WIDE - Semantic web for design and engineering

This paper describes a knowledge management system based on semantic Web technologies developed especially for industrial designers and engineers. It supports the product development process starting from the very early stages of the design process up to the production of a prototype. Special features of the system comprise personalized content management and ontologies for information access. The knowledge portal enables the user to get a centralized access to knowledge from the design and engineering area. Furthermore, the portal serves as a platform for communication and cooperation between design and engineering. This will contribute to the interdisciplinary transfer of knowledge in these areas which will on one hand improve the quality of products and on the other hand help to support the transfer of design into the product development process as design becomes a more and more important marketing factor.