Representing and matching simulation cases: A case-based reasoning approach

Simulation modelling is a complex decision-making process that involves the processing of various knowledge and information within a context defined by specific application. Building a “good” simulation model has been heavily reliant on the skill and experience of human expert, which has become one of the most expensive and limited resources in market competition. Case-based reasoning (CBR) can be used to effectively solve problems in ill-defined domains where operations specific knowledge and information are processed in a contextual manner such as simulation modeling. This paper addresses some of the basic issues in applying CBR to improve simulation modeling, with emphasis on knowledge or case representation, case indexing, and case matching. Numerical examples and experimental studies were conducted to verify and validate the concepts and model/algorithms developed. The results showed the effectiveness and applicability of proposed method.     

Intelligent index selection for case-based reasoning

In this paper, we present an indexing technique for case-based reasoning called D-HS^E, that is shown to be more competent than and twice as efficient as the commonly used R-tree. D-HS^E was designed to addresses periodical competency shortcomings of the related D-HS^M index but unfortunately in doing so some efficiency was seen to be sacrificed. In order to address this problem of competency verses efficiency, we propose an intelligent selection algorithm that automatically analyses the case-base and decides which index (D-HS^M or D-HS^E) should be used to optimize performance. The algorithm is designed to favour competency at the expense of efficiency where a competency gain is deemed highly likely to be achieved by using the less efficient approach. In effect we are proposing a flexible indexing scheme that is aware of changes within its environment and which reacts to these changes to optimize performance.     

An introduction to case-based reasoning

Case-based reasoning means using old experiences to understand and solve new problems. In case-based reasoning, a reasoner remembers a previous situation similar to the current one and uses that to solve the new problem. Case-based reasoning can mean adapting old solutions to meet new demands; using old cases to explain new situations; using old cases to critique new solutions; or reasoning from precedents to interpret a new situation (much like lawyers do) or create an equitable solution to a new problem (much like labor mediators do). This paper discusses the processes involved in case-based reasoning and the tasks for which case-based reasoning is useful.This article is excerpted from Case-Based Reasoning by Janet Kolodner, to be published by Morgan-Kaufmann Publishers, Inc. in 1992.This work was partially funded by darpa under Contract No. F49620-88-C-0058 monitored by AFOSR, by NSF under Grant No. IST-8608362, and by ARI under Contract No. MDA-903-86-C-173.     

Integrating a semantic-based retrieval agent into case-based reasoning systems: A case study of an online bookstore

Natural language search engines should be developed to provide a friendly environment for business-to-consumer e-commerce that reduce the fatigue customers experience and help them decide what to buy. To support product information retrieval and reuse, this paper presents a novel framework for a case-based reasoning system that includes a collaborative filtering mechanism and a semantic-based case retrieval agent. Furthermore, the case retrieval agent integrates short-text semantic similarity (STSS) and recognizing textual entailment (RTE). The proposed approach was evaluated using competitive methods in the performance of STSS and RTE, and according to the results, the proposed approach outperforms most previously described approaches. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed approach was investigated using a case study of an online bookstore, and according to the results of case study, the proposed approach outperforms a compared system using string similarity and an existing e-commerce system, Amazon.     

An ontology in OWL for legal case-based reasoning

The paper gives ontologies in the Web Ontology Language (OWL) for Legal Case-based Reasoning (LCBR) systems, giving explicit, formal, and general specifications of a conceptualisation LCBR. Ontologies for different systems allows comparison and contrast between them. OWL ontologies are standardised, machine-readable formats that support automated processing with Semantic Web applications. Intermediate concepts, concepts between base-level concepts and higher level concepts, are central in LCBR. The main issues and their relevance to ontological reasoning and to LCBR are discussed. Two LCBR systems (AS-CATO, which is based on CATO, and IBP) are analysed in terms of basic and intermediate concepts. Central components of the OWL ontologies for these systems are presented, pointing out differences and similarities. The main novelty of the paper is the ontological analysis and representation in OWL of LCBR systems. The paper also emphasises the important issues concerning the representation and reasoning of intermediate concepts.

A case-based reasoning approach to planning for disassembly

With recycling regulations, resource conservation needs and an increased awareness of the state of the environment by both the consumer and the producer, many companies are establishing disassembly plants and developing product designs that specifically facilitate disassembly. Once disassembled, the items can be reused, recycled or discarded. One can identify two distinct aspects of the disassembly problem: design for disassembly (DFD) and planning for disassembly (PFD). The goal of DFD is to design products that are easy to disassemble. On the other hand, the objective of PFD is to identify efficient sequences to disassemble products. This paper focuses on the PFD aspect of disassembly. Because there could be many ways to disassemble a given product, PFD knowledge is accumulated by experience. Such knowledge is valuable, and should be captured, saved and reused to solve similar problems that arise in the future. In this paper, we propose case-based reasoning (CBR) as an approach to solve PFD problems. CBR is based on the fundamental principle that problem solving can benefit from solutions to past problems that have been attempted. The technique and issues related to the application of CBR to PFD are presented.     

