Ontology-based systematization of functional knowledge

It has been recognized that design knowledge is scattered around technology and target domains. One of the two major reasons for it is that different frameworks (viewpoints) for conceptualization of design knowledge are used when people try to describe knowledge in different domains. The other is that several key functional concepts are left undefined or even unidentified. In this paper, we first overview the state of the art of ontological engineering, which we believe is able to make a considerable contribution to resolving these difficulties. We then discuss our enterprise aiming at systematization of functional knowledge used for synthesis. We discuss ontologies that guide conceptualization of artefacts from the functional point of view. The framework for knowledge systematization is based on an extended device ontology and a functional concept ontology built on top of the extended device ontology. This paper particularly discusses the extended device ontology and its application in the mechanical domain. The utilization of the systematized functional knowledge in several application systems is also discussed, together with its advantages.