Area: Information and Communication Technologies and Software Engineering 281 ONTOLOGIES AND FBS FRAMEWORK Cebrián-Tarrasón, D. Vidal, R. Universitat Jaume I Abstract In the past years there have been great advances in the development of ontologies applied to the field of engineering design, essentially in functional and structural models. A great diversity of methodologies for the analysis of the design process in relation to the FBS (Function - Behaviour - Structure) framework have been modelled, thereby attaining a profound knowledge of the subject. Hence, it is possible to carry this knowledge to the industrial domain through the use of ontologies. In the article, an in-depth analysis of the existing methodologies based on the FBS framework is carried out. Later, the focus is shifted onto the ontologies that were based upon the aforementioned framework. From this review, a discussion of the ontologies is made, pointing out their main virtues. The aim is to insist upon the benefits of ontologies and to encourage their wider industrial application. Keywords: ontology, conceptual design, FBS 1. Introduction The end goal of Engineering Design is the conceptual creation of an object, product, system or process that meets functional requirements in order to fulfill the customer’s needs in a workable, economical, ecological and manufacturable way. The development of technologies based on artificial intelligence and CAE (Computer Assisted Engineering) has facilitated access to information related to the structure and form of objects, although design know-how used in the conceptual design phase remains hidden due to its subjective nature and implicitness (Kitamura and Mizoguchi, 2004). The development of KBE (Knowledge-Based Engineering) systems is aimed at improving this aspect (Cebrián-Tarrasón, Muñoz et al., 2007; Chulvi, Sancho et al., 2007). Nonetheless, the full use of these technologies is limited by the impossibility of fully reusing and sharing knowledge in KBE systems, along with the lack of common knowledge from which to create a knowledge base and the limited success of methodologies for the extraction of knowledge (Mizoguchi 2003; Baxter, Gao et al. 2007). In the field of engineering design, more and more attention is being focused on the development of ontologies as a possible solution of the aforementioned deficiencies of KBE systems (Ahmed and Wallace 2004; Ahmed and Storga, 2007). An ontology can be described as an explicit specification of a shared conceptualization, which can be taxonomically or axiomatically based (Gruber, 1993). Ontologies can be based around a single taxonomy or several taxonomies and their relationships. Taxonomies consist of concepts and relationships that are organised hierarchically and whose concepts can be “Selected Proceedings from the 12th International Congress on Project Engineering”. (Zaragoza, July 2008)