Multi-modal diagnosis combining case-based and model-based reasoning: a formal and experimental analysis

Integrating different reasoning modes in the construction of an intelligent system is one of the most interesting and challenging aspects of modern AI. Exploiting the complementarity and the synergy of different approaches is one of the main motivations that led several researchers to investigate the possibilities of building multi-modal reasoning systems, where different reasoning modalities and different knowledge representation formalisms are integrated and combined. Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) is often considered a fundamental modality in several multi-modal reasoning systems; CBR integration has been shown very useful and practical in several domains and tasks. The right way of devising a CBR integration is however very complex and a principled way of combining different modalities is needed to gain the maximum effectiveness and efficiency for a particular task. In this paper we present results (both theoretical and experimental) concerning architectures integrating CBR and Model-Based Reasoning (MBR) in the context of diagnostic problem solving. We first show that both the MBR and CBR approaches to diagnosis may suffer from computational intractability, and therefore a careful combination of the two approaches may be useful to reduce the computational cost in the average case. The most important contribution of the paper is the analysis of the different facets that may influence the entire performance of a multi-modal reasoning system, namely computational complexity, system competence in problem solving and the quality of the sets of produced solutions. We show that an opportunistic and flexible architecture able to estimate the right cooperation among modalities can exhibit a satisfactory behavior with respect to every performance aspect. An analysis of different ways of integrating CBR is performed both at the experimental and at the analytical level. On the analytical side, a cost model and a competence model able to analyze a multi-modal architecture through the analysis of its individual components are introduced and discussed. On the experimental side, a very detailed set of experiments has been carried out, showing that a flexible and opportunistic integration can provide significant advantages in the use of a multi-modal architecture.     

A hybrid case adaptation approach for case-based reasoning

Case-Based Reasoning is a methodology for problem solving based on past experiences. This methodology tries to solve a new problem by retrieving and adapting previously known solutions of similar problems. However, retrieved solutions, in general, require adaptations in order to be applied to new contexts. One of the major challenges in Case-Based Reasoning is the development of an efficient methodology for case adaptation. The most widely used form of adaptation employs hand coded adaptation rules, which demands a significant knowledge acquisition and engineering effort. An alternative to overcome the difficulties associated with the acquisition of knowledge for case adaptation has been the use of hybrid approaches and automatic learning algorithms for the acquisition of the knowledge used for the adaptation. We investigate the use of hybrid approaches for case adaptation employing Machine Learning algorithms. The approaches investigated how to automatically learn adaptation knowledge from a case base and apply it to adapt retrieved solutions. In order to verify the potential of the proposed approaches, they are experimentally compared with individual Machine Learning techniques. The results obtained indicate the potential of these approaches as an efficient approach for acquiring case adaptation knowledge. They show that the combination of Instance-Based Learning and Inductive Learning paradigms and the use of a data set of adaptation patterns yield adaptations of the retrieved solutions with high predictive accuracy.     

Synergistic case-based reasoning in medical domains

This paper presents four synergistic systems that exemplify the approaches and benefits of case-based reasoning in medical domains. It then explores how these systems couple Artificial Intelligence (AI) research with medical research and practice, integrate multiple AI and computing methodologies, leverage small numbers of available cases, reason with time series data, and integrate numeric data with contextual and subjective information. The following systems are presented: (1) CARE-PARTNER, which supports the long-term follow-up care of stem-cell transplantation patients; (2) the 4 Diabetes Support System, which aids in managing patients with type 1 diabetes on insulin pump therapy; (3) Retrieval of HEmodialysis in NEphrological Disorders, which supports hemodialysis treatment of patients with end stage renal disease; and (4) the Mälardalen Stress System, which aids in the diagnosis and treatment of stress-related disorders.     

A case-based reasoning system for PCB defect prediction

The manufacturing process for a new Printed Circuit Board (PCB) design is often instable and might generate a number of defects during the complicated production process. Defects reduce the yield rate and increase the production costs. Although skilled engineers can predict the possible defect items for a new PCB product, this approach requires strong engineering experience and is time consuming. To conquer this problem, this research applies case-based reasoning (CBR) methodology to develop a defect prediction system for new PCB products. In the CBR system, each case is represented using the design specifications, defect items and corresponding costs. A vantage-based case indexing mechanism is developed to accelerate the case retrieval efficiency. In addition, a reasoning algorithm that considers the defect cost is proposed to infer the defect items that are interesting to PCB manufacturers. The system performance is analyzed to show the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed system. A practical implementation using a case-base provided by a PCB manufacturer is demonstrated.     

