Representing the Reasoning Process of Shape Transformations in Sketches by Combination of Ontology and Shape Grammar

Abstract

Shape transformations in sketches have been utilized as a way to address the reasoning process in design activity. The research on the representation of the reasoning process is still in its infancy. The purpose of this study is to explore the representation of the reasoning process of shape transformations in sketches by using shape grammar and ontology. In our framework, a shape grammar performs shape transformations based on information provided by the ontology. Shape grammar and ontology are both contain design rules, sketch related knowledge is captured in the ontology and processed by shape grammar to represent the reasoning process. The combinatorial nature of design rules encapsulated by shape grammar and ontology offers the possibility that reasoning process of shape transformation in the sketch can be represented explicitly.