Method and apparatus for evolutionary design
First Claim
1. A method of selecting a preferred one or a preferred group of decision objects, each decision object comprising a form of a product with a market value, each decision object further comprising a plurality of attributes, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) presenting, over an electronic network, to a plurality of selectors, one or more groups of decision objects comprising a plurality of combinations of attributes;
(b) obtaining information from a selector expressing a selector preference among the presented decision objects;
(c) using the information to evolve a derived group of decision objects comprising one or more different combinations of attributes;
(d) iterating steps (a) through (c), using a derived group from step (c) until a stopping criterion is achieved; and
(e) upon achieving the stopping criterion, selecting one or a group of preferred decision objects.
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Abstract
The invention involves generating and presenting, typically electronically, a number of design alternatives to persons who are participating in the design, selection, or market research exercise. The participants (referred to as “selectors”) transmit data indicative of their preferences among or between the presented design alternatives, and that data is used to derive a new generation of design alternatives or proposals. The new designs are generated through the use of a computer program exploiting a genetic or evolutionary computational technique. The process is repeated, typically for many iterations or cycles.
115 Citations
49 Claims
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1. A method of selecting a preferred one or a preferred group of decision objects, each decision object comprising a form of a product with a market value, each decision object further comprising a plurality of attributes, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) presenting, over an electronic network, to a plurality of selectors, one or more groups of decision objects comprising a plurality of combinations of attributes; (b) obtaining information from a selector expressing a selector preference among the presented decision objects; (c) using the information to evolve a derived group of decision objects comprising one or more different combinations of attributes; (d) iterating steps (a) through (c), using a derived group from step (c) until a stopping criterion is achieved; and (e) upon achieving the stopping criterion, selecting one or a group of preferred decision objects. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An electronic network comprising a plurality of computers for design of one or a group of decision objects, each decision object comprising a form of a product with a market value, each decision object further comprising a plurality of attributes, the network being configured to:
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(a) present one or more groups of decision objects comprising a plurality of combinations of attributes to a plurality of selectors; (b) obtain data from a selector indicative of a selector preference from among the presented decision objects; (c) use the data to evolve a derived group of decision objects comprising one or more different combinations of attributes; (d) iterate steps (a) through (c), using a derived group from step (c) until a stopping criterion is achieved; and (e) upon achieving the stopping criterion, output data informing a decision to select one or a group of preferred decision objects. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method of selecting one or more preferred decision objects, each decision object representing a form of a product, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) presenting, over an electronic network, to a plurality of selectors, one or more groups of the decision objects; (b) obtaining information from a selector about the selector'"'"'s preference among the presented decision objects; (c) using the obtained information to evolve at least some of the presented decision objects and thereby generate one or more derived decision objects; (d) repeating steps (a) through (c), using at least some of the one or more derived decision objects from step (c), until a stopping condition is met; and (e) upon achieving the stopping condition, selecting one or more of the remaining derived decision objects as the one or more preferred decision objects, wherein the product comprises a mass produced good, a consumer good, a manufactured good, a service, advertising material, packaging material, apparel, footwear, a computer, a telephone, a chair, a seat, an automobile, a bicycle, a home, a building, a boat hull, or a billboard. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A system for selecting one or more preferred decision objects, each decision object representing a form of a product, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) means for presenting, over an electronic network, to a plurality of selectors, one or more groups of the decision objects; (b) means for obtaining information from a selector about the selector'"'"'s preference among the presented decision objects; (c) means for using the obtained information to evolve at least some of the presented decision objects and thereby generate one or more derived decision objects; (d) means for repeating the functions of means (a) through (c), using at least some of the one or more derived decision objects from step (c), until a stopping condition is met; and (e) means for, upon achieving the stopping condition, selecting one or more of the remaining derived decision objects as the one or more preferred decision objects, wherein the product comprises a mass produced good, a consumer good, a manufactured good, a service, advertising material, packaging material, apparel, footwear, a computer, a telephone, a chair, a seat, an automobile, a bicycle, a home, a building, a boat hull, or a billboard.
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37. A system for selecting one or more preferred decision objects, each decision object representing a form of a product, the system comprising one or more server computers for communicating with a plurality of client computing devices over a computer network, each of the client computing devices having one of a plurality of selectors associated with that client computing device, the one or more server computers for presenting at least one group of the decision objects to each of the selectors via the client computing devices and over the network, the one or more server computers also for obtaining information about each of the selector'"'"'s preferences among the presented at least one group of the decision objects from each of the selectors via the client computing devices and over the network, the one or more server computers also for using the obtained information and a genetic or evolutionary computational technique to generate one or more derived decision objects, the one or more server computers also for repeating the presenting, obtaining, and using functions with at least one of the one or more derived decision objects until a stopping condition is met and then selecting one or more of the remaining derived decision objects as the one or more preferred decision objects, wherein the product comprises a mass produced good, a consumer good, a manufactured good, a service, advertising material, packaging material, apparel, footwear, a computer, a telephone, a chair, a seat, an automobile, a bicycle, a home, a building, a boat hull, or a billboard.
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38. A method of identifying one or more preferred decision objects, each decision object representing a form of a product, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) presenting, over an electronic network, to a plurality of selectors, one or more groups of the decision objects; (b) obtaining information from a selector about the selector'"'"'s preference among the decision objects of at least one of the presented groups of the decision objects; (c) using the obtained information to generate at least one derived group of the decision objects; (d) repeating steps (a) through (c), using the at least one derived group from step (c), until a stopping condition is met; and (e) after achieving the stopping condition, identifying one or more of the remaining derived decision objects as the one or more preferred decision objects and effecting a sale of one or more of the forms of the product represented by the one or more preferred decision objects. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. A system for identifying one or more preferred decision objects, each decision object representing a form of a product, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) means for presenting, over an electronic network, to a plurality of selectors, one or more groups of the decision objects; (b) means for obtaining information from a selector about the selector'"'"'s preference among the decision objects of at least one of the presented groups of the decision objects; (c) means for using the obtained information to generate at least one derived group of the decision objects; (d) means for repeating the functions of means (a) through (c), using the at least one derived group from step (c), until a stopping condition is met; and (e) means for, after achieving the stopping condition, identifying one or more of the remaining derived decision objects as the one or more preferred decision objects and effecting a sale of one or more of the forms of the product represented by the one or more preferred decision objects.
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45. A method of identifying a decision object from a plurality of decision objects, each decision object representing a form of a product having a market value, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) presenting, over an electronic network, to a plurality of selectors, one or more groups of the decision objects; (b) obtaining information from a selector about the selector'"'"'s preference among the presented decision objects; (c) using the obtained information to evolve and generate a derived group of decision objects; and (d) repeating steps (a) through (c), using a derived group from step (c), to arrive at a decision object representing a form of the product with an optimized market value.
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46. A method of selecting one or more preferred decision objects, each decision object comprising a form of a product or service, each decision object further comprising a plurality of attributes, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) presenting, over an electronic network, to a plurality of selectors, one or more groups of the decision objects; (b) obtaining information from a selector about the selector'"'"'s preference among one of the presented groups of the decision objects; (c) using the obtained information to evolve at least some of the presented decision objects and thereby generate one or more derived decision objects; (d) iterating steps (a) through (c), using a derived group from step (c) until a stopping criterion is achieved; and (e) upon achieving the stopping criterion, selecting one or a group of preferred decision objects for further development, manufacture, use, or sale, wherein each of the attributes comprises a structural, functional, stylistic, or economic feature of the product or service. - View Dependent Claims (47, 48, 49)
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Specification