A Study of Design Environment for Behavioral Prototyping.

During the conceptual design stage (the early and creative stage of the design process), computer aided support of designers' trial and error is very important. In this paper, the authors define and introduce the concept of behavioral prototyping, which is different from conventional dynamic simulation. The authors also discuss the design environment for behavioral prototyping. First, the requirements for the behavioral-prototyping support are presented. Next, a methodology of behavioral-prototyping support, to which the impulse-based simulation technique is applied, is proposed. The authors use the system for realizing the behavioral prototyping of a product. Finally, the authors evaluate this approach to behavioral-prototyping support by considering the data related to the designer's thinking process in the design.