Function databases?

January 29, 2009 7:06 PM

I listened in on an engineering design lecture a few days ago, and was fascinated to find out that there are apparently databases out there that contain all the different ways some common functions can be accomplished - for example, getting liquid out of a cup. What are these databases called and where can I find them?
posted by archagon to Grab Bag (7 answers total)

I think someone may be putting you on. I was an engineer for 25 years and I never heard of anything like that.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 7:22 PM on January 29, 2009

Response by poster: Well, the slides listed about 35 ways of removing liquid from a cup without touching it - some quite obscure - so I don't think the lecturer was lying.
posted by archagon at 7:31 PM on January 29, 2009

Response by poster: By the way, this wasn't electrical or mechanical engineering, but more, like, designing coffee makers and stuff.
posted by archagon at 7:32 PM on January 29, 2009

TRIZ . . .maybe?

A fascinating method none the less...
posted by Beaufort at 7:45 PM on January 29, 2009

You can certainly get books documenting different mechanisms which are full of mechanisms to achieve different things. I've never run across one covering cup-emptying, but then I've never looked.
posted by Mike1024 at 1:22 AM on January 30, 2009

Perhaps a project like OpenCyc, which attempts to collect and organize all of the "common-sense knowledge" about the world?
posted by Jabberwocky at 2:58 AM on January 31, 2009

Best answer: I asked the professor and she pointed me to this one. Resolved!
posted by archagon at 10:06 PM on March 23, 2009