Smart Products Through-Life Design - Theories, Methods and Tools - Research Article

Advances in Mechanical Engineering

2019, Vol. 11(1) 1–8
Ó The Author(s) 2019
Identification and management of the DOI: 10.1177/1687814018816574
journals.sagepub.com/home/ade
near-field knowledge of industrial
design for innovative product shapes

JinTao He, Qian Yang and MengYa Zhu

Abstract
Industrial design is a complex process that contains multifarious product knowledge systems which play different roles at
different stages of product development. Based on the research of different theories and methods of knowledge classifi-
cation, the article proposes a new method which divides industrial design knowledge into knowledge in the field, near-
field knowledge, and far-field knowledge, and established a corresponding frame of the design knowledge. In order to dif-
ferentiate the near-field knowledge which is more innovative in design from considerable knowledge to facilitate an effi-
cient design process, mechanisms of similarity searching are used. If 0.3 \ Sw (similarity) \ 0.6, then define the case as
the near-field product case and the relative knowledge as near-field knowledge. The core knowledge can be retrieved to
drive innovative modeling. Furthermore, the process of a laptop design is taken as an example and validated using this
method.

Keywords
Industrial design, the near-field knowledge, identification of similarity, knowledge management, innovative shape

Date received: 25 August 2018; accepted: 2 November 2018

Handling Editor: Shengfeng Qin

Introduction or manufacture process, then it is possible to use one

The function, technology, structure, and appearance of
products not only are complementary but also illumi-
nate each other.1 In the design of products, its own
internal structure, function, technology (e.g. intelligent
technology), and other characteristics will generally
determine the volume (product appearance design
according to its volume, for example, kitchenware, fur-
niture, and cutlery design), as well as its shape, linearity
(e.g. molding line and solid line), direction, spatial
arrangements, and even color plan.2
To truly achieve innovative product styling,
designers need to consider not only appearance factors
but also other relevant factors such as structure, func-
tion, and so on. From the aspect of modeling drive, the
reference is not necessarily limited to the same type of
products. As long as two products have a certain simi-
larity in the aspects of structure, function, technology,
product as a reference for the other.3 Such products
may have differences from the target product, but the
internal structure and use of technology are highly sim-
ilar, with several overlaps in many features. These com-
monalities and similarities disrupted the limitations in
the way references are typically chosen, therefore, the
research in this area may show great value in styling
reference.4 Refrigerators and lockers, for example, are
different products which have the same main function
that is to store items. Therefore, the internal space
Shaanxi Engineering Laboratory for Industrial Design, Northwestern
Polytechnical University, Xi’an, China
Corresponding author:
JinTao He, Shaanxi Engineering Laboratory for Industrial Design,
Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China.
Email: 616540618@qq.com

