Interactive Configuration using Constraint Satisfaction Techniques
Esther Gelle, Rainer Weigel · 1996
In this paper, we focus on techniques for incremental constraint-based configuration with discrete and continuous variables. We show how to formalize constraint knowledge using compatibility and activity constraints (Mittal 1990) and how this knowledge is used for reasoning within an intelligent CAD system. Most technical (as opposed to spatial) constraint configuration systems use algorithms for solving discrete problems (Haselboeck 1994). We claim that configuration is both discrete and continuous in nature and that new methods for handling both constraints in a unified way must be integrated in configuration systems. Visualization of the globally consistent configuration problem space allows for a systematic and exhaustive exploration of the space in an interactive fashion (Haroud 1995).