Grammar based design systems have the potential to both automate the design process and allow greater exploration of design alternatives. Grammars are production systems that generate designs according to a specific set of user defined rules (the grammar). A well-defined grammar will generate a set of designs which adhere to a specific set of user defined constraints. This can give the designer the potential to evaluate a large number of alternative designs without laborious work. This set of designs generally includes many that might have been overlooked by the designer working without the aid of a grammar, thus paving the way for possible innovative designs.
Research projects include: