Sketches are a ubiquitous form of communication in engineering design due to their simplicity and efficiency. However, because of a lack of suitable machine-interpretation techniques, they are virtually unusable with current computer-aided design and engineering tools. The informal nature of sketches and their inherent ambiguity present a number of challenges to the development of such techniques. Here we address one particular challenge, the task of reliably locating and recognizing the intended visual objects from a continuous stream of pen strokes. We present an integrated sketch parsing and recognition approach, based on a novel mark-group-recognize paradigm, which is tailored to the domain of mechanical systems. In the first step of processing, the sketch is examined to identify certain delimiting symbols called “markers.” The remaining pen strokes are then partitioned into distinct clusters, each representing a single symbol. Finally, a trainable symbol recognizer is used to find the best interpretation of each cluster. We have used these techniques to build a sketch-based tool for designing and analyzing vibratory mechanical systems. This tool enables designers to analyze and animate vibratory systems by simply sketching them on a tablet computer. User studies indicate that even first-time users find our tool to be effective.
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e-mail: lkara@andrew.cmu.edu
e-mail: leslie.m.gennari@exxonmobil.com
e-mail: stahov@engr.ucr.edu
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October 2008
Research Papers
A Sketch-Based Tool for Analyzing Vibratory Mechanical Systems
Levent Burak Kara,
Levent Burak Kara
Mechanical Engineering Department,
e-mail: lkara@andrew.cmu.edu
Carnegie Mellon University
, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
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Leslie Gennari,
e-mail: leslie.m.gennari@exxonmobil.com
Leslie Gennari
ExxonMobil Chemical Company
, 4500 Bayway Drive, Baytown, TX 77520
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Thomas F. Stahovich
Thomas F. Stahovich
Mechanical Engineering Department,
e-mail: stahov@engr.ucr.edu
University of California
, Riverside, CA 92521
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Levent Burak Kara
Mechanical Engineering Department,
Carnegie Mellon University
, Pittsburgh, PA 15213e-mail: lkara@andrew.cmu.edu
Leslie Gennari
ExxonMobil Chemical Company
, 4500 Bayway Drive, Baytown, TX 77520e-mail: leslie.m.gennari@exxonmobil.com
Thomas F. Stahovich
Mechanical Engineering Department,
University of California
, Riverside, CA 92521e-mail: stahov@engr.ucr.edu
J. Mech. Des. Oct 2008, 130(10): 101101 (11 pages)
Published Online: September 10, 2008
Article history
Received:
September 24, 2007
Revised:
May 14, 2008
Published:
September 10, 2008
Citation
Kara, L. B., Gennari, L., and Stahovich, T. F. (September 10, 2008). "A Sketch-Based Tool for Analyzing Vibratory Mechanical Systems." ASME. J. Mech. Des. October 2008; 130(10): 101101. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2965595
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