conception of a virtual application for stimulating technical creativity ...

CONCEPTION OF A VIRTUAL APPLICATION FOR STIMULATING TECHNICAL CREATIVITY BY USE OF THE HEURISTIC ACTIONS METHOD Neculai Eugen SEGHEDIN Technical University “Gheorghe Asachi”, Street Prof. Dr. D. Mangeron nr. 57, Iasi, ROMANIA [email protected]

Abstract: The heuristic actions method is one of the logical-intuitive creation methods and it was structured by A. I. Polovinkin. This method is a result of the Osborn technique of interrogative lists verification. The method, in fact, consists of the combination of several psychological techniques and methods of creation, being an attempt to make creative search more logical. Thus, 261 heuristic actions have been identified and categorized in 15 groups (quantitative changes, shape changes, spatial changes, time changes, movement changes, material changes, elimination changes, addition changes, etc.). The purpose of the paper is to present the general structure of a data processing instrument that enables visualization of the way in which heuristic actions perform in various branches of industrial engineering, especially in manufacturing systems domain (machine-tools, jigs and fixtures, technological equipments). Keywords: educational software, technical creativity, inventics, creativity stimulating methods.

I.

INTRODUCTION

1.1

The Jassy School of Inventics

Creativity is one of the basic requirements of engineering. According to Vitalie Belousov a professor at the Technical University “Gheorghe Asachi” in Jassy, Romania, the creator of the school of Inventics of Iasi, an engineer has four basic functions: 1. knows the technology; 2. applies the technical knowledge; 3. Manages staffs of technical specialists. 4. Creates a new technology. Starting from this last function we can draw the conclusion that in the technical field the developing of new technical solutions is a true professional obligation. This is the reason why there is a true tradition in some universities in what regards the formation among students of a culture of creativity. At the Technical University “Gheorghe Asachi” in Jassy, the foundations of the school of inventics have been set 40 years ago [2], [3], [5], [6]. Consequently the necessary conditions have been created for the formation of highly qualified human resource in the field of teaching some subject matters such as: Inventics, the Fundamentals of engineering creation, Innovation Management etc. [6], [13], [14]. One of the most important preoccupations of the teaching staff with preoccupations in the field of Inventics was the stimulation of the students’ creativity. For this, different techniques and logical, logicalintuitive and intuitive methods have been used [15]. These techniques and methods have been implemented during course lectures, seminaries and student scientific circles. So, our university is one of the most productive higher education institutions in the country, regarding the number of students that request patent applications. 1.2

The need for stimulating technical creativity

One of the most important conditions for assuring the success of technical creation is the structuring of a personal informational background. This informational background is made up out of fundamental and specialized information, of technical solutions, designing and outlook methodologies,

methods and techniques of technical creation etc. But first of all the creative process is conditioned by a certain state of being due to its creator’s native abilities but also the training of the mind with the help of certain techniques and methods. This mental training is even more important if it’s applied with younger age groups. Certainly the stimulation of technical creativity has been one of the main preoccupations of the school of Inventics of Iasi. So to allow the free manifestations of the creative power of the student-inventors, the main obstacles that obstruct technical creativity have been identified (internal and external, objective and subjective etc.) [6].

II. TECHNIQUES AND METHODS TO STIMULATE TECHNICAL CREATIVITY 2.1.

Logical, Intuitive and logical-intuitive techniques and methods

In time, many creative techniques and methods have been structured, to stimulate technical creativity. A large number of authors have dealt with the relation between the psychological and algorithmical (logical) aspects which characterize the act of technical creation [6], [8], [9]. Since ancient times, people have been passionate about the structuring of new ways, methods, techniques and means of discovering novelty. As a consequence Heuristics developed (gr. heuriskein, lat. ars inveniendi), a science with a not so clearly set coverage range, whose purpose was the finding of means to discover new solutions, better than the ones before [14]. The discovering of novelty requires the knowledge, the methodical, scientific research of reality as an essential condition to make the act of creation more efficient. We owe the beginnings of the systematic method of scientific research to Descartes (1596 – 1650), who published in 1637 “Discours de la méthode” [7]. In this book, after the biographical first part, the rules of concrete thinking (the rules of the Cartesian thinking) are being briefly formulated. According to the French mathematicians Arnold Kaufman, M. Fustier and N. Drevet, Inventics, a science closely related to heuristics is a science of finding new solutions by mainly applying combinatorial principles. In conformity with V. Belousov, Inventics is the science and art of the optimal coverage of the entire path from the formulation of the theme to the industrial implementation of your own original solution, as a science and art of seeking, finding and implementing technical resonances [5], [6]. The dual character of inventics, of science and art, is also a result of the fact that optimal coverage of the entire path from the formulation of the theme to the industrial implementation of the solution can essentially be accomplished through intuitive (heuristic, psychological) and logical (algorithmical, logical-combinative, morphological) means. Although in the technical creation the logical-combinative means play an important part, the success of the project comes from the combining the heuristic with the logical creation methods [4], [10], [11], [12]. The two methods do not exclude each other; on the contrary they complete each other, having each an important role in different stages of the creation activity. The generalized algorithm of inventics presumes three possible ways (heuristical, logical and logical-heuristical) to cover the path from the formulation of the creation theme to the industrial implementation of the original solution [6]. The logical creation techniques and methods have developed during the different historical periods, having met numerous improvements, modifications and interpretations. Some of these techniques and methods initially constituted as analysis instruments to discover reality, like the morphological one (morphological matrices, idea diagrams, the technical creation’s generalized object method). In the technical creation next to the logical creation techniques and methods (logicalcombinative) are also being used intuitive techniques and methods that appeal to divergent thinking, the so-called “right hand” of the human brain. The use of these techniques and methods doesn’t guarantee we’ll obtain a viable result, but if we do succeed there is a high originality degree of the solution we obtained. We can’t say there is a pre-eminence of any of the two large groups of creation techniques and methods (logical and intuitive). The secret of success comes from the alternative use of

