{"ID":2861040,"CreatedAt":"2026-06-01T04:54:23.091178241Z","UpdatedAt":"2026-06-01T04:54:23.091178241Z","DeletedAt":null,"paper_url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.05160","arxiv_id":"2510.05160","title":"Generative Inverse Design: From Single Point Optimization to a Diverse Design Portfolio via Conditional Variational Autoencoders","abstract":"Inverse design, which seeks to find optimal parameters for a target output, is a central challenge in engineering. Surrogate-based optimization (SBO) has become a standard approach, yet it is fundamentally structured to converge to a single-point solution, thereby limiting design space exploration and ignoring potentially valuable alternative topologies. This paper presents a paradigm shift from single-point optimization to generative inverse design. We introduce a framework based on a Conditional Variational Autoencoder (CVAE) that learns a probabilistic mapping between a system's design parameters and its performance, enabling the generation of a diverse portfolio of high-performing candidates conditioned on a specific performance objective. We apply this methodology to the complex, non-linear problem of minimizing airfoil self-noise, using a high-performing SBO method from a prior benchmark study as a rigorous baseline. The CVAE framework successfully generated 256 novel designs with a 94.1\\% validity rate. A subsequent surrogate-based evaluation revealed that 77.2\\% of these valid designs achieved superior performance compared to the single optimal design found by the SBO baseline. This work demonstrates that the generative approach not only discovers higher-quality solutions but also provides a rich portfolio of diverse candidates, fundamentally enhancing the engineering design process by enabling multi-criteria decision-making.","short_abstract":"Inverse design, which seeks to find optimal parameters for a target output, is a central challenge in engineering. Surrogate-based optimization (SBO) has become a standard approach, yet it is fundamentally structured to converge to a single-point solution, thereby limiting design space exploration and ignoring potentia...","url_abs":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.05160","url_pdf":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2510.05160v1","authors":"[\"Muhammad Arif Hakimi Zamrai\"]","published":"2025-10-03T16:28:19Z","proceeding":"cs.LG","tasks":"[\"cs.LG\",\"cs.AI\"]","methods":"[\"LoRA\",\"Variational Autoencoder\"]","has_code":false}