Smart Tools Lab @ UCR

Mechanical Engineering Department

University of California, Riverside

Welcome to the Smart Tools Lab. We are part of the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of California, Riverside, in Riverside California.  We have been conducting research in both sketch understanding and intelligent design software since 1996. Our research is sponsored by both government and industrial sources. 

Our sketch understanding work is aimed at creating a more natural interface between people and computers. Our work aims to bring the flexibility and convenience of paper-and-pencil sketches to a variety of applications such as sketch based CAD systems, drawing software, and presentation software. Our techniques are ideally suited to pen-based computers and PDA's. Our work includes low level pen processing,  recognition, and high level interpretation.   

Our work in CAD focuses on capturing design knowledge and automatically channeling it to those who need it. In our LearnIT project, we are developing software that captures and preserves design procedures. LearnIT observes the designer's interaction with traditional CAD software, and from this infers reusable design procedures. In our RedesignIT project, we are developing tools that can predict the impact of proposed design changes. RedesignIT identifies the potential side-effects of proposed design changes and the possible means of repairing them. In our ExplainIT project, we are developing techniques for automatically constructing design documentation. ExplainIT examines the geometric model of a device and simulations of its operation in order to identify the purposes of the various parts.

For more information about our research, please visit our Research and Publications pages. Companies interested in licensing our technology, sponsoring  a project, or using our consulting services should contact us directly. Students interested in joining the lab should review the admissions page.