Global Trends: Product Development: Development of New Products in the Future
by Professor Dr. Jože Duhovnik We humans will deepen our knowledge about processes in nature. We will
continue to recognize those aspects of natural processes we have not yet
managed to understand to date. We have not been entirely successful because our
knowledge of biological processes, which are the basis of all living nature,
has been insufficient. So far we have as a rule been able to recognize the
status of processes which are necessary for creating nonliving nature. Once we
delve deeper into natural processes and recognize them, we will be able to
simulate them using newly developed technical processes. And with the
simulation of technical processes, we will find that the known technical
systems cannot fully control the functions of new technical processes.
Therefore, the development of technical systems will be accelerated in order to
control new functions. The list of connections between natural processes and
technical ones will be supplemented, and a list of connections between natural
systems and technical ones will be made in the same way. The concepts of this
approach have been initiated in the last fifteen years of the previous century
(HUBKA&EDER) and deepened and supplemented at the beginning of the current
one (DUHOVNIK). In the development of new technical systems, humans will use various
methods. One of them will certainly be the method of decomposing existing
technical systems that are used for simulating new technical systems. I believe
that in the decomposition of technical systems it is possible via deduction to
develop an expanded or entirely new set of functions. By making various combinations
of this set of functions and applying various theories for the prediction of
results, humans will be able to achieve a composition of the new set of
functions that will enable them to generate new technical systems for
performing both partial and complex functions. Attempts at product development
by decomposing existing products were researched at the end of the previous
century (ŽAVBI&DUHOVNIK, CHAKRABARTI, WALLACE) and are gaining ever wider
use among researchers of design and development processes. It is especially important to draw attention to the recognition of the initial
part of the creative process. Studies currently underway
(DUHOVNIK&BENEDIČIČ, several US and British researchers)
demonstrate the need for humans to analyze the entire creative process using
forms of expression such as drawings or speech. Human activities within the
research and development process can be classified as creative. Research into
the process of making new creations will enable a greater creativity among all
creative developmental engineers. The lecturers’ task of directing emerging engineers
towards a global recognition of technical systems will become especially
important for new generations of engineers. Global product recognition requires
a comprehensive mastery of all a product’s functions, from its creation to its
use to its elimination, i.e. throughout the product life cycle. Because of the integration of knowledge over wider-reaching areas,
high-quality universities with top scientists will need to work together and
offer their students more complex knowledge. Such knowledge will be especially
necessary at postgraduate schools. Universities will associate to form virtual,
highly specialized postgraduate schools. In their curriculums, these schools
will use a comprehensive approach and apply a more complex understanding of
nature. As a rule, natural processes will be analyzed using an integral
approach, which applies especially to the study of engineering knowledge. In
the real world, there will be top universities educating high-quality and
creative engineers. However, individual lecturers from these universities and
their laboratories will also associate in virtual communities to form new
virtual universities. Physically, students will remain in their cultural and
social environment, but via their research and studies they will participate in
the virtual world, which will enable them to reduce cultural and social
barriers through a global approach. The essential elements in the understanding of the development of new
products will be axioms describing products in nature, in the human
environment. Product axioms
Product axioms (May 1998) Jože Duhovnik
These axioms enable the recognition of a product’s value in human
development and a product’s status with respect to its time of creation, use
and setting in history. Therefore, when a product is created, its quality has
to be established through compliance with the above axioms. ANDREASEN M. M., Hein L., (2000), Integrated Product Development, Institut for Product Development, Technical University of Denmark, Lynghy CHAKRABARTI, Chakrabarti A., Johnson A., Kiriyama T., (1997), An Approach to Automated synthesis of Solution Principles for Micro-sensors Design, Proceedings ICED, Tampere, Finland DUFFY, Duffy A., H. B., (1997), The Design Productivity Debate, Springer Verlag, London DUHOVNIK, Duhovnik J., (1977), Issues in the Effective Management of Technology Innovation, an Interdisciplinary Perspective, NATO Science Program and Cooperation Partners Advanced Research Workshop, Bled, Slovenia HORVATH, Horvath I., (1998), Shifting paradigms of Computer Aided Design, Delft University Press, Delft, HUBKA&EDER, Hubka V., Eder W.E., (1988), Theory of technical systems, Springer Verlag SUH, Suh N. P., (1990), The Principles of Design, Oxford University Press, Inc. New York ŽAVBI&DUHOVNIK, Žavbi R., Duhovnik J., (2001), Conceptual Design Chains with Basic Schematics Based on an Algorithm of Conceptual Design, Journal in Engineering Design, Springer Verlag BWW Society member Jože
Duhovnik is a full professor of computer-aided design at the Faculty of
Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. His pedagogic and
research work is oriented towards design theory, innovative product development
technic, project management, information flow in CAD, and geometric modeling.
He is the founder and head of the CAD Laboratory at the Faculty of Mechanical
Engineering, University of Ljubljana, since 1983. He has more of 40 paper in
SCI journals and books. He writen three books on the design and PDM systems. He
leading more of 250 real industrial projects in Europe, Middle East, Africa and
South Amerika. He received a BS, a MS and a PhD in mechanical engineering
design in 1972, 1974 and 1980, respectively. His postdoctoral study took place
at the Department of Precision Machinery Engineering at the University of
Tokyo, Japan. He is a member of VDI, IFToMM, Eurographics, New York Science
Academy and ZSiT (national society of mechanical engineers). Currently, he is professor
on University of Ljubljana and University of Sarajevo and one of founder at
international summer school E-GPR (European Global Product Realization), which
is held between university of Delft, Ljubljana, Lausanne and Zagreb. [ BWW Society Home Page ] © 2004 The BWW Society/The Institute for the Advancement of Positive Global Solutions |