Enhancing Engineering Creativity With Automated Formulation of Elementary Solution Principles

Abstract

Several researchers have reported on the effectiveness of knowledge-based inventive stimuli, known in the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ), in enhancing engineering creativity, but few authors have focused on the comparative analysis of structured ideation in engineering design in terms of quantitative and qualitative outcomes. Previous studies have mainly concentrated on the investigation of exemplary selected single stimuli rather than on a critical assessment of the relationship between the structured application of inventive stimuli and their contribution to engineering design. The paper describes a method for the automated formulation of elementary creative stimuli for product or process design at different levels of abstraction and in different engineering domains. The experimental study evaluates the impact of structured automated idea generation on inventive thinking in engineering design and compares it with previous experimental studies in educational and industrial settings. The outlook highlights the benefits of using automated ideation in the context of AI-assisted invention and innovation.