Patent ID: 7333917

Claim:
A diagnostic/prognostic system for a physical system comprising: a plurality of sensors that are configured to repeatedly monitor variables of the physical system during operation; a first associative memory; a novelty detection system that is responsive to the plurality of sensors and that is configured to repeatedly observe into the first associative memory, states of associations among the variables that are repeatedly monitored during a learning phase, that is further configured to thereafter imagine at least one state of associations among the variables that are monitored relative to the states of associations that are observed in the first associative memory, to identify a novel state of associations among the variables, and that is further configured to determine whether the novel state is indicative of normal operation or of a potential abnormal operation; a second associative memory that includes therein associations of attributes of failure modes of the physical system; and a failure mode learning system that is responsive to the novelty detection system and to the second associative memory and that is configured to imagine attributes of the novel state relative to the associations of attributes of failure modes of the physical system to identify and/or predict a potential failure mode of the physical system.