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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1999. Advanced Engineering Environments: Achieving the Vision, Phase 1. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9597.
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Advanced Engineering Environments

Achieving the Vision

Phase 1

Committee on Advanced Engineering Environments

Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board

Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems

National Research Council

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1999. Advanced Engineering Environments: Achieving the Vision, Phase 1. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9597.
×

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20418

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. William A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. William A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.

This study was supported by Contract No. NASW-4938 between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number: 0-309-06541-0

Available in limited supply from: Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board, HA 292, 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20418. (202) 334-2855

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Copyright 1999 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1999. Advanced Engineering Environments: Achieving the Vision, Phase 1. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9597.
×

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

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1999. Advanced Engineering Environments: Achieving the Vision, Phase 1. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9597.
×

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

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1999. Advanced Engineering Environments: Achieving the Vision, Phase 1. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9597.
×

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

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1999. Advanced Engineering Environments: Achieving the Vision, Phase 1. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9597.
×
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1999. Advanced Engineering Environments: Achieving the Vision, Phase 1. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9597.
×
Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1999. Advanced Engineering Environments: Achieving the Vision, Phase 1. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9597.
×
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1999. Advanced Engineering Environments: Achieving the Vision, Phase 1. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9597.
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Tables, Figures, and Boxes

Tables

ES-1

 

AEE System Components and Characteristics

 

1

ES-2

 

Barriers to Achieving the AEE Vision

 

5

1-1

 

AEE System Components and Characteristics

 

10

2-1

 

Five-Year Objectives and Associated Metrics for Each Element of NASA's ISE Functional Initiative

 

15

2-2

 

Implementations of Collaborative Environments for Various Scientific and Engineering Purposes

 

17

2-3

 

Imperatives from the Next-Generation Manufacturing Project

 

18

3-1

 

AEE System Components and Characteristics

 

22

3-2

 

Survey of AEE Requirements

 

24

3-3

 

Common Themes

 

26

3-4

 

Estimated Effectiveness of Alternative Approaches

 

28

4-1

 

Barriers to Achieving the AEE Vision

 

30

Figures

ES-1

 

Road map for achieving the AEE vision

 

3

3-1

 

Approaches for improving engineering processes

 

26

Box

3-1

 

Opportunities for NASA-Industry-Academia Partnerships

 

27

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1999. Advanced Engineering Environments: Achieving the Vision, Phase 1. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9597.
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Advances in the capabilities of technologies applicable to distributed networking, telecommunications, multi-user computer applications, and interactive virtual reality are creating opportunities for users in the same or separate locations to engage in interdependent, cooperative activities using a common computer-based environment. These capabilities have given rise to relatively new interdisciplinary efforts to unite the interests of mission-oriented communities with those of the computer and social science communities to create integrated, tool-oriented computation and communication systems. These systems can enable teams in widespread locations to collaborate using the newest instruments and computing resources. The benefits are many. For example, a new paradigm for intimate collaboration between scientists and engineers is emerging. This collaboration has the potential to accelerate the development and dissemination of knowledge and optimize the use of instruments and facilities, while minimizing the time between the discovery and application of new technologies.

Advanced Engineering Environments: Achieving the Vision, Phase 1Â describes the benefits and feasibility of ongoing efforts to develop and apply advanced engineering environments (AEEs), which are defined as particular implementations of computational and communications systems that create integrated virtual and/or distributed environments linking researchers, technologists, designers, manufacturers, suppliers, and customers.

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