PACT: an experiment in integrating concurrent engineering systems

The Palo Alto Collaborative Testbed (PACT), a concurrent engineering infrastructure that encompasses multiple sites, subsystems, and disciplines, is discussed. The PACT systems include NVisage, a distributed knowledge-based integration environment for design tools; DME (Device Modeling Environment), a model formulation and simulation environment; Next-Cut, a mechanical design and process planning system; and Designworld, a digital electronics design, simulation, assembly, and testing system. The motivations for PACT and the significance of the approach for concurrent engineering is discussed. Initial experiments in distributed simulation and incremental redesign are reviewed, and PACT's agent-based architecture and lessons learned from the PACT experiments are described.>