Interactive procedural computer-aided design

The typical engineering design process can be decomposed into several phases: creative exploration of ideas, testing soundness of proposed concepts, refining concepts to realizable solutions, optimizing viable solutions with respect to performance/cost. Powerful computer algorithms have been developed for many of these tasks. Often these modules are rigid allowing for little intervention by the designer, and the management of the interactions of these tasks mostly relies on human intelligence. Better user interfaces are required to integrate more fully human ingenuity and the assistance of the computer into the overall design process. The most powerful CAD systems should combine the power of programming, graphical visualization, and interactive adjustment of crucial design parameters.