There are too many things to look at. The solution, Forbes decided, was two-part. On the other hand was the computer software needed to winnow out the irrelevant data and leave the lightning picture clear. No one understands the meteorology of lightning in the context of real-time weather forecasting. That's what we're trying to learn.
Every situation is different.
But we're trying to find a common pattern so that we can home in on certain features. Rather than waiting until they have the lightning pattern down pat, however, Forbes, Pearce, and graduate student Steve Hoffert are simultaneously developing the artificial intelligence system that will allow the Kennedy Space Center's forecasters to sort lightning clouds from harmless lookalikes. Their system uses Object Oriented Analysis and Design techniques, the kind of computer code used, for instance, in Microsoft Windows and most graphics programs, Pearce explains. We're looking at lightning forecasting problems and breaking them down into components. OOAD allows us to organize the components of the problem to show the relationships between objects in the system.