Expert system application on preliminary design of water retaining structures

Design of liquid retaining structures involves many decisions to be made by the designer based on rules of thumb, heuristics, judgment, code of practice and previous experience. Various design parameters to be chosen include configuration, material, loading, etc. A novice engineer may face many difficulties in the design process. Recent developments in artificial intelligence and emerging field of knowledge-based system (KBS) have made widespread applications in different fields. However, no attempt has been made to apply this intelligent system to the design of liquid retaining structures. The objective of this study is, thus, to develop a KBS that has the ability to assist engineers in the preliminary design of liquid retaining structures. Moreover, it can provide expert advice to the user in selection of design criteria, design parameters and optimum configuration based on minimum cost. The development of a prototype KBS for the design of liquid retaining structures (LIQUID), using blackboard architecture with hybrid knowledge representation techniques including production rule system and object-oriented approach, is presented in this paper. An expert system shell, Visual Rule Studio, is employed to facilitate the development of this prototype system.     

Development of a knowledge-based self-assessment system for measuring organisational performance

Effective performance measurement is an important task in the discipline of engineering management. With the support of City University of Hong Kong, a research project was initiated to develop a knowledge-based expert self-assessment (KES) training toolkit on measuring and assessing organisational performance based on the evaluation criteria of a renowned Business Excellence Model—the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA). This paper explains the development of and elaborates the system framework, requirements, design and validation of the toolkit. The project results shows that the toolkit could facilitate the teaching of students of engineering management courses by providing a stimulating learning environment and practical experiences in measuring and assessing enterprise performance. Incorporating the KES model and toolkit into the engineering management curriculum can provide students and industrial users with hands-on experience and insights of organisational PM.     

A reasoning method for a ship design expert system

Abstract: The ship design process is a highly data‐oriented, dynamic, iterative and multi‐stage algorithm. It utilizes multiple abstraction levels and concurrent engineering techniques. Specialized techniques for knowledge acquisition, knowledge representation and reasoning must be developed to solve these problems for a ship design expert system. Consequently, very few attempts have been made to model the ship design process using an expert system approach. The current work investigates a knowledge representation–reasoning technique for such a purpose. A knowledge‐based conceptual design was developed by utilizing a prototype approach and hierarchical decompositioning. An expert system program called ALDES (accommodation layout design expert system) was developed by using the CLIPS expert system shell and an object‐oriented user interface. The reasoning and knowledge representation methods of ALDES are explained in the paper. An application of the method is given for the general arrangement design of a containership.     

Using hybrid expert system approaches for engineering applications

In this paper, the use of hybrid expert system shells and hybrid (i.e., algorithmic and heuristic) approaches for solving engineering problems is reported. Aspects of various engineering problem domains are reviewed for a numer of examples with specific applications made to recently developed prototype expert systems. Based on this prototyping experience, critical evaluations of and comparisons between commercially available tools, and some research tools, in the United States and Australia, and their underlying problem-solving paradigms are made. Characteristics of the implementation tool and the engineering domain are compared and practical software engineering issues are discussed with respect to hybrid tools and approaches. Finally, guidelines are offered with the hope that expert system development will be less time consuming, more effective, and more cost-effective than it has been in the past.This paper is an attempt to provide some guidelines to expert system development based on limited experience with a handful of tools. It is not the intent of this paper to recommend or endorse the software, manufacturers, or organizations named within, nor to slight others not mentioned. We would appreciate feedback on omissions or oversights, so that more objective information about specific tools can be made public.Work performed while Aerospace Engineer, Artificial Intelligence Section, Mission Planning and Analysis Division, NASA/Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX.     

A course on thin‐film transistor circuit design for modern displays

A new subject‐specific course on thin‐film transistor (TFT) circuit design is introduced, covering related knowledge of display technologies, TFT device physics, processing, characterization, modeling and circuit design. A design project is required for students to deepen the understanding even more and get hands‐on design experience. This course can be an intense 1‐week course to offer a full training of design engineers in an organized way to meet the ever‐increasing needs in display industry for TFT circuit design specialists. It can also be organized in one semester for electrical engineering Master's and Ph.D. students.     

QEX: An in-process quality control expert system

True computer-integrated manufacturing requires that many links between factory processes become more automated, more computerized, and more intelligent. Many links between processes, however, are based on human judgement, experience, and intuition. These are naturally difficult tasks to automate, but the advent of artificial intelligence, and specifically expert system programming, has made such links possible. This paper presents a research effort toward one of these links, that of quality control judgements of ongoing processes. The use of expert system programming, combined with in-process metrology and system integration, allows the factory to be more fully automated and computer-integrated, resulting in higher precess precision and lower production errors. This paper will discuss how the expert system approach is used to integrate the quality judgement process into the production process, and bring the factory one step further toward total CIM.     

