Multi-layers Web Information Searching For Innovative Design

In today's rapidly evolving global and fiercely competitive economy, companies need to innovate continuously. Product innovation is now recognized as one of the most important strategies for surviving of a company. Product innovation needs more multi-subject knowledge, more complex technology support and more perfect theory of innovation. With rapid growth of Internet, there are more and more information and knowledge resources on Internet. These information and knowledge resource are useful for designers to explode inspiration, extend imagination and creative thinking.In this paper, the concept of knowledge and information is introduced firstly, and then the function of knowledge and information resources (web information resources especially) for innovative design is presented. In chapter 3, principle of search engine is introduced and meta-search engine is analyzed detailed. After analyze the shortage of current search engine in capturing the information and knowledge on Internet for computer aided product innovation, an approach of multi-layers web information search for innovative design is presented. The approach combines natural language search; guide search; key words search; catalog search and random search. The main function of the approach is to search knowledge and information from the design closed to relatively loose, which may inspire the designer to think creatively and create new concept. The approach is a module of the computer aided product innovation system.Natural language search is a search mode with which users can search using regular spoken language, such as Chinese. Guide search is a search mode, which can format users' question before they search them on Internet. Guide search aims at helping users ask question well and truly. Catalog search builds a link base including favorite website, professional database and so on. It is convenient to uses browse and save information on Internet. Random search generates key words random and with these key words uses can find something irrelatively, which may inspire the designer to think creatively and create new concept.The search part of multi-layers web information searching model uses meta-search engine. Meta-search engine transmits user's search query simultaneously to several individual search engines and get back results from them.In chapter 4, the frame of multi-layers web information searching model is presented in detail, and each search method is analyzed in theory. Then the software realization of the model is explained. More complicated part as meta-search design and natural language search design is analyzed in chapter 5. At the last part of the paper, the system is estimated and its future development is expected.Research about Multi-layers Web Information Searching for Innovative Design is in the beginning phase, more relative theory research needs to do in the future. At present, the prototype system is just completed in the main, so there is still much work to be done in the further development.