OF THE FACILITIES WITHIN THE INDIVIDUAL LAYERS . THE SYSTEM HAS BEEN DESIGNED ON THE BASIS OF THE INNER RINGS BEING COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT OF THE DOMAIN . THE TEST SYSTEM PROVIDES THE INTEGRAL TOOL SET FOR THE UPPER LAYERS , WITH THE CAPABILITY FOR LATER EXTENSIONS . A PARTICULAR DOMAIN HAS BEEN CHOSEN , THAT OF DIAGNOSIS OF ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS , BECAUSE OF ITS INCREASING DEMAND IN EQUIPMENT AND MANUFACTURING , AND LABOUR INTENSIVENESS OF THE .
. " KNOWLEDGE INTEGRATION AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS " ( REF . 112 : A/83 )
THE PROJECT IS DESIGNED TO INVESTIGATE KEY AREAS OF INFORMATION PROCESSING SUCH AS KNOWLEDGE REPRESENTATION , INFERENCING TECHNIQUES AND HUMAN COMPUTER INTERFACES . EMPHASIS IS ON A LANGUAGE FOR KNOWLEDGE REPRESENTATION AND MANAGEMENT BASED ON LISP AND PROLOG ; AN EXPERT SYSTEM SUITED TO ASSIST SALES ENGINEERS IN DESIGNING COMPUTER CONFIGURATIONS ; AN EXPERT SYSTEM SERVING OFFICE PERSONNEL TO PERFORM COMPLEX OFFICE PROCEDURES ( E . G . RESOURCE PLANNING ) . THESE COMPLEMENTARY TASKS FOCUS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE COMPONENTS TO MANAGE THE PROBLEMS RESULTING FROM THE SIZE AND COMPLEXITY OF LARGE KNOWLEDGE BASES AND THE ASSOCIATED REASONING MECHANISMS .
. " KNOWLEDGE REPRESENTATION AND INFERENCE TECHNIQUES IN INDUSTRIAL CONTROL " ( REF . 387 : A/84 )
THE AIM OF THE PROJECT IS TO DESIGN AND IMPLEMENT AN EXPERT SYSTEM TO ASSIST MAINTENANCE , FAULT DIAGNOSIS , OPTIMISATION OF DATA FLOWS , AND CONTROL IN AN INDUSTRIAL PROCESS-CONTROL ENVIRONMENT . CONTROL IS CONSIDERED AS :
- A HIGHLY TIME-DEPENDENT ENVIRONMENT WHERE INPUT CHANNELS ARE NUMEROUS ( WELL OVER 1 000 )
- VERY HIGH IN COMPLEXITY .
THEREFORE AN EXPERT SYSTEM THAT EITHER HAS TO MAINTAIN A PROCESS-CONTROLLING DEVICE OR HELP THE OPERATING PERSONNEL WITH THEIR DECISIONS MUST HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL FEATURES :
- THE REASONING PROCEDURES MUST TAKE THE TIME-DEPENDENCY INTO ACCOUNT ;
- THE CAPTURING OF INPUT DATA MUST BE ACCOMPLISHED AUTOMATICALLY ;
- TO ASSIST IN OVERCOMING COMPLEXITY BARRIERS IN SUCH DEVICES , A MACHINE LEARNING CAPABILITY IS NECESSARY .
THE APPLICATION AREA OF PROCESS CONTROL , INCLUDING THE PROCESS TO BE CONTROLLED AS WELL AS THE CONTROLLING DEVICE ITSELF , ESTABLISHES AN ENTIRE CLASS OF APPLICATIONS TO ALL OF WHICH THE PROPOSED SYSTEM MAY BE APPLIED . ADVANCES OVER EXISTING EXPERT SYSTEMS LIES IN :
- MAKING PROCESS-CONTROL IN CRITICAL AREAS MORE SECURE BY ASSISTING THE OPERATOR IN HIS DECISIONS AND BY REDUCING THE DROP-OUT RATE OF THE CONTROLLING DEVICES ;
- PERMITTING THE USERS TO MORE FULLY EXPLOIT INHERENT FEATURES OF COMPLEX SYSTEMS IN BOTH MAINTENANCE ASPECTS AND CONTROL OF DATA FLOWS .
. " AN ARCHITECTURE FOR INTERACTIVE PROBLEM SOLVING BY COOPERATING DATA AND KNOWLEDGE BASES " ( REF . 316 : A/84 )
THE MAIN GOAL OF THE PROJECT IS THE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF AN EXPERT SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE FOR ADVICE-GIVING . ADVICE-GIVING IS SPECIAL AMONG KNOWLEDGE BASED ACTIVITIES IN THAT THE ORIGINAL GOAL OF A USER SEEKING ADVICE MAY BE ILL-DEFINED AND