The contact and channel approach – 20 years of application experience in product engineering

Abstract

The Contact and Channel Approach (C&C2-Approach) integrates the relation of function and embodiment in a model and aims to support design engineers in activities of analysis and synthesis. Since its definition, this approach has been applied in different research and development projects. In order to provide links for further research work, this article will summarise the findings of the last 20 years of research on the C&C2-Approach. Based on categorised cases of application, future challenges and research needs are derived and discussed.