Computer support for engineering design - the schemebuilder project.
D. A. Bradley, Rob H. Bracewell · Lancaster EPrints (Lancaster University) · 1992
Solution Domain Mechanical Signal processing Program structures and Data Engineering Discipline Figure 7: Solution Domains The problem is further compounded by the varied nature of the technologies involved and the methods used to express and define them within individual engineering disciplines. In the context of mechatronics and referring to figure 7, it is suggested that mechanical engineers often tend to seek a solution in the spatial domain, while electronic engineers might identify the required signal processing elements and software engineers devise program and data structures appropriate to the task. Thus individual specialists tend to seek solutions in their own particular domain of expertise, the actual forms of which range from a largely physical interpretation to quite abstract concepts. The effects of this variation range from a skewing of the specification towards a particular solution domain to a breakdown in communications between specialists as they effectively describe the same problem in different languages. The net result is to force parallel lines of development in which mutual understanding decreases with rising technological sophistication, leading to ever greater opportunities for error. Figure 8 suggests a possible outcome.