Grey relational analysis based artificial neural networks for product design: A comparative study

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) have been applied successfully in a wide range of fields due to its effective learning ability. In this paper, we propose a grey relational analysis (GRA) based ANN model that can be used to build a design decision support database for facilitating the product design process and matching specific consumers´ preferences. The result of an empirical application and a comparative study on fragrance bottle form design shows that the ANN models outperform the grey prediction models, indicating that the ANN technique is promising to help product designers design a new product that best meets consumers´ needs.