Feasibility of cognitive based Computer Aided Engineering Design (CAED)

Currently, both commercial and state-of-the-art Computer Aided Engineering Design (CAED) systems are limited in how intuitive and conducive they are to the engineering design process. They are continually advancing but in an incremental fashion and doing so by adapting to established design processes. This research aims to look at engineering design from a radically different perspective. The aim is to investigate the feasibility of brain controlled CAED through identifying critical areas of the brain that are active during ideation in engineering design, and evaluating the feasibility of technology development, and its use, in controlling CAED systems using a direct Brain-Controlled Interface (BCI); surpassing the traditional CAED approach of mouse and keyboard interaction. Achieving this requires knowledge of the patterns of neural activation within the brain during creative engineering design, capabilities for development of CAED systems to reflect a new way of working, and incorporating a direct interaction between the human brain and CAED system. It should be noted that creativity is a difficult term to define, having different implications in a variety of different fields. In this research project, creativity is defined in the context of engineering design and the creative tasks undertaken in the processes within design, in particular ideation.

In order to map the activity of the brain during cognitive design tasks both cognitive and cognitive neuroscience scientists and engineering design academics need to be involved in experiment design, implementation and analysis, and the subsequent exploration of the feasibility of the practical implementation of the findings. We first must define the cognitive design processes to be examined and then create appropriate experimental tasks in which the defined cognitive design processes are clearly demonstrated by experienced designers. The patterns of brain activation will be recorded when practising designers perform the defined tasks in order to identify the responding areas of the brain. Understanding and assessing the feasibility of cognitive controlled CAED will provide is with the foundation to test the use of Brain Controlled Interface (BCI) controlled CAED.

By performing this inter-disciplinary research a new field will be created that incorporates cognitive science, engineering design, neuroscience and BCI in order to change the way ideation design is both perceived and performed, and in the process will open up new avenues for future research. The feasibility of this could initiate studies in a multitude of combined engineering design, CAED and BCI studies as well as input to other BCI developments in general.

CAED applications could become accessible to the physically impaired, help people enter the work force, reducing care costs, and enhancing self-worth and perhaps also allowing the ageing population to work later in life. The ways in which brain control interfaces could be used may also impact on the way that the general public considers interacting with technology. An understanding of the areas of the brain activated during specific CAED tasks will contribute to brain mapping currently being built by research programmes worldwide. Designers interested in new ways of designing will be able to gain knowledge of BCI capabilities for CAED using outputs on the potential role of BCI in CAED. Designers and researchers will learn about the brain processes involved in design tasks and the capabilities and limitations of using neuroscience to enhance design activities. The underlining idea of the research is that in the future anyone could be a designer creating ideas within a CAD system, giving a new dimension to crowdsourcing and enabling people without specific design skills to embody their thoughts.

What: Knowledge of brain activation patterns during CAED tasks.
Who: Academics (including early career) as well as BCI and CAED developers. The findings could initiate new research avenues and wider engagement of other engineering design researchers, academics and BCI/CAED developers. Further, other research disciplines such as signal processing, medical research, and neuroscience in general.
How: i) The fMRI scans will be uploaded to an open access server. ii) Planned events that demonstrate the patterns of brain activations during CAED tasks, describe the tasks used and the nature of CAED. Discussion forums for new control interfaces with opportunities in a variety of fields (e.g. gaming, mood/state monitors, application controllers, safety features, learning tools), opening up new product avenues for collaborations between academics and industry. iii) Open access journal and webpage publications as well as videos and interactive features.

What: Knowledge of BCI capabilities for CAED.
Who: Designers interested in new ways of designing.
How: i) From journal and webpage outputs containing information on the potential role of BCI in CAED. ii) Through design specific events for practising designers with the purpose of describing how BCI could be used in design. The events will allow exploration of the CAED tasks and to understand how these relate to aspects of their own work. Designers will learn about the capabilities and opportunities of using neuroscience to enhance design processes.

What: Comprehensive spatial description of the areas of the brain activated during ideation tasks.
Who: Neuroscientists as well as non-expert neuroscientists and engineers wanting to gain knowledge about design and brain computer interfacing technologies. Researchers mapping brain activities (e.g. H2020's The Human Brain Project).
How: i) Through a series of public events designed so that people from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds can learn about the processes of design and the brain activation patterns associated with CAED tasks. ii) Through lay summaries of our findings published on webpages along will videos and interactive features. iii) Dissemination in international journals and conferences.

What: Knowledge of the skills and techniques required for the development of a new BCI technology.
Who: BCI developers, designers, and general public.
How: Through planned events and web-based materials, information about the skills and techniques needed to develop BCI technologies for the design industry will be shared. Broadcasted information may also impact on the general public and potentially instigate other application opportunities in other domains that rely on design achievements. The ways in which brain control interfaces could be used may also impact on the way that the general public thinks about interacting with technology.

What: A foundation of the inter-disciplinary requirements for developing BCI technologies.
Who: Grant funders, and design engineering policy makers.
How: Through dissemination of our inter-disciplinary collaboration and reflections on the strengths and weaknesses of the process. We will present insights and make recommendations for the composition and functions of multidisciplinary groups wishing to work on the development of BCI engineering design technologies.

What: Overall findings and outcomes.
Who: Early career, UG, PG taught and PG researchers
How: The findings will be integrated into Strathclyde's UG course in Product Design Engineering as well as PG courses in CAED and Engineering Design to educate promising engineers to take the ideas into industrial practice, or provide early career researchers with potential avenues for developing the topic. The results will also open up and form the foundation for a host of PhD and research topics from not only Strathclyde but other UK and global institutions.