微机电惯性开关智能设计系统

针对目前微机电系统（Micro Electromechanical Systems,MEMS）惯性开关设计知识和经验逐步扩大和提高,但没有一套设计系统可以对以往知识和经验进行高效利用的状况,提出一种微机电惯性开关智能设计系统的开发方案。通过将知识工程引入到微机电惯性开关设计,开发出一套包含知识库、实例库、综合数据库、推理机制和虚拟试验5大模块的设计系统。系统测试表明,基于实例和知识的智能设计系统,能够实现经验与实例的有效重新利用。     

Design and implementation of a knowledge-based decision support system for estimating software development work-effort

Up to now, the assessment of work-effort in software engineering is based on statistical methods. Among the best known are COCOMO (Boehm [2]) or SPQR (Jones [6]). Nevertheless it is generally recognized that many qualitative factors enter into the cost of development, such as effectiveness of the team, user's motivation, and accuracy of the specifications. We have designed a Decision Support System (DSS) for estimating the work-effort, in which the processing of the qualitative data is made by an expert system while a function points analysis provides the theoretical work-effort according to the type of software and the past experience. The evaluation is performed at two levels: global and detailed. The global evaluation is made at the beginning of the development according to the data that are, at this moment, available. The detailed evaluation takes place when the design of the software becomes more precise. The software manager can follow the evolution of the changes at the detailed level during the development.In software development, project leaders mostly reason by using their past experience. It therefore follows that a DSS must contain a learning process. We have accordingly designed our system to record the data of the completed developments. These data serve for the new evaluations. At the end of each project, the learning module examines to what extent the already-recorded information must be updated. Thus our system combines statistic data and knowledge-based reasonings.     

STEELEX: A coupled expert system for integrated design of steel structures

Most expert systems developed so far are concerned with symbolic processing of a knowledge base. Solution of complex engineering problems often requires substantial numerical processing in addition to symbolic processing of heuristics and experiential knowledge. In this paper, we present STEELEX, a prototype knowledge-based expert system for integrated design of building structures consisting of moment-resisting steel frames. STEELEX is a coupled system in which AI symbolic processing is combined with conventional numerical processing. STEELEX produces the final detailed design including the beam-column connections ready for fabrication. In addition, it can explain the basis of design and the principles behind the design specification. STEELEX has been developed using a domain-specific tool called SDL (for Structural Design Language). Implemented in the INTERLISP environment, SDL provides a design problem-solving environment using a hierarchical cooperating specialists paradigm. STEELEX has a debugging facility and provides a multiwindow graphics interface for drawing isometric as well as orthographic views of the steel frame and beam-column connections.     

A function-centered framework for reasoning about system failure at multiple levels of abstraction

This paper presents the knowledge organization for a simulation subsystem that is a component of a comprehensive expert system for failure modes and effects analysis. Organizing the simulation subsystem's knowledge base around a function-centered ontology produces an architecture that facilitates reasoning about an engineering design at multiple levels of abstraction and throughout the life-cycle of the design. Moreover, the resulting architecture provides the capability for incorporating computer-aided analysis and design tools early on into the conceptual design of an engineering system before a commitment is made to a specific technology to implement the system's behavior. The result is an expert system simulation knowledge source that can be used to reason about the effects of system failures based on conceptual designs, i.e. designs in which commitments to an underlying technology to achieve the system's function have not yet been made but computer-aided assistance for reasoning about the system's potential failure modes and effects is useful.     

Computer-augmented preliminary design of aircraft wing structures

A computer system to aid in the preliminary design of aircraft wing structures for minimum weight is described. The system was developed to utilize effectively the best attributes of both computers and the human mind in the iterative process of analyzing highly redundant trial structures and using these results to select new trial structures with the objective of minimizing weight. The computer is used for the routine data processing, and the designer performs those tasks which require judgement and intuition. Cathode ray tube graphical displays are provided for checking input data and for evaluating results. From given basic information on the wing structure, loads, and material properties, a finite element model is developed, analyzed, modified to eliminate violations of design criteria, and optimized to obtain the structural configuration of least weight. The optimization proceeds automatically, but the designer may monitor progress with the aid of tabular and graphical displays and modify the direction in which the optimization is proceeding. The impetus for this work was provided by a need for such a system in teaching structural design to aeronautical engineering students. The modular system was developed for the Control Data Corporation 6400/6500 computer installation at Purdue University using the Purdue Interactive Remote Access Terminal Environment (PIRATE).     

