Design By Expectation: a framework for engineering design optimization

An engineering design often requires sophisticated understanding of the domain knowledge and the designer´s creativity. To optimize the engineering design, one needs to explore a combinatorial search space. We propose a framework, called Design By Expectation (DBE), which provides a collaborative scheme for genetic algorithms (GA´s) and domain-specific knowledge to carry out the engineering design optimization. DBE exploits the adaptation of GA´s in approaching better solutions, which compensates for the weak creativity of computers. We make the DBE framework more flexible by developing a set of expectation interpreters that release the strict requirements on the formalities of objectives and constraints required in traditional optimization techniques. Finally, we use two practical examples: power system stabilizer and streetlight placement, to demonstrate the applicability of the DBE framework