FORFLOW

BAVARIAN RESEARCH ASSOCIATION FOR PROCESS- AND WORKFLOW SUPPORT FOR PLANNING AND CONTROLLING PROCEDURES IN THE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

3.3 - Content-Based Similarity Search for CAD-Specific Artefacts

Searching project databases and identifying redundancies in project docu- ments and in artefacts requires prior determination of their “relevance” and “similarity”. For text documents numerous similarity measures have already been developed; employing ontologies and thesauri as well as stemming for abstraction, they are primarily based on term frequency. The field of Computer-Aided Design (CAD), however, is characterised by the use of specific document types (e.g., technical specifications, technical drawings, 3D models). Their prevalence requires the adoption of particular similarity measures for retrieving relevant information. Recent research has attempted to generate and refine approaches in this area for 2D and 3D objects as well as for structured documents. However, being technically motivated, they are generic and, hence, lack the application-oriented perspective essential for practical use. In response to this issue, this project focuses on the development of similarity measures for CAD-specific document types. Aimed expressly at en- hancing searches for reusable and significant artefacts, the applicability of these measures is based on an identification of the characteristic properties influencing relevance and similarity respectively; those attributes are then applied in the development of similarity measures that facilitate the retrieval of appropriate documents corresponding to the task at hand. This approach takes into account the various concepts of similarity based on the product development process by analysing both utilisation scenarios as well as perspectives resulting from them.