Abstract
This paper discusses a perspective of optimal design paradigm under the viewpoints of product design and multidisciplinary design optimization. While optimal design techniques are getting much attention for practical applications, its potential is expected to be spread toward rational design of more complicated and large-scale systems beyond the present framework. In this paper, after the history of product innovation and the development of optimal design is overlooked, the promises and challenges for expanding optimal design paradigm to the design problems of product families and platforms are illustrated. Then, some issues for enhancing and expanding the optimal design paradigm is discussed by referring several addresses on the future of multidisciplinary design optimization, etc. Finally, it is mentioned that the optimality defined in mathematical domain and one defined in language domain should be integrated somehow toward the coming challenges.