Creative Commons CC BY: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
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further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/
open-access-at-sage).
2 Advances in Mechanical Engineering
layout and external shape design of these two products
can be driven by each other.
There have been many scholars begun to study about
knowledge management and design drive. In the
research, Mascitelli5 proposed that some breakthrough
innovations result from the tacit knowledge of individu-
als and project teams, rational management, and utili-
zation of tacit knowledge, and establishment of a
generative atmosphere for breakthrough innovation is
of great significance in product development. Forty-
two companies which were actively engaged in technol-
ogy and design reuse in new offerings were surveyed,
and the researchers analyzed the influence of design
reuse percentage on design novelty and indicate the pos-
sible tipping point of negative impact, which provided
basis for further development of design reuse strategy.6
Park7 devoted to the next generation information appli-
ance by user-centered design, and developed a knowl-
edge management system to acquire and save
knowledge used in the design process for users’ own
product design. Based on ontology, Yang et al.8 pro-
posed building design knowledge map to extract rele-
vant design knowledge to help designers reconstruct
specific design cases, and promote design innovation.
Li et al.9 divided design knowledge domain into creative
knowledge domain and engineering knowledge domain
according to the product design process, and proposed
a double push strategy of knowledge for product design
based on complex network theory to provide effective
support for designers. The previous research in the field
of innovative modeling is mainly concentrated on how
to drive, that is, how to promote design innovation
through design knowledge reuse. This article tries to
focus on early-stage knowledge preparation to help
design knowledge management. Relevant research
shows that the knowledge base can make information
and knowledge orderly and flowing, and meet
designers’ requirements on knowledge retrieval, extrac-
tion, sharing, and communication in the design process.
Sufficient design knowledge is conducive to enhancing
the innovation of design and improving the feasibility
Figure 1. Overall framework of this article.
of design, which is of great significance for efficient
design work. The definition and classification of design
knowledge is the core of building knowledge base.
Design knowledge in the field of industrial product
modeling are generally considered from the perspective
of former design education or work experience.10 In
contrast, this article mainly explores the mechanism of
identification and management of such knowledge, and
puts forward the method of near-field knowledge iden-
tification on the basis of the constructed knowledge sys-
tem framework to assist the designer in product design.
In the research of inventive analogical transfers in the
product design process, Kalogerakis et al.11 indicated
that analogical distance was found to be positively asso-
ciated with solution novelty and negatively associated
with the project duration. Therefore, the viewpoint is
proposed that compared with referring to similar prod-
ucts, learning from near-field knowledge will provide
designers more innovative ideas and also can reduce
time and energy waste produced by choosing inap-
propriate reference that the design intention is overly
different from the target product. The overall frame-
work of this article is shown in Figure 1.
Definition and classification of knowledge
within the field of industrial design
Knowledge classification divides knowledge into differ-
ent types of systems according to its own attributes
based on the specific needs and standards to indicate
the knowledge’s appropriate place and relationships in
overall knowledge systems. Knowledge classification is
an extremely complex scientific activity. Different
knowledge commentators have their own classification
theory and methods.12
Depending on the product categories, product func-
tions, and other features, the products within the field
of industrial design can be conceptually divided into
three categories: in-field knowledge (in-field products),
near-field knowledge (near-field products), and far-field
knowledge (far-field products). Here, the ‘‘field’’ can be
He et al.
Figure 2. Classification of Industrial Design Products.
a subject area, a combination of a few areas, and one
small area inside another.13 For example, if we use
mobile phones as an example to demonstrate the three
different categories and the design target is to design a
mobile phone for Samsung, then the in-field products
are different types of mobile phones; the near-field
products can be other digital products, such as PCs or
MP3 players; and the far-field products will be other
industrial products, such as automobiles, electric coo-
kers, and furniture.
According to the classification method below
(Figure 2), in-field products are products with the same
properties as the target products, and the information
and design knowledge on associated products is the
knowledge in the field. Near-field products are prod-
ucts with similar properties as the target products14
(same product category attributes and different cate-
gories), and their knowledge is relevant as near-field
knowledge. Far-field products are other industrial
products with less similar properties as the target prod-
ucts, and their associated product information and
design knowledge are far-field knowledge.15
Framework of knowledge within the field
of industrial design
By building the knowledge framework and classifying
cases, we can construct the necessary knowledge data-
base to ensure the reuse and sharing of knowledge.16
This article selected factors related to product func-
tion and appearance as the determining factors of
product modeling, which help build the corresponding
product knowledge framework.1,17 In addition, shape
factors and factor values are selected as two dimensions
to describe and define the near-field knowledge.
Moreover, plug-in attributes are arranged, assigned,
and then marked on each product case to establish the
necessary knowledge database in the field of industrial
3
design.18 A detailed description of the framework is
provided in Table 1.
Considering the assignment accuracy of the descrip-
tive factor, this article established a select set of descrip-
tive vocabulary for each factor assignment, where one
word in each attribute can be selected to describe the
respective state when assigning each factor.
Identification of near-field knowledge
Conceptualization of cases
This stage is mainly based on the knowledge frame-
work constructed above. By formalizing product inno-
vative design cases, a formal knowledge database is
established for product creative design in the field of
industrial design.19 In this article, the construction of
the knowledge database is mainly for storing product
modeling cases.
Definition One: The industrial design knowledge
ontology framework shown above was derived from
the innovative design knowledge, according to the
two dimensions of shape factors and factor values.20
If we use a tuple to represent the knowledge frame
(KF), then it can be shown as follows: KF = (shape
factors, factor values). All cases of product model-
ing can be marked by the KF, which can also pro-
vide more accurate descriptions and product
modeling specifications.
Definition Two: Knowledge slot (KS) is the mini-
mum constituent unit of the product innovation
design knowledge framework, which is also known
as the basic knowledge. The same knowledge frame-
work corresponds to the same KS. The minimum
constituent unit here denotes the factor values of
each product innovative design case; therefore, the
same factor values also correspond to the same
KS.21
The KF consists of several KSs: if e represents the
value of the KS and m represents the number of KSs,
then the KF can be represented as follows
KF = ðKS1 , KS2 , . . . , KSm Þ = ðZ1 , Z2 , . . . , Zm Þ
Identification of near-field products
Although near-field products have certain differences
with the target products, they have certain similarities
in main technologies, functions, materials, and internal
structures; therefore, they have some reference value
and portability for design innovation and style inspira-
tions. Furthermore, the designers’ different way to con-
ceive new product may affect triggering imaginations
because there exist some differences between
4 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

Table 1. Knowledge framework of industrial design products.

