Design tool and method for using the same

An engineering design tool system, comprising:

• a design generation component configured to provide at least one parent design;
• a characteristic alteration component configured to generate a plurality of first-generation design copies of the parent design by mutating one or more characteristics of the parent design;
• a simulator configured to fitness test each of the first-generation design copies to enable a determination of which first-generation design copies will be copied to generate additional design copies;
• a datastore configured to store a characteristic record of each of the design copies;
• a design evolution component configured to:
• successively produce new generations of design copies from the additional design copies and utilize the simulator to fitness test the new generations of design copies to determine which design copies are copied, wherein the design evolution component is configured to:
• access the datastore to obtain characteristics from intergenerational design copies that are not within the same generation to perform intergenerational crossover;
• increase a likelihood of a mutation of a design copy in response to a threshold number of generations without an improvement in a fitness score of a design copy;
• decrease a likelihood of a characteristic changing during mutation if the characteristic persists for a characteristic-threshold number of generations;
• tracking linked-characteristics which have appeared together in fit designs and increasing a likelihood of appearance of the linked-characteristics;
• and
• automatically stop producing new generations of design copies when a likelihood that any design copy with a higher fitness score will be produced is below a statistical threshold.

A non-transitory, tangible processor readable storage medium, encoded with processor executable code to perform a method for producing an engineering design, the method comprising:

• receiving at least one parent design and generating a plurality of first-generation design copies of the parent design, wherein each of the first-generation design copies includes a characteristic that has mutated from the parent design;
• fitness testing each of the first-generation design copies to determine which first-generation design copies will be copied to generate additional design copies;
• successively producing new generations of design copies from the additional design copies and fitness testing the new generations of design copies to determine which design copies are copied, wherein producing new generations of design copies includes:
• storing a characteristic record that includes data defining each of the design copies across multiple generations in a datastore;
• accessing the datastore to obtain characteristics from intergenerational design copies that are not within the same generation to perform intergenerational crossover;
• increasing a likelihood of a mutation of a design copy in response to a threshold number of generations without an improvement in a fitness score of a design copy;
• decreasing a likelihood of a characteristic changing during mutation if the characteristic persists for a characteristic-threshold number of generations;
• tracking linked-characteristics which have appeared together in fit designs and increasing a likelihood of appearance of the linked-characteristics;
• and
• continuing to successively produce new generations of design copies until a likelihood that any design copy with a higher fitness score will be produced is below a statistical threshold.