Behavior of a Technical Artifact: An Ontological Perspective in Engineering

The term `behavior' is used ubiquitously in engineering. It refers roughly to the way technical artifacts `behave' in a given or hypothetical situation, and plays a pivotal role in specific design methodologies since it allows connecting descriptions of the physical structure of technical artifacts to descriptions of their technical functions. However, behavior does not have a precise meaning: engineers use the term loosely and when attempting to pinpoint it, end up with incompatible characterizations. Here we formalize the different notions underlying the engineering usage by providing a uniform framework in which they can be related. This framework lays also a conceptual basis for a precise characterization of the notion of technical function in engineering. Our approach develops within the DOLCE ontology and introduces behavior as a new type of individual quality that relates a technical artifact to the event to which it participates. Starting with this assumption, one can...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2006
• Where: FOIS
• Authors: Stefano Borgo, Massimiliano Carrara, Pieter E. Vermaas, Pawel Garbacz
• Keywords: FOIS 2006, FOIS 2008, Technical Artifact, Technical Function, Way Technical Artifacts