Automated Requirement Generation for Aerospace Systems

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Solution Overview

Problem

Establishing accurate and unambiguous requirements for complex products like aerospace vehicles is inefficient and costly, as current methods rely heavily on human expertise and are prone to errors, leading to delays and increased costs due to the complexity of defining millions of data items and integrated product architecture.

Innovation Solution

A system and method incorporating a requirement generator and quality assessor that automatically establishes structured requirements in natural language, providing real-time feedback on quality levels and alerting changes in engineering data, allowing for efficient and accurate requirement definition.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If human developers manually establish requirements for complex products, then the requirements can be reviewed and revised with high skill, but the process is inefficient and costly, taking millions of man-hours spanning a decade or more

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvequality of requirementsVSAvoidefficiency of requirement establishment
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces the manual mechanical process of requirement establishment with an automated computer-based system. The requirement generator automatically creates structured requirements using natural language processing and templates, eliminating the need for manual drafting while maintaining quality through automated validation rules and consistency checks.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The system enables self-service requirement generation where the software automatically creates, validates, and manages requirements without continuous human intervention. The automated quality assessor continuously monitors requirement quality metrics, allowing the system to self-correct and maintain high standards independently.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

2Reliability

If human developers manually establish requirements for complex products, then the requirements can be thoroughly reviewed, but the process is prone to errors and delays

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveaccuracy of requirementsVSAvoidtime for requirement establishment
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The automated quality assessor provides continuous feedback on requirement quality by analyzing generated requirements against predefined criteria, consistency rules, and completeness checks. This immediate feedback loop enables real-time correction of errors and ensures high accuracy without time-consuming manual review cycles.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary validation and quality assessment during the automated requirement generation process itself, rather than as a separate post-processing step. This preliminary action ensures errors are caught and corrected immediately, preventing propagation of defects and eliminating delayed discovery of requirement issues.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Adaptability or versatility

If the requirement structure is complex to define millions of data items, then the integrated product architecture can be comprehensive, but the drafting becomes far more complicated and impossible to review

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecompleteness of product architectureVSAvoidcomplexity of requirement drafting
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the complex requirement establishment process into modular components: requirement templates, data item categories, validation rules, and quality metrics. This segmentation allows the system to manage millions of data items through standardized, reusable units rather than treating each requirement as a unique complex entity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The requirement generator employs universal templates and patterns that can be applied across different product domains and requirement types. These multi-functional templates automatically adapt to various contexts, enabling comprehensive coverage of millions of data items without requiring separate complex drafting procedures for each case.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

4Reliability

If more skilled workers are employed to establish requirements, then the quality of requirements improves, but the cost and time requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvequality level of requirementsVSAvoidhuman resources required
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent substitutes human expert labor with an automated intelligent system that performs requirement generation and quality assessment. This replacement eliminates the need to recruit, train, and manage large numbers of skilled requirement engineers while maintaining or exceeding the quality standards previously achieved only through extensive human expertise.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentUS8886588B2Structured requirement generation and assessment
Publication Date: 2014.11.11 THE BOEING CO
  • US8886588B2 patent drawing
  • US8886588B2 patent drawing
  • US8886588B2 patent drawing

AI summary

A method and apparatus for establishing a requirement. A requirement generator is configured to establish a structure for the requirement and establish elements for the requirement. A quality assessor is configured to establish a quality level for the requirement.