A case-based reasoning approach for automating disassembly process planning

One of the first processes for preparing a product for reuse, remanufacture or recycle is disassembly. Disassembly is the process of systematic removal of desirable constituents from the original assembly so that there is no impairment to any useful component. As the number of components in a product increases, the time required for disassembly, as well as the complexity of planning for disassembly rises. Thus, it is important to have the capability to generate disassembly process plans quickly in order to prevent interruptions in processing especially when multiple products are involved. Case-based reasoning (CBR) approach can provide such a capability. CBR allows a process planner to rapidly retrieve, reuse, revise, and retain solutions to past disassembly problems. Once a planning problem has been solved and stored in the case memory, a planner can retrieve and reuse the product's disassembly process plan at any time. The planner can also adapt an original plan for a new product, which does not have an existing plan in case memory. Following adaptation and application, a successful plan is retained in the case memory for future use. This paper presents the procedures to initialize a case memory for different product platforms, and to operate a CBR system, which can be used to plan disassembly processes. The procedures are illustrated using examples.     

Binary classification in unstructured space with hypergraph case-based reasoning

Binary classification is one of the most common problem in machine learning. It consists in predicting whether a given element belongs to a particular class. In this paper, a new algorithm for binary classification is proposed using a hypergraph representation. The method is agnostic to data representation, can work with multiple data sources or in non-metric spaces, and accommodates with missing values. As a result, it drastically reduces the need for data preprocessing or feature engineering. Each element to be classified is partitioned according to its interactions with the training set. For each class, a seminorm over the training set partition is learnt to represent the distribution of evidence supporting this class.Empirical validation demonstrates its high potential on a wide range of well-known datasets and the results are compared to the state-of-the-art. The time complexity is given and empirically validated. Its robustness with regard to hyperparameter sensitivity is studied and compared to standard classification methods. Finally, the limitation of the model space is discussed, and some potential solutions proposed.     

CaBMA: a case-based reasoning system for capturing,refining, and reusing project plans

In this paper, we present CaBMA, a prototype of a knowledge-based system designed to assist with project planning tasks using case-based reasoning. CaBMA introduces a novel approach to project planning in that, for the first time, a knowledge layer is added on top of traditional project management software. Project management software provides editing and bookkeeping capabilities. CaBMA enhances these capabilities by automatically capturing project plans in the form of cases, refining these cases over time to avoid potential inconsistency between them, reusing these cases to generate plans for new projects, and indicating possible repairs for project plans when they derive away from existing knowledge. We will give an overview of the system, provide a detailed explanation on each component, and present an empirical study based on synthetic data.     

Continuous case-based reasoning

Case-based reasoning systems have traditionally been used to perform high-level reasoning in problem domains that can be adequately described using discrete, symbolic representations. However, many real-world problem domains, such as autonomous robotic navigation, are better characterized using continuous representations. Such problem domains also require continuous performance, such as on-line sensorimotor interaction with the environment, and continuous adaptation and learning during the performance task. This article introduces a new method for continuous case-based reasoning, and discusses its application to the dynamic selection, modification, and acquisition of robot behaviors in an autonomous navigation system, SINS (self-improving navigation system). The computer program and the underlying method are systematically evaluated through statistical analysis of results from several empirical studies. The article concludes with a general discussion of case-based reasoning issues addressed by this research.     

A case-based reasoning approach to cognitive map-driven tacitknowledge management

Knowledge is at the heart of knowledge management. In literature, a lot of studies have been suggested covering the role of knowledge in improving the performance of management. However, there are few studies about investigating knowledge itself in the arena of knowledge management. Knowledge circulating in an organization may be explicit or tacit. Until now, literature in knowledge management shows that it has mainly focused on explicit knowledge. On the other hand, tacit knowledge plays an important role in the success of knowledge management. It is relatively hard to formalize and reuse tacit knowledge. Therefore, research proposing the explication and reuse of tacit knowledge would contribute significantly to knowledge management research. In this sense, we propose using cognitive map (CM) as a main vehicle of formalizing tacit knowledge, and case-based reasoning as a tool for storing CM-driven tacit knowledge in the form of frame-typed cases, and retrieving appropriate tacit knowledge from the case base according to a new problem. Our proposed methodology was applied to a credit analysis problem in which decision-makers need tacit knowledge to assess whether a firm under consideration is healthy or not. Experiment results showed that our methodology for tacit knowledge management can provide decision makers with robust knowledge-based support.     

