Patent ID: 7373283

Claim:
A computable program product for computing similarity values for monitoring states of operation of a system, comprising a computer readable medium having instructions thereon which cause a processor to execute a process for: selecting a next state vector from a reference library of state vectors comprising elemental parameter values from a memory; retrieving a monitored state vector comprising elemental parameter values from an input source; computing a difference function for pairs of corresponding elemental parameter values for a parameter of said system selected from the next state vector and the monitored state vector; computing an elemental similarity s c for pairs of corresponding elements, according to: s c = ( 1 + ( θ c λ ρ ) ) - 1 for a corresponding pair of elements c where theta is the difference function, and lambda and rho are selectable constants; combining elemental similarities for all pairs of corresponding elements to provide a vector similarity of the next state vector and the monitored state vector; and storing in computer memory said vector similarity for use in providing information regarding states of operation of said system.