CALL FOR PAPERS
Special Issues of the AI EDAM Journal
`Topological Representation and Reasoning in Design and Manufacturing'

              Special Issues of the AI EDAM Journal
 'Topological Representation and Reasoning in Design and Manufacturing'

                     Guest Editor: Dan Braha

The series of three special issues on Topological Representation and
Reasoning in Design and Manufacturing will appear in 2000 issue number 5
and 2001 issues number 1 and 2 of AIEDAM. 

This exciting new area of research involves the integration of topological
properties in a wide variety of design-related issues and activities
including: descriptive and computational modeling of design knowledge,
organization, and process; geometric representation including reasoning
about tolerances; design entity similarity measurement;
geometric/topological/physical integrated modeling of physical behavior,
design to manufacturing transformation modeling, topological optimization,
and qualitative spatial reasoning.

This series of special issues of the AIEDAM journal is oriented toward the
exploration of recent advances in Artificial Intelligence related to
Topological Design and Manufacturing, and the stimulation of further
research in this area as a unifying design abstraction. 

We welcome papers that represent significant contributions in the
following broad range of domains:

1. Models for representation of design knowledge, and conceptual design
process.  E.g., casting design in the framework of set theory, set-point
topology or metric spaces; representing structure of abstract design
concepts and their relationships; developing AI-based intelligent systems
for automating the topological mapping of functional to attribute space.

2. Models for the conceptual and preliminary design process with
topological knowledge structure. 

3. Searching for an optimal topology during design synthesis.  E.g., truss
design optimization.

4. Computational models for measuring the similarity of function concepts.
E.g., calculating a metric/distance between two design space entities;
directing the search for components that meet the required functionality;
integrating metric/case-based reasoning techniques.

5. Computer-aided geometric design.  E.g., solid and non-manifold
modeling; feature recognition; feature-based design; geometric
abstractions for reasoning about shape; topology/algebraic interaction;
topology-based models for reasoning about adjacency relations amongst
vertices, edges and faces; reasoning tools for dealing with imprecise and
approximate geometry that may fail to accurately represent the topology of
the object.

6. Qualitative spatial reasoning using topology.  E.g., reasoning about
properties of points or point sets in space; detecting intersection
relations among combinations of point sets; developing methods where
topological queries can be solved by topological computation without
geometry; topological-based reasoning for finding consistent paths through
point set combinations (such as in the 'piano movers' problem).

7. Models of physical behavior.  E.g., computational modeling that
combines physical behavior and geometry (beyond finite elements, Bond
graphs and other lumped parameter representations for modeling energy
exchanges); applying algebraic topology based on Cell Complexes, Chains,
and topological operations on Chains; developing computer languages for
engineering physics; applying integrated function-geometry models for
analysis, simulation, and automated synthesis.

8. Representation and reasoning of geometric tolerances.  E.g., developing
topology-based computational tools to address the following issues: (1)
how to construct a locality around the boundary of the nominal object in
which geometric variations are allowed; and (2) how 'topologically'
similar the geometry of the object within the tolerance is to that of the
nominal object.

9. Models of design-manufacturing mapping.  E.g., developing AI tools for
mapping a design form into its corresponding manufacturing representation;
reasoning about situations where there are close points in the design
space for which their manufacturing representations are very far from each
other.

We encourage potential authors to discuss with the editor topics within
and outside the above areas.

Authors should submit full papers. These will be refereed through the
standard process of the AIEDAM Journal. Send 5 hardcopies to Dan Braha at
the address below. Electronic submissions will also be accepted in
postscript to the address brahad@bgumail.bgu.ac.il

PROPOSED SCHEDULE

Special issue # and date:  #5 (Nov.) 2000
Declaration of interest: September 1, 1999
Papers due: November 15, 1999
Reviews to authors: February 15, 2000
Revised papers due to guest editor: May 1, 2000

Special issue # and date:  #1 (Jan.) 2001
Declaration of interest: November 1, 1999 
Papers due: January 15, 2000 
Reviews to authors: April 15, 2000 
Revised papers due to guest editor: July 1, 2000

Special issue # and date:  #2 (Apr.) 2001
Declaration of interest: January 1, 2000
Papers due: March 15, 2000 
Reviews to authors: June 15, 2000 
Revised papers due to guest editor: September 1, 2000

GUEST EDITOR
Dr. Dan Braha
brahad@bgumail.bgu.ac.il

Mailing Address: 
Dr. Dan Braha
Department of Industrial Engineering and Management 
Ben-Gurion University
P.O.B. 653, Beer-Sheva 84105
Israel

Summer Mailing Address (July - October 1999): 
Dr. Dan Braha
12 Lake Terrace 
Newton, MA 02459 
USA