Industrial design
aided by Computer algebra

Arjeh M. Cohen
Dept. of Mathematics & Computing Science
Eindhoven University of Technology
POBox 513
5600 MB Eindhoven
email: amc@win.tue.nl

Abstract of the talk to be presented in the session on Applications of Symbolic Computation at the IMACS ACA conference in Prague, August 9-11, 1998.

We present two `generic' cases where advanced industrial design can be aided by computer algebra. In both cases, the industrial designer can make use of a computer algebra based software tool.

The first case is concerned with the construction of a smooth surface, which is optimal with respect to strength conditions, such as curvature; starting point is a set of rafters for the surface given by the industrial designer. The surfaces are built up of surfaces of revolution: locally they look like parts of cylinders except that their axes and radii are variable. Surfaces to which this technique is applicable are those of bottles and of car body parts.

The second case lies in the area of electronic communication. We discuss the use of Buchberger's algorithm for determining the quality (more specifically, the minimal distance and the words of minimal weight) of a given code. (We shall explain the basics of coding theory.)