Human-AI Design Refinement for Water Systems

This project explores how AI can support the design refinement process from a Process Flow Diagram (PFD) toward a more detailed Piping and Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID). The goal is not to fully automate the conversion. Instead, the system helps people make, record, and communicate the many small decisions that shape the final design.

Moving from PFD to P&ID is not just a drawing task. Teams need to decide equipment choices, pipe connections, nozzle placement, operating conditions, materials, and control strategies. These decisions often depend on the different expertise of designers, engineers, and operators.

CoDesign prototype interface

The prototype acts as a design partner. It asks step-by-step questions, logs each answer as a design decision, and marks whether the decision was confirmed by a person or suggested by AI as an assumption. It also shows which equipment or pipe elements are affected, so teams can see how each decision changes the design.

The main contribution is making human judgment and AI suggestions visible. Rather than hiding uncertainty behind an automatically generated P&ID, the system helps teams track what has been decided, what still needs review, and why a design element was refined in a certain way.