From diagrams to models by analogical transfer

We present a method for constructing a teleological model of a drawing of a physical device through analogical transfer of the teleological model of the same device in an almost identical drawing. A source case, in this method, contains both a 2-D vector-graphics line drawing of a physical device and a teleological model of the device called a Drawing-Shape-Structure-Behavior-Function (DSSBF) model that relates shapes and spatial relations in the drawing to specifications of the structure, behavior and function of the device. Given an almost identical target 2-D vector-graphics line drawing as input, we describe how an agent may align the two drawings, and transfer the relevant structural, behavioral and functional elements over to the target drawing. We also describe how the DSSBF model of the source drawing guides the alignment of the two drawings. The Archytas system implements this method in domain of kinematic devices that convert translational motion into rotational motion, such as a piston and crankshaft device.