Patent ID: 8595258

Claim:
A system for operating a complex system, the system comprising: (a) a processor; and (b) a memory having recorded thereon statements and instructions for execution by the processor to implement: (i) a monitor object communicatively coupled with a physical machine that comprises part of the complex system, the monitor object configured to monitor information generated by the physical machine during operation of the complex system; (ii) an element library comprising a base element expressed according to an element taxonomy; (iii) an event mapping agent communicatively coupled between the monitor object and the element library and configured to normalize the information by mapping the information to the base element, wherein the information inherits characteristics of the base element during normalization; (iv) an information database communicatively coupled to the event mapping agent to store the normalized information; (v) a universal translator communicatively coupled between the monitor object and the element library, the universal translator translating the information such that it is expressed according to the element taxonomy; (vi) an event tagging agent communicatively coupled between the universal translator and the physical machine, the event tagging agent configured to tag the information such that it can be mapped to the element taxonomy associated with the base element; (vii) a simulation machine communicatively coupled to the information database and configured to simulate operation of the complex system, wherein the simulation machine is configured to simulate the effect of an assertion on the complex system, wherein the assertion comprises a hypothesis regarding how the complex system operates; (viii) a simulation event information store communicatively coupled to the simulation machine and configured to store the simulation events; (ix) a knowledge database; and (x) a learning machine communicatively coupled to the information database and to the knowledge database, wherein the learning machine is configured to determine whether the assertion is valid by monitoring results of the effect of the assertion and, if the assertion is valid, to store the assertion in the knowledge database.