these two depending on the type of creation problem, of the stage we are in the creative process, of its creator’s psychological traits, of his level of qualification etc. According to [5], [6], [2], the intuitive creation techniques are: association, consonance, analogy and extrapolation, inversion, empathy, combination, the modification-ameliorationdevelopment. The intuitive creation methods are: brainstorming, synectics (the Gordon method), Phillips 66, panel discussion, 6-3-5 method, Frisco, Delphi. Usually there is a subordination relation between techniques and methods, the methods having a more general disposition than the techniques, many times the methods including the techniques. The main creation logical-intuitive methods are: heuristic actions method, the coronal association method and the heuristic generalized method [6].

2. 2.

The heuristic actions method

This method is a result of the Osborn technique of interrogative lists verification. Actually, the heuristic method consists of the combination of several psychological techniques and methods of creation, being an attempt to make creative search more logical. Thus, 261 heuristic actions have been identified and categorized in 15 groups [6]: a. Quantitative changes (14 heuristic actions) (a.1. radical change; a.2. the increasing and decreasing of the number of similar elements; a.3. the changing of the number of elements that operate simultaneously etc.); b. Shape changes (15 heuristic actions) (b.1. shape changing by twisting g; b.2. the factual achievement or elimination of hollow spaces etc.); c. Spatial changes (21 heuristic actions) (c.1. the changing of the traditional orientation of objects in space; c.2. the use of empty spaces; c.3. the joining of objects by placing one inside the other etc.); d. Time changes (12 heuristic actions) (d.1. changing the running time; d.2. changing the operation order; d.3. switching from serial operation to parallel operations etc.); e. Movement changes (18 heuristic actions) (e.1. changing movement direction; e.2. switching from the straight-line motion to the rotation motion and back etc.); f. Material changes (19 heuristic actions) (f.1. the composing elements should be from the same materials; the elements should be made up out of spongy/porous materials etc.); g. Elimination changes (16 heuristic actions) (g.1. eliminating the friction surfaces; g.2. eliminating the most loaded element; g.3. eliminating weaken sections etc.); h. Addition changes (15 heuristic actions) (h.1. assuring the automatic advance of the greasing liquid; h.2. the clear association of a new element; h.3. compensating the weight of the object by associating it with another object to keep it in balance etc.); i. Replacement changes (24 heuristic actions) (i.1. replacing the bending pressure; i.2. replacing the sliding friction with the rolling friction and the other way around; i.3. replacing the splintering processing method with the plastic deformation processing method etc.); j. Differentiation changes (22 heuristic actions) (j.1. outflow division; j.2. the separation of the object into parts; j.3. the execution of the friction surfaces into separate parts etc.); k. Integration changes (16 heuristic actions) (k.1. reuniting the command parts; k.2. reuniting the component elements etc.); l. Preventive changes (18 heuristic actions) (l.1. using some coating and protection; l.2. foreseeing some protection devices; l.3. the division of a fragile object into solid parts etc.); m. Reserves usage (15 heuristic actions) (m.1. using the weight of the object; m.2. using body strength etc.); n. Analogical changes (12 heuristic actions) (n.1. using the object in other fields; n.2. using the natural principle of recurrence; n.3. the possibility of copying; etc); o. Changes by combination and complex synthesis (21 heuristic actions) (o.1. exaggerated dimensions-miniaturization; o.2. using energy sources combinations; o.3. using modular elements etc.). A heuristic action is the modification of existing technical solutions. It is made up out of three parts: a first part, which describes the object upon which the action will be performed, a second part, which refers to the way in which that object will change, and a third part, which reveals the new

object, after being acted upon heuristically (fig. 1). It is very important that novice inventors have access to a data base comprising examples on how to use heuristic actions in certain activity fields. The object upon which the action will be performed

The way in which that object will change

The new object, after being acted upon heuristically

Fig.1 The general structure of a heuristic process The method allows the stimulation of creativity, the achievement of new technical solutions but also the setup of an individual background of creative approaches in a certain area. This background is necessary both for the novice and experienced inventors. The structuring and restructuring of such a background in necessary to the experienced inventors who have naturally and gradually in time already constituted a background of such approaches. This background indulges an ampler and more systematic approach to the creation problem.

