“Form and function are a unity, two sides of one coin. In order to enhance function, appropriate form must exist or be created.” – Ida Pauline Rolf

PROLOGUE

“Form follows function” is the mantra for modern making be it in architecture or engineering. The form of an object or structure should be based on its intended function as is evident in modern architecture which strives for a minimalist aesthetic. The phrase was coined by the American architect Louis Sullivan in the late 19th century. Sullivan is often credited with the development of the modern skyscraper:

“Whether it be the sweeping eagle in his flight, or the open apple-blossom, the toiling workhorse, the blithe swan, the branching oak, the winding stream at its base, the drifting clouds, over all the coursing sun, form ever follows function, and this is the law. Where function does not change, form does not change. The granite rocks, the ever-brooding hills, remain for ages; the lightning lives, comes into shape, and dies, in a twinkling. It is the pervading law of all things organic and inorganic, of all things physical and metaphysical, of all things human and all things superhuman, of all true manifestations of the head, of the heart, of the soul, that the life is recognizable in its expression, that form ever follows function. This is the law.”

This phrase is also used in engineering to describe the way that the form of an object should be based on its intended function. For example, in the design of industrial and scientific equipment which often needs to be compact and efficient. This was pioneered by the American engineer and inventor Frederick Winslow Taylor in the early 20th century. Taylor is considered to be the father of modern engineering and his work has had a profound impact on the way that objects are designed and manufactured.

In this article, we will set the basis for engineering the future based on our tenets and approach for the new. We will utilize MVP based agile iterations coupled with the tried and tested waterfall approach that was the bane of systems engineering of the past. We will also incorporate concepts from the Gestalt philosophy where the premise is that the whole is greater and different from the sum of its parts to design, build, evolve and harmonize the development of products and solutions in the new construct of Industry and Services 5.0.

BACKGROUND

The modernist movement in architecture was a response to the ornate and decorative styles of the Victorian era. Sullivan and his contemporaries believed that the form of a structure should be based on its function, not on its ornamentation. This led to the development of the modernist style which is characterized by simple geometric shapes and a minimalist aesthetic. The most famous example of modernist architecture is the International Style which was developed in the 1920s and 1930s. The modernist movement in architecture has had a profound impact on the design of buildings and structures all over the world. The minimalist aesthetic of modernism is now considered to be the standard for modern architecture.

What is Systems Engineering?

At its core, systems engineering utilizes systems thinking principles to organize its body of knowledge. Systems thinking is a holistic approach to analysis that focuses on the way that a system’s constituent parts interrelate and how systems work over a period of time, and within the context of larger systems. It is a unique perspective on reality—a perspective that sharpens our awareness of wholes and how the parts within those wholes interrelate. When a system is considered as a combination of system elements, systems thinking acknowledges the primacy of the whole (system) and the primacy of the relation of the interrelationships of the system elements to the whole. Systems thinking occurs through discovery, learning, diagnosis, and dialog that lead to sensing, modeling, and talking about the real-world to better understand, define, and work with systems. A systems thinker knows how systems fit into the larger context of day-to-day life, how they behave, and how to manage them.

In Systems Engineering, the notion of building is an aggregation of parts to compose the product or solution. Waterfall processes are used to ascertain the proper cadence for development where needs and requirements are verified by different levels of testing to finally commission the product for use. Over the last few decades, Agile Development has taken over the rigidity of Waterfall methods to develop and implement in iterations so that a series of MVP solutions can be generated to complete the solution.

But today’s solutions are non-linear, and Waterfall and Agile methodologies fall short in comprehending the full magnitude of the needs. The Philosophy of Gestalt posits that the whole is greater and different from the sum of its parts. We will utilize its principles of grouping – proximity, similarity, continuity, closure, and connectedness – to extend the attributes of function and form to include forces, focus and future as illustrated in our Manifesto Architecture.

The Vision for the Future

In an HBO documentary titled Engineering the Future, the latest inventions in wind technologies, aviation, fusion, tidal power, marine wind propulsion systems and solar energy are showcased. It depicts how together they are pushing the limits of science using extreme engineering and a synergy with other unrelated domains to effect monumental changes in how we live, work with our planet’s resources and be cognizant of our environment.

Compositions for our future need to be coordinated, flexible and constantly aware of the surroundings – be it for proximity, personalization, privacy, security, cyber threats, or other incursions. Herewith, we take a leaf out of that series to represent our holistic approach to engineering the future.