A recommender mechanism based on case-based reasoning

Case-based reasoning (CBR) algorithm is particularly suitable for solving ill-defined and unstructured decision-making problems in many different areas. The traditional CBR algorithm, however, is inappropriate to deal with complicated problems and therefore needs to be further revised. This study thus proposes a next-generation CBR (GCBR) model and algorithm. GCBR presents as a new problem-solving paradigm that is a case-based recommender mechanism for assisting decision making. GCBR can resolve decision-making problems by using hierarchical criteria architecture (HCA) problem representation which involves multiple decision objectives on each level of hierarchical, multiple-level decision criteria, thereby enables decision makers to identify problems more precisely. Additionally, the proposed GCBR can also provide decision makers with series of cases in support of these multiple decision-making stages. GCBR furthermore employs a genetic algorithm in its implementation in order to reduce the effort involved in case evaluation. This study found experimentally that using GCBR for making travel-planning recommendations involved approximately 80% effort than traditional CBR, and therefore concluded that GCBR should be the next generation of case-based reasoning algorithms and can be applied to actual case-based recommender mechanism implementation.     

An association-based case reduction technique for case-based reasoning

Case-based reasoning (CBR) is a type of problem solving technique which uses previous cases to solve new, unseen and different problems. Although a larger number of cases in the memory can improve the coverage of the problem space, the retrieval efficiency will be downgraded if the size of the case-base grows to an unacceptable level. In CBR systems, the tradeoff between the number of cases stored in the case-base and the retrieval efficiency is a critical issue. This paper addresses the problem of case-base maintenance by developing a new technique, the association-based case reduction technique (ACRT), to reduce the size of the case-base in order to enhance the efficiency while maintaining or even improving the accuracy of the CBR. The experiments on 12 UCI datasets and an actual case from Taiwan’s hospital have shown superior generalization accuracy for CBR with ACRT (CBR-ACRT) as well as a greater solving efficiency.     

基于案例推理的竖炉故障预报系统

为降低竖望炉焙烧过程的故障发生率,基于故障机理的分析,将过程参量预报与案例推理技术相集成,提出了竖炉焙烧过程的智能故障预报方法.参量量预报模型对不易在线连续测量但能反映故障征兆的关键工艺参数进行实时预报,在此基础上,采用案例推理技术对焙烧过程进行全面分析并给出一些典型故障发生的概率和操作指导.将所建立的故障预报系统成功应用于竖炉焙烧过程的生产实际中,故障发生率明显降低,取得了显著应用成效.     

A connectionist approach for similarity assessment in case-based reasoning systems

Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) systems support ill-structured decision making. In ill-structured decision environments, decision makers (DMs) differ in their problem solving approaches. As a result, CBR systems would be more useful if they were able to adapt to the idiosyncrasies of individual decision makers. Existing implementations of CBR systems have been mainly symbolic, and symbolic CBR systems are unable to adapt to the preferences of decision makers (i.e., they are static). Retrieval of appropriate previous cases is critical to the success of a CBR system. Widely used symbolic retrieval functions, such as nearest-neighbor matching, assume independence of attributes and require specification of their importance for matching. To ameliorate these deficiencies connectionist systems have been proposed. However, these systems are limited in their ability to adapt and grow. To overcome this limitation, we propose a distributed connectionist-symbolic architecture that adapts to the preferences of a decision maker and that, additionally, ameliorates the limitations of symbolic matching. The proposed architecture uses a supervised learning technique to acquire the matching knowledge. The architecture allows the growth of a case base without the involvement of a knowledge engineer. Empirical investigation of the proposed architecture in an ill-structured diagnostic decision environment demonstrated a superior retrieval performance when compared to the nearest-neighbor matching function.     

A framework for the analysis of dynamic processes based on Bayesian networks and case-based reasoning

Bayesian networks are knowledge representation schemes that can capture probabilistic relationships among variables and perform probabilistic inference. Arrival of new evidence propagates through the network until all variables are updated. At the end of propagation, the network becomes a static snapshot representing the state of the domain for that particular time. This weakness in capturing temporal semantics has limited the use of Bayesian networks to domains in which time dependency is not a critical factor. This paper describes a framework that combines Bayesian networks and case-based reasoning to create a knowledge representation scheme capable of dealing with time-varying processes. Static Bayesian network topologies are learned from previously available raw data and from sets of constraints describing significant events. These constraints are defined as sets of variables assuming significant values. As new data are gathered, dynamic changes to the topology of a Bayesian network are assimilated using techniques that combine single-value decomposition and minimum distance length. The new topologies are capable of forecasting the occurrences of significant events given specific conditions and monitoring changes over time. Since environment problems are good examples of temporal variations, the problem of forecasting ozone levels in Mexico City was used to test this framework.