工作情景模拟教学法在数据库实训课程中的应用

数据库实训课程是我们综合运用软件工程思想、软件开发环境和数据库技术设计开发具有实用性的数据库应用系统的综合独立实践环节。作者经多年实践,总结形成了在数据库实训课程中的一种新的教学方法—工作情景模拟教学法。本文着重描述了工作情景模拟教学法应用的背景、情景创设方法、学生的角色扮演和教师在此过程中的作用,经多个班级的实践,说明了该教学法对于完成课程任务、为学生体验真实项目开发的工作过程和场景提供了帮助,为教师全面评价学生提供了依据。     

An adaptive clinical decision support system for serving the elderly with chronic diseases in healthcare industry

With the increasing ageing population worldwide, providing effective nursing care planning in nursing homes is important in meeting the expectations of elderly patients and in streamlining the healthcare information process, hence maintaining high‐quality services. Instead of the traditional manual nursing care planning formulation based on expert experience and subjective judgement, this paper describes an adaptive decision support system, namely, the cloud‐based nursing care planning system, to enable decision making in formulating nursing care strategies. By integrating cloud computing technology and the case‐based reasoning (CBR) technique, medical records and documents pertaining to the elderly can be captured in real time, whereas appropriate treatment plans based on past similar treatment records can be formulated. However, the current case adaptation processes in CBR rely on domain experts to modify retrieved cases, which may not satisfy the needs of the elderly. Therefore, text mining is integrated in the case adaptation process of CBR for extracting up‐to‐date medical information from the Internet so that its efficiency can be improved. By conducting a pilot study in a nursing home, it was shown that the time for formulating applicable treatment plans for elderly patients can be reduced, and the service satisfaction level can be enhanced.     

Empirical design of computer support and staffing in concurrent engineering

Manufacturing environments are characterized by underlying operational approaches and assumptions. One such assumption is that concurrent engineering (CE) is superior to traditional sequential processing. A laboratory experiment was conducted using 180 engineering and building construction students as subjects. The engineering methodology variable was sequential and concurrent engineering. There were large teams, consisting of six students, and small teams, consisting of three students. The computer support variable was using and not using groupware. Each team was given a set of requirements to design a transportation system that moved a payload from one point to another. Each team was asked to (a) develop a design concept, (b) develop a detail design in the form of engineering drawings, (c) manufacture the system based on their design products (e.g., drawings and specifications) using toy plastic LEGOS, and (d) test the system to determine if it met the design requirements. There was no significant difference in performance between concurrent engineering groups and sequential engineering processes. Small groups significantly outperformed large groups in all conditions. Computer support did not significantly improve the performance of large or small groups. Participants in the experiment were equally satisfied with all conditions. An external survey strongly endorsed the superiority of CE as compared to sequential engineering. Results are discussed in terms of why practitioners believe in the effectiveness of CE, yet an empirical test failed to demonstrate better performance. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Hum Factors Man 16: 177–193, 2006.     

Application of an expert knowledge-based system to the semiconductor thin film device coating process

This paper briefly describes an expert knowledge-based system which assists and diagnoses in the thin film device coating process. The system gains knowledge from qualitative and experience judgement of the operation in supervisory work and self experience. An explanation is given of the expert knowledge-based system and an example is given of the user interface. Various problems in the production process itself which experts in the laboratory find difficult to solve are indicated. A knowledge-based representation scheme involving rules is presented as well. The system currently under development would be a flexible time-saving and practical decision support system.     

Expert systems for engineering design

Abstract: An expert system embodies a humun expert's domain-specific knowledge and skill, acquired and refined over years of experience. A number of problems in diagnosis and engineering design can be solved by Using current expert-system techniques. This paper enumerates the main components of such problems and the steps that are taken in solving them. A few prototypical articificial intellegence systems embody techniques that can be applied to engineering problems. These are surveyed, and their relevance to components of design problems is discussed. Some expert systems in design domains are summarized, with emphasis on aspects that can illustrate wider applicability of the techniques. A number of avenues of further research are evident, and the area of engineering design offers rich opportunities for advancing the state-of-the-art in expert systems. An annotated selective bibliography is included     

基于知识的计算机图像处理

详尽地阐述了计算机图像处理中的各类相关知识，分析了知识工程在图像处理中的一个应用-图像处理专家系统，并举例说明了该系统的知识结构和推理机构，总结了目前基于知识的计算机图像处理的局限性并提出了相应的解决设想，展望了知识工程技术这一新的研究应用领域的发展前景。     

Expert systems in engineering design: an application for injection molding of plastic parts

The rich development environments of expert system shells provide tools for developing knowledge-based expert systems for complex tasks such as engineering design. The diverse knowledge in engineering design combines heuristics with deterministic knowledge, from multiple sources, and involves complicated, interrelated components. The hybrid capabilities in emerging expert system tools effectively address this diverse knowledge, and facilitate the rapid development of design aids by the engineering designer. A prototype expert system for injection-molded plastic parts demonstrates the utility of expert systems for design applications. The prototype is implemented in an object-oriented, rule-based environment, and incorporates solid modeling software and external material databases.