OUR TENETS

In our Article 8, Knitting the Cybernetic Fabric, we had articulated a connected framework for composing and blueprinting. In this article, we will compile our forays in the future of engineering utilizing our four tenets:

1. defining our innovative design techniques with a curriculum-based approach for innovation (MANTHAN^TM),
2. creating new reference models for Industry and Services 5.0 use cases with blueprints ranging from brownfield, greenfield to bluesky initiatives (DIGITAL TWINE^TM),
3. building integration protocols using API gateways and service meshes (TENDRIL CONNECTOR^TM), and
4. enabling new constructs for multi-modal artificial intelligence and making them rational, contextual, multi=modal, and actionable (TAU CODEX TRANSFORMER^TM).

utilizing emergent technologies and connected processes to make, manage, move, market and maintain products and solutions in and for Industry and Services 5.0.

Thinking outside the box

To build robust and sustainable products every aspect of the design and build needs to be considered – from the materials being used, their properties and availability, the engineering, and how they will be built, sold, and serviced.

Although the “Elements of Circumstance – Why, Who, What, Where, When and How” correctly paraphrases the go-forward model as prescribed in our Manifesto to ask the right questions and to construct a solution, a systematic approach to validate its consequences is needed to ascertain its success and proper functioning.

Design, Build, Evolve and Harmonize will be the four stepping blocks for the progression that we will utilize that would munge form and functionality with appropriateness, intelligence, flexibility, feasibility, and sustainability:

• design a holistic model for the next iteration of the Industrial Revolution (currently Industry 4.0) and beyond
• build compelling products and services that will disrupt current trends, and
• evolve Artificial Intelligence (AI) to a concept we call Existential Intelligence (EI) that would be pragmatic, contextual, and evolutionary
• harmonize physical, digital, and biological domains and their interactions to build an interoperable fabric based on cybernetic technologies

1. Design is critical because it is the first indication of intent. The Bauhaus Construct that utilizes Story Telling, Design Thinking and Systems Engineering will be utilized for ideation, defining the blueprint and architecture and the eventual push to smart production. Generative Design is the future of making using design thinking principles, simulations-based optimization, and parametric constraints to understand sensitivity to changes and come up with an organic design that meets the requirements.
2. Engineering and Manufacturing will correspond to Build to Make, Manage, Move, Market and Maintain and be governed by high tech methods for simulation and analysis, smart production technologies utilizing IoT, RPA, Edge servers and AR/VR/XR that will utilize Digital Threads and Digital Twins. Transactions related to marketing, sales, service, and support will be fully coordinated with other aspects of the business using digital technologies and blockchain distributed ledger. It will also define new ways of enhancing customer experience with rich interfaces and next generation themes.
3. Evolve will utilize to the Master Plan to exactly correspond with MVP based cadence to accordingly morph as new features and capabilities are envisaged be it in terms of mechanical ability, material composition, and connectivity to progress our solutions actionable intelligence.
4. It will correspond to the iteration of making the systems prescient utilizing research done on Existential Intelligence (EI) as the basis for evolving into the next generation of purposeful and sentient products utilizing our multi-modal TAU Codex Transformer^TM.
5. Harmonize will enable interoperations between the entities (inside), and with partners and 3rd parties (outside) using next generation API mechanisms, Microservices, GraphQL, Service Meshes and other connectivity technologies called Tendril Connector^TM (comprised of API Gateways and service meshes) that would enable 360-degree view of the business and process at every aspect.

The Digital Twine Reference Architecture

The diagram below shows the composition of the Digital Twine reference architecture that corresponds with the different enterprise systems to create a holistic view of all processes and their interactions. It is based on the four themes: Design, Build, Evolve and Harmonize to collaborate between congruent streams of enterprise activity to enable and integrate consistency to optimize processes in an enterprise both within its boundaries as well as when connecting with partners, customers, and third-party services.

We have utilized the above reference architecture to blueprint more than 20 use cases to define brownfield, greenfield and bluesky initiatives as shown in the diagram below. These use-cases are derived from more than 50+ projects that we have done for mostly Fortune 500 clients in the past 20+ years, and our intention as Numorpho Cybernetic Systems (NUMO) to help and implement new brown, green and blue initiatives.

SUMMARY

Industry 4.0 is the global industrial revolution that is currently underway. It is characterized by a number of key technological trends, including the rise of cyber-physical systems, the Industrial Internet of Things, and cloud computing. These technologies have enabled companies to digitize their operations and create more intelligent, automated, and interconnected factories. As a result, we are seeing a massive increase in the amount of data being generated in factories. This data is being used to optimize operations, improve quality, and make factories more efficient.

The winds of change are beginning to blow. We need a different mindset to effect change – we should not be afraid to think differently. The old adage of rinse and repeat will no longer be applicable when customers are looking for extreme engineering and customization – characteristics that determine our progression to Industry and Services 5.0 where human-centricity, resilience and sustainability will be the defining factors. We need to start thinking about things differently in order to move forward. We should not be afraid to try new things and think outside the box. We need to be innovative and proactive in order to keep up with the ever-changing industrial landscape.

So, let’s chart our future today!

NITIN UCHIL Founder, CEO & Technical Evangelist

nitin.uchil@numorpho.com