Algorithmic Foundations for Consistency-Checking of Interaction-States of Mechatronic Systems

In order to reduce product development time, we needsoftware tools that can perform automated validation of the
proposed design concepts. These tools will ensure that only
valid design concepts are transferred to the detailed design
stage for further development. This paper provides a step
towards the automated validation of proposed design concepts.
We define the problem of consistency-checking of interaction-
states as a key step in the design concept validation. We present
a polynomial time algorithm for solving the interaction
consistency-checking problem. We also present an algorithm
for analyzing inconsistent interaction-states and identifying the
inconsistent interactions. We believe that the framework
described in this paper will provide the underlying foundations
for constructing the next generation software tools for
conceptual design of complex mechatronic systems.