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COMMITTEE ON ADVANCED ENGINEERING ENVIRONMENTS
ROBERT E. DEEMER, chair,
Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, Colorado
TORA K. BIKSON,
RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, California
ROBERT A. DAVIS,
The Boeing Company (retired), Seattle, Washington
RICHARD T. KOUZES,
West Virginia University, Morgantown
R. BOWEN LOFTIN,
University of Houston, Houston, Texas
JAMES MANISCALCO,
TRW Engineering Systems, Cleveland, Ohio
ROBERT J. SANTORO,
Pennsylvania State University, University Park
DANIEL P. SCHRAGE,
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
ALLAN SHERMAN,
Lockheed Martin, Bethesda, Maryland
JOHN SULLIVAN,
Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
GORDON WILLIS,
Ford Motor Company, Livonia, Michigan
MICHAEL J. ZYDA,
Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California
ASEB Liaison
DIANNE S. WILEY,
Northrop Grumman, Pico Rivera, California
Staff
ALAN ANGLEMAN, Study Director,
Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board
CAROL ARENBERG, Editor,
Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems
ALAN INOUYE, Program Officer,
Computer Science and Telecommunications Board
GEORGE LEVIN, Director,
Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board
JERRY SHEEHAN, Senior Program Officer,
Computer Science and Telecommunications Board
MARVIN WEEKS, Administrative Assistant,
Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board
TOM WEIMER, Director,
NAE Program Office
AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ENGINEERING BOARD
WILLIAM W. HOOVER, chair,
U.S. Air Force (retired), Williamsburg, Virginia
A. DWIGHT ABBOTT,
Aerospace Corporation, Los Angeles, California
RUZENA BAJSCY,
NAE, IOM, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
AARON COHEN,
NAE, Texas A&M University, College Station
RAYMOND S. COLLADAY,
Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, Colorado
DONALD C. FRASER,
NAE, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
JOSEPH FULLER, JR.,
Futron Corporation, Bethesda, Maryland
ROBERT C. GOETZ,
Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, Palmdale, California
RICHARD GOLASZEWSKI,
GRA Inc., Jenkintown, Pennsylvania
JAMES M. GUYETTE,
Rolls-Royce North American, Reston, Virginia
FREDERICK HAUCK,
AXA Space, Bethesda, Maryland
BENJAMIN HUBERMAN,
Huberman Consulting Group, Washington, D.C.
JOHN K. LAUBER,
Airbus Service Company, Miami Springs, Florida
DAVA J. NEWMAN,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
JAMES G. O'CONNOR,
NAE, Pratt & Whitney (retired), Coventry, Connecticut
GEORGE SPRINGER,
NAE, Stanford University, Stanford, California
KATHRYN C. THORNTON,
University of Virginia, Charlottesville
DIANNE S. WILEY,
Northrop Grumman, Pico Rivera, California
RAY A. WILLIAMSON,
George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
Staff
GEORGE LEVIN, Director
Preface
Economic pressures in the global economy are forcing aerospace and other high-technology industries to improve engineering performance in order to remain competitive. These improvements include faster insertion of new technologies, lower design and development costs, and shorter development times for new products. One way to help realize improvements in project design and management on a global scale is through the development and application of advanced engineering environments (AEEs). AEEs would incorporate advanced computational, communications, and networking facilities and tools to create integrated virtual and distributed computer-based environments linking researchers, technologists, designers, manufacturers, suppliers, and customers.
Significant progress has been made during the last 15 years in the application of computer-aided design, engineering, and manufacturing systems. Building on that success, government, industry, and academia now have a historic opportunity to develop and deploy AEE technologies and systems. For example, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has initiated both near-term and far-term projects related to AEEs. As part of these efforts, NASA's Chief Engineer and Chief Technologist requested that the National Research Council and the National Academy of Engineering conduct a two-phase study to assess the current and future national context within which NASA's plans must fit (see Appendix A). The Advanced Engineering Environments Committee was appointed to carry out this task (see Appendix B). The results of Phase 1, which focused on the near term (the next 5 years), are documented in this report. The results of Phase 2, which will focus on the far term (5 to 15 years), will be documented in the Phase 2 report.
As described herein, the committee validated that AEEs could contribute to important objectives related to the development of complex new systems, products, and missions. However, advancing the state of the art enough to realize these objectives requires a long-term effort and must overcome a number of significant technical and cultural barriers. Much remains to be done in the near term, as well, both to lay the foundation for long-term success and to achieve near-term improvements in areas where technology has matured enough to improve the effectiveness of current practices.
This report has been reviewed by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council's Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the authors and the National Research Council in making the published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The content of the review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their participation in the review of this report:
George Gleghorn, TRW Space and Technology Group (retired)
Joel Greenberg, Princeton Synergetics, Inc.
George Hazelrigg, National Science Foundation
Larry Howell, General Motors Research and Development Center
Robert Naka, CERA, Inc.
Henry Pohl, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (retired)
Bruce Webster, Simmetrix, Inc.
While the individuals listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, responsibility for the final content of this report rests solely with the authoring committee and the National Research Council.
The committee also wishes to thank everyone else who supported this study, especially those who took the time to participate in committee meetings (see Appendix C).
ROBERT E. DEEMER, CHAIRMAN
ADVANCED ENGINEERING ENVIRONMENTS COMMITTEE
Tables, Figures, and Boxes
Tables
ES-1 |
AEE System Components and Characteristics |
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ES-2 |
Barriers to Achieving the AEE Vision |
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1-1 |
AEE System Components and Characteristics |
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2-1 |
Five-Year Objectives and Associated Metrics for Each Element of NASA's ISE Functional Initiative |
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2-2 |
Implementations of Collaborative Environments for Various Scientific and Engineering Purposes |
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2-3 |
Imperatives from the Next-Generation Manufacturing Project |
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3-1 |
AEE System Components and Characteristics |
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3-2 |
Survey of AEE Requirements |
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3-3 |
Common Themes |
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3-4 |
Estimated Effectiveness of Alternative Approaches |
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4-1 |
Barriers to Achieving the AEE Vision |
Figures
Box
3-1 |
Opportunities for NASA-Industry-Academia Partnerships |