Development of a computer aided product-form design tool based on numerical definition scheme and neural network

The evolution of a product form during the design process is typically governed by the designer's individual preferences and creative instincts. As a consequence, there is a risk that the product form may fail to satisfy the consumers' expectations or may induce an unanticipated consumer response. This study commences developing a computer aided product-form design (CAPD) tool based on numerical definition scheme (NDS) and back-propagation neural network (BPNN). A NDS approach is employed to depict an explicit product form, and a series of evaluation trials are then performed to establish the correlation between the product form features and the consumers' perceptions of the product image. The results of the evaluation trials are used to construct a BPNN model to predict the likely consumer response to any arbitrary product form. The feasibility of developing a CAPD tool is demonstrated using a 3D knife form in this study.