III. THE SUGGESTED METHODOLOGY TO ELABORATE A NEW VIRTUAL APPLICATION The virtual application based upon the heuristic actions method takes into account the portrayal by the students of the heuristic actions, after a series of examples, within the seminary bounds of the creative fields of study (Inventics, The Fundamentals of the technical creation etc.) The purpose of the application is a triple one. Firstly, the aim is to stimulate technical creativity and at the same time to solve creation themes. Secondly, one can attain a creative potential evaluation of the student according to the number and the diversity of the heuristic actions the student can illustrate and thirdly, the method allows for every student to systematically structure in time a personal background of heuristic actions. The suggested methodology for carrying out the virtual application to stimulate technical creativity with the help of the heuristic actions method is presented in the figure 2. 1. Determining the minimal technical competence level of the application users;

2. Determining learning outcomes;

3. Determining the general structure of the application and the development environment;

4. Determining the explanatory contents for each group of heuristic actions;

5. Determining the examples(illustrations) for each group of heuristic actions;

6. The carrying out of the virtual application;

7. The preliminary assessment of the answers appreciation levels;

8. The experimentation;

9. The collecting and systematizing of feedback from the users;

10. Finalizing the virtual application. Fig. 2. The suggested methodology for carrying out the virtual application to stimulate technical creativity

IV.

THE STRUCTURE OF A VIRTUAL APPLICATION

The virtual application based on the heuristic actions method allows the stimulation and evaluation of the students’ technical creativity, but it also allows the structuring of an individual background of heuristic actions as a component of the individual interdisciplinary background. The phasing of the work activities with the virtual application is presented in the figure 3. 1. The assimilation by the students of the explanatory contents of each group of heuristic actions;

2. Solving the submitted creative problems;

3. Structuring new creative actions in the framework of more creative actions groups;

4. Answers validation by the activity coordinator;

5. Grading;

6. Enriching the individual creative actions background; Fig. 3. The phasing of the work activities with the virtual application The essential structural element of the application is materialization, the illustration of the heuristic actions in the 15 groups. For each action there is a complete example, then a half-illustrated example following with the students’ examples for the respective heuristic action. The application coordinator validates the students’ examples and according to the number of examples provided he would give a mark to convey the students’ creative potential from the point of view of this method. Following-up, the application is used by the student to structure his own background of heuristic actions. On end some examples of materialization, of illustration of the heuristic actions are being presented in fig. 4-8.

The object upon which the action will be performed

The way in which that object will change

The new object, after being acted upon heuristically

The changing of the rigid elements with the fluid elements

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The changing of the rigid elements with the fluid elements

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The changing of the rigid elements with the fluid elements

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Fig. 4. The heuristic action f.16-The changing of the rigid elements with the fluid elements

The changing of the mouvement

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The changing of the mouvement

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The changing of the mouvement

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Fig. 5. The heuristic action e.14-The changing of the mouvement

The changing of the mouvement direction

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The changing of the mouvement direction

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The changing of the mouvement direction

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Fig. 6. The heuristic action e.1-The changing of the mouvement direction

Replacing the sliding friction with the rolling friction and the other way around

Replacing the sliding friction with the rolling friction and the other way around

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Replacing the sliding friction with the rolling friction and the other way around

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Fig. 7. The heuristic action i.2-Replacing the sliding friction with the rolling friction and the other way around

The changing of the number of elements that operate simultaneously The changing of the number of elements that operate simultaneously The changing of the number of elements that operate simultaneously

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Fig. 8. The heuristic action a.3.-The changing of the number of elements that operate simultaneously

IV.

Conclusions

The purpose of the virtual application presented in this paper is the stimulation and evaluation of the technical creativity of the students but also it allows for the structuring of an individual background of heuristic actions as a component part of the individual interdisciplinary background. Therefore the application has both a formative function and an important function as a means of intellectual work. The individual heuristic actions background is a mean of making creative processes more efficient admitting a logical, systematic approach of these processes. The application refers to both the logical, algorithmical and the intuitive, imagination-based manner of solving technical problems.

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