Compound Analogical Design: Interaction between Problem Decomposition and Analogical Transfer in Biologically Inspired Design

Biologically inspired design (BID) can be viewed as an example of analogy-based design. Existing models of analogy-based design do not fully account for the generation of complex solutions in BID, especially those which contain compound solutions. In this paper we develop a conceptual framework of compound analogical design that explains the generation of compound solutions in design through opportunistic interaction of two related processes: analogical transfer and problem decomposition. We apply this framework to analyze three sample biologically inspired designs that contain compound solutions.