented, modular hierarchical simulation modeling: towards reuse of simulation code". Simulation Practice &
Theory, 1996. 4(4): p. 4.
[15] Pidd, M. and R.B. Castro. Hierarchical modular modelling in discrete
simulation. in Winter Simulation Conference. 1998: IEEE, Piscataway, NJ.
[16] Chen, S.-J., "Project task coordination and team organization in concurrent engineering", in Department of Industrial Engineering. 1999, State University of New York at Buffalo: Buffalo, NY.
[17] Knoblock, C., "Automatically generating abstractions for planning".
Artificial Intelligence, 1994. 68(2 Aug): p. 243-302.
[18] Giunchiglia, F. and T. Walsh, "A Theory of Abstraction". Artificial
Intelligence, 1992. 57(2-3): p. 323-389.
[19] Armano, G., G. Cherchi, and E. Vargiu, "Planning by abstraction using
HW[], in Book" in Planning by abstraction using HW[]. 2003. p. 349-361.
[20] Fishwick, P.A., "Role of Process Abstraction in Simulation". IEEE
Transactions on Systems, Man & Cybernetics, 1988. 18(1): p. 18-39.
[21] Fishwick, P.A., Simulation model design and execution : building digital worlds. Prentice-Hall international series in industrial and systems engineering. 1995, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall. xvi, 448 p.
[22] Holte, R.C., et al., "Speeding up problem solving by abstraction: a graph
oriented approach". Artificial Intelligence, 1996. 85(1-2 Aug): p. 321-361.
World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology 21 2008
[23] Caughlin, D. and A.F. Sisti. A summary of model abstraction techniques.
in Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering. 1997: SPIE.
[24] Sisti, A.F. and S.D. Farr. Model abstraction techniques: an intuitive overview. in National Aerospace and Electronics Conference,
Proceedings of the IEEE 1998. 1998: IEEE, Piscataway, NJ.
[25] Giunchiglia, F., "Using Abstrips abstractions - Where do we stand?".
Artificial Intelligence Review, 1999. 13(3): p. 201-213.
[26] Minton, S., "Learning Effective Search Control Knowledge: An
Explanation-Based Approach". 1988, Carnegie-Mellon University. p.231.
[27] Yang, Q. and J. Tenenberg. Abtweak: Abstracting a Nonlinear, Least Commitment Planner. in Proceedings of the 8th National Conference on
Artificial Intelligence. 1990. Boston, MA.
[28] Christensen, J., "Automatic Abstraction in Planning", in Department of
Computer Science. 1991, Stanford University: Stanford, Ca. p. 153.
[29] Bacchus, F. and Q. Yang. Expected value of hierarchical problemsolving.
in AAAI-92. 1992.
[30] Friske, L.M. and C.H.C. Ribeiro, "Planning under uncertainty with
abstraction hierarchies, in Book" in Planning under uncertainty with
abstraction hierarchies. 2006. p. 1057-1066.
[31] Marie, d., R. Priyang, and G. Lise, "Learning structured Bayesian networks: combining abstraction hierarchies and tree-structured conditional probability tables". Computational Intelligence, 2008. 24(1):p. 1.
[32] Knoblock, C. Search reduction in hierarchical problem solving. in
AAAI. 1991. Anaheim, CA.
[33] Bacchus, F. and Q. Yang, "Downward refinement and the efficiency of
hierarchical problem solving". Artificial Intelligence, 1994. 71(1 Nov): p. 43-100.
[34] Helmert, M., "The Fast Downward planning system". Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research, 2006. 26: p. 191-246.
[35] Gimenez, O. and A. Jonsson, "The complexity of planning problems
with simple causal graphs". Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research,
2008. 31: p. 319-351.
[36] Bylander, T., "Computational complexity of propositional STRIPS
planning". Artificial Intelligence, 1994. 69(1-2): p. 165-204.
[37] Kemke, C. and E. Walker, "Planning with action abstraction and Plan
Decomposition Hierarchies". 2006 Ieee/Wic/Acm International
Conference on Intelligent Agent Technology, Proceedings, 2006: p. 447-
451.
[38] Kemeny, J.G. and J.L. Snell, Finite markov chains. 1960, Princeton, N.J.,: Van Nostrand. 210 p.
[39] Dartmouth College Writing Group and E. Cogan, Modern mathematical
methods and models; a book of experimental text materials. Vol. 2.
1958, Ann Arbor, MI.
[40] Gaver, D.P. and G.L. Thompson, Programming and probability models
in operations research. 1973, Monterey, Ca: Brooks/Cole Pub. Co. xiii,683 p.
[41] Russell, S.J. and P. Norvig, Artificial intelligence : a modern approach.
Prentice Hall series in artificial intelligence. 1995, Englewood Cliffs,
N.J.: Prentice Hall. xxviii, 932 p.
[42] Chen, S.J. and L. Lin, "A project task coordination model for team
organization in concurrent engineering". Concurrent Engineering-
Research and Applications, 2002. 10(3): p. 187-202.
@article{"International Journal of Mechanical, Industrial and Aerospace Sciences:52683", author = "Esra E. Aleisa and Li Lin", title = "Abstraction Hierarchies for Engineering Design", abstract = "Complex engineering design problems consist of
numerous factors of varying criticalities. Considering fundamental features of design and inferior details alike will result in an extensive
waste of time and effort. Design parameters should be introduced gradually as appropriate based on their significance relevant to the
problem context. This motivates the representation of design parameters at multiple levels of an abstraction hierarchy. However, developing abstraction hierarchies is an area that is not well
understood. Our research proposes a novel hierarchical abstraction methodology to plan effective engineering designs and processes. It
provides a theoretically sound foundation to represent, abstract and stratify engineering design parameters and tasks according to causality and criticality. The methodology creates abstraction
hierarchies in a recursive and bottom-up approach that guarantees no
backtracking across any of the abstraction levels. The methodology consists of three main phases, representation, abstraction, and layering to multiple hierarchical levels. The effectiveness of the
developed methodology is demonstrated by a design problem.", keywords = "Hierarchies, Abstraction, Loop-free, Engineering Design", volume = "2", number = "9", pages = "1025-13", }