Shape factors Factor values

Functions Product type For example, digital products, household appliances, furniture,
automobiles, food, beverages, jewelry, footwear, luggage, etc.
Product main functions The main features of the product, for example, communication is the
main function of mobile phones.
Product auxiliary functions For example, the auxiliary functions of mobile phones are a camera,
MP3/MP4 player, and Internet surfing.
Structures Internal component structure Composition of product structure, such as basic configuration,
components relationships, and layout. For example, the relationships
and layout between the motherboard, battery, screen, and other parts
of mobile phone products.
Spatial arrangement The spatial arrangement of the elements, such as horizontal, vertical,
diagonal, linear, etc.
Volumes Geometric shape The basic form of the appearance elements, such as organisms,
geometry, and other irregularities.
Size Dimensions of the products
Surface material The visual feelings properties of the material surface, such as metal,
plastic, wood, and glass.

individuals.22 And referring to near-field knowledge
will be more conducive to avoid deviating from the
design intent of the target product. For example, if we
use the line, shape, or process manufacturing informa-
tion of the near-field products, then we can integrate
those attributes into the new development of the laptop
innovation design to increase the volume of existing
laptop design. This approach not only avoids the lim-
itations of product modeling references (avoiding mis-
cellaneous information) but also expands the design
process of designers. In addition, the ambiguity
between near-field products and target products will
encourage the designer to find a more diverse solution
to the problem, leading to innovation in the product
conceptual design process.23
Each product design cases are formalized by the
KF; the KS values are entered into a database. By
defining the similarity parameters and using a similarity
search24 to determine the product modeling cases in
accordance with the rules of qualitative retrieval,25 we
define the product cases as the near-field products and
the associated product features and design information
as driven knowledge such that the new modeling must
be based on functionalism and differ from past experi-
ence products.
When comparing KFs, the near-field product model-
ing cases should qualitatively match the target product
cases; the specific algorithm steps are as follows:
If Q represents the number of cases, then
X1 , X2 , . . . , XQ represents each case and KFw represents
the KF of case Xw , W = 1, 2, . . . , Q; m is the number of
KSs of the KF.
Then, formula KFw = (Z1 , Z2 , . . . , Zm ) is the KF of
case Xw , and w = 1, 2, . . . , Q.
The above algorithm is the matching algorithm of
the KSs of both KFw (existing product framework) and
KFi (target product framework). Here, we use the shape
factors of the target product to perform the similarity
matching with the modeling cases of the knowledge
database.
KFi = (Zi1 , Zi2 , . . . , Zim ) is the value of the ontology
design knowledge framework; j = 1, 2, . . . , m.
C = (C1 , C2 , . . . , Cm ) indicates whether the value of
each frame of the target product is covered: if Cij is cov-
ered, then Cj = 1; otherwise Cj = 0. n(C) represents the
case in which C = 1.
Set X = (x1 , x2 , . . . , xm ) and Y = (y1 , y2 , . . . , ym ),
where X and Y are the KF; xj and yj are the values of
KSj of X and Y. Define X  Y , X  Y , and X as follows:
X  Y = (e1 , e2 , . . . , em ). If xj = yj , then ej = 1; other-
wise ej = 0.
Set X = (x1 , x2, . . . , xm ) and Y = (y1 , y2 , . . . , ym ) as
vectors; xj and yj are values of KSj , xj ,yj 2 f0, 1g.
X  Y = (e1 , e2 , . . . , em ), if xj = 1 and yj = 1, then
ej = 1; otherwise,ej = 0.
X  Y = (e1 , e2 , . . . , em ), if xj = 0 and yj = 0 then
ej = 0; otherwise, ej = 1.
X = (e1 , e2 , . . . , em ), if xj = 0 then ej = 1, or xj = 1,
then ej = 0.
Next, use the algorithm above to define the similarity
S w and USw .
Definition Three: The similarity Sw is the extent of
coverage of KFw in KS to KFi
nðKFi  KFw Þ
Sw =
m
When matching the cases in the knowledge database
with target products, if 0.3 \ Sw \ 0.6, then define the
He et al.
case as the near-field product case and the relative
knowledge as near-field knowledge.
Designers can refer to recent near-field design cases
to better conduct product innovation activities and can
also transplant or extract certain features of near-field
product cases integrated with the existing features of
the target products to create a new design. After the
new product modeling and life-cycle knowledge forma-
lization, the knowledge is stored in the database for
future expansion and updating of the knowledge
database.8
Method verification
Constituents of the knowledge management system
A laptop is used as the target product to identify the
near-field products by the similarity identification
mechanism to drive the target product modeling. The
near-field product design cases can be identified via the
establishment of the product creative design knowledge
management system. The Protege 2000 ontology editing
tool was used to define classes, class hierarchies, attri-
bute relationships, and labels using the XML format
outputs to build the product creative design knowledge
management system.26
The system is based on web technology, consisting of
the network server database, user interface, and search
rules and achieves dynamic design information input
and design knowledge retrieval by networks.27 The sys-
tem is shown in Figure 3.
The database stores various product design cases,
product innovation knowledge framework settings, and
user feedback data. Users are divided into general users
and manager users: general users are also the product
designers, who have the rights to search and browse
cases; manager users are mainly responsible for the
management and maintenance of the system. Manager
users also have the responsibility of setting the case,
Figure 3. Innovative design knowledge management system
flow diagram.
5
conceptualization, and formalization tasks to adapt the
design characteristic of an object; in addition, they
must manage not only the information input resources
of product design cases but also the general users. The
user interface provides functions, such as user login,
search, retrieval history, comments, and feedback
correction.
Knowledge acquisition from the management system
A laptop is used as the target product to identify the
near-field products by the similarity identification
mechanism to drive the target.
In the knowledge management system, each of the case
features is recorded in the knowledge database detailed in
a certain format through the design KF to obtain, com-
pare, and retrieve the following:
Design_object_knowledge_frame_of_table_
of_contraling_room
Product type,
Main product function,
Auxiliary product functions,
Spatial arrangement,
Geometric shape,
Size,
Surface material.
Identify and obtain near-field knowledge
As shown in Figure 4, first, enter the target product
information in the web input interface (Figure 5);
then, the system will automatically recognize the
product knowledge of the case classification in accor-
dance with the above criteria through a search. The
sorted similarity coefficients will provide references
for the near-field product sequencing. In this article,
mobile phones were selected as the target innovation-
driven product styling products. Figure 6 shows the
near-field mobile phone products stored in the knowl-
edge database.
Designers can select any style and have full access to
its product design information for reference and further
study. This article selected Motorola A1890 as the
selected near-field case; when one clicks it open,
detailed product information becomes available from
the database for designers to use as a reference, as
shown in Figure 7.
Figure 8 shows the laptop modeling case using the
near-field product styling driven method. Through style
transplantation, the laptop adopted the spatial arrange-
ments of the Motorola A1890 and adopted a transpar-
ent plastic clamshell, stylus, and touch screen.
Although a mobile phone and laptop are two products
from different areas, they still have similarities in
6 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

