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Background
In 2021, the Senate of the German Research Foundation (DFG) launched the priority program “Daring More Intelligence - Design Assistants in Mechanics and Dynamics” (SPP 2353). The program is designed to run for six years. The second three-year funding period is now starting, and researchers are invited to submit their project proposals. 

Objectives of the SPP 2353
In order to meet the growing ecological and social challenges, the limits of system design in mechanics and dynamics are to be extended and partially automated through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and optimization methods.

The aim is to revise the current system design, as it is currently heavily based on computer-aided analyses and could be made less complicated and more objective in some aspects. By developing design assistance systems that integrate optimization methods, artificial intelligence and mechanical and dynamic analyses, this process should not only become more efficient, but also more precise. These assistance systems could equip engineers with an artificial intuition that complements their own expertise and enables them to take criteria into account in the early design phases that were previously only considered in later phases.

At the heart of this program is the challenge of going beyond the current state of the art. Methods from artificial intelligence and machine learning, which have so far mainly been used in other areas, are to be specifically adapted and further developed for the design of dynamic systems. A central goal of the second funding period is therefore to develop benchmark processes that demonstrate the functionality and advantages of design processes supported by artificially intelligent design assistants.

New Funding Period of the Program
In the new funding period, the focus will be on the following research areas: 

• the formalization of previously subjective evaluation criteria
• the introduction of data-driven instead of rule-based criteria
• the evaluation of novel and advanced systems such as AI; network communication and dynamic control methods
• the flexible coupling of different analysis programs using AI and machine learning
• the validation of design assistance systems in various fields of application, including benchmark processes
• the reuse of existing data for model identification

Researchers are now invited to submit their project proposals to the DFG by 8 January 2025. The projects should be clearly positioned within the framework of the priority program and have a strong connection to specific engineering issues in the fields of mechanics and dynamics.