Figure 4. Identification Progress of Near-field Products.

Figure 5. Overall framework of this article.

function, spatial structure, and even the material The example above only selected a field of product
requirements of the internal structure. Therefore, the as the reference sample, in actual design process, the
near-field product styling driven method is feasible in designer can choose a variety of products, from which
this situation. to extract its form genes, through the reorganization
He et al.
Figure 6. Near-field mobile phone case interface.
Figure 7. Innovative laptop design renderings.
and optimization to achieve the purpose of product
innovation design.28
The system identified the near-field product cases of
target products from a wide range of products, avoid-
ing complex additional information, it provided design
cases which have more reference values for designers to
choose from, thereby saving energy and improving
design efficiency.
Conclusion
This article studied the method of identification and
management of the near-field knowledge of industrial
design for producing innovative product shapes. The
article started with the perspective of knowledge man-
agement and then defined and classified the knowledge
within the field of industrial design according to the
product and product functions and other features.
7
Moreover, the article built an industrial design domain
knowledge database to ensure knowledge reuse and
sharing. All product model cases were marked by the
related binary group theory, and KS assignment was
conducted. In addition, by defining the similarity para-
meters and using a similarity search to determine the
product modeling cases in accordance with the rules of
qualitative retrieval, the product cases are defined as
near-field products, and the associated product features
and design information are defined as the driven knowl-
edge. Through case-based identification and manage-
ment of the near-field knowledge, this article aimed to
support designers by identifying the search and provid-
ing inspirations on product styling innovation and
finally achieve innovative design and knowledge reuse
purposes through the knowledge management system.
Finally, the practical application proves that the pro-
posed product shape innovation method is simple, effi-
cient, and highly feasible.
This article mainly explored the use of near-field
knowledge in the application of innovative product
modeling design during the knowledge preparation
stage. However, in-depth consideration of the charac-
teristics of near-field and far-field knowledge requires
further study, and the other factors that affect a prod-
uct, such as color, qualitative factors, and craft, should
also be in consideration. We can devote to the research
of interaction and integration of formal and tacit design
knowledge and implementation of design innovation.29
Furthermore, how to use artificial intelligence, fuzzy
reasoning, and other more advanced technical methods
to transport design knowledge into the design platform
directly and achieve knowledge push initiatively to
improve design efficiency is also an important direction
for future research.
8 Advances in Mechanical Engineering
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with
respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
article.
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial sup-
port for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
article: This research has been partially supported by
National Key Technology R&D Program, China (Grant No.
2015BAH21F01), and National 111 Project, China (Grant
No. B13044).
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