Logical Object as a Basis of Knowledge Based Systems

This paper presents a framework called logical knowledge object (LKO),which is taken as a basis of the dependable development of knowledge based systems(KBSs).LKO combines logic programming and object-oriented programming paradigms,where objects are viewed as abstractions with states,constraints,behaviors and inheritance.The operational semantics defined in the style of natural semantics is simple and clear.A hybrid knowledge representation amalgamating rule,frame,semantic network and blackboard is available for both most structured and flat knowledge.The management of knowledge bases has been formally specified.Accordingly,LKO is well suited for the formal representation of knowledge and requirements of KBSs.Based on the framework,verification techniques are also explored to enhance the analysis of requirement specifications and the validation of KBSs.In addition,LKO provides a methodology for the development of KBSs,applying the concepts of rapid prototyping and top-down design to deal with changing and incomplete requirements,and to provide multiple abstract models of the domain,where formal methods might be used at each abstract level.     

Recent development of knowledge-based systems,methods and tools for One-of-a-Kind Production

In recent years, product knowledge has played increasingly significant roles in new product development process especially in the development of One-of-a-Kind products. Although knowledge-based systems (KBSs) have been proposed to support product development activities and new knowledge modelling methodologies have been developed, they are still far from complete. This area has become attractive to many researchers and as a result, many new knowledge-based systems, methods and tools have been developed. However, to the best of our knowledge, knowledge-based systems for product development have not been systematically reviewed, compared and summarized. This paper provides a comprehensive review on the recent development of KBS, methods and tools in supporting rapid product development. In the paper, the relevant technologies for modelling, managing and representing knowledge are investigated and reviewed systematically for better understanding their characteristics. The focus is placed on knowledge-based systems that support product development, and how product knowledge is identified, captured, represented and reused during the processes of One-of-a-Kind product development. The limitations and the future trend of KBS are presented in terms of how they can help One-of-a-Kind Production (OKP) companies.     

Extensible Prototyping for pragmatic engineering of knowledge-based systems

Knowledge-based systems (KBSs) have been built and practically applied in various contexts for decades. Yet, they still challenge developers by their complexity: Apart from a sound knowledge base they likewise require comprehensive user interface (UI) and interaction design for supporting the task at hand optimally. However, current KBS-Engineering methodologies still mostly focus on knowledge base development, regarding UI/interaction design a more incidental, low priority task. Thus, the UI often is developed in a rather ad hoc manner, thereby neglecting the potential of experimental design and creating reusable solutions. The integration of (rapid) evolutionary prototyping activities with KBS Engineering offers the chance for incorporating UI/interaction design more prominently into the process while at the same time leveraging the overall development task; specifically, we propose Extensible Prototyping as a tailored prototyping approach and we suggest its integration with the Agile Process Model for knowledge-based systems in this paper. For practical support, we further introduce the customized prototyping and knowledge systems engineering tool ProKEt, and we report on practical experiences with applying both the approach and the tool.     

A virtual prototyping system for rapid product development

This paper describes a virtual prototyping (VP) system that integrates virtual reality with rapid prototyping (RP) to create virtual or digital prototypes to facilitate product development. The proposed VP system incorporates two new simulation methodologies, namely the dexel-based and the layer-based fabrication approaches, to simulate the powder-based and the laminated sheet-based RP processes, respectively. The dexel-based approach deposits arrays of solid strips to form a layer, while the layer-based approach directly forms a complete layer by extruding the slice contours. The layer is subsequently stacked up to fabricate a virtual prototype. The simulation approaches resemble the physical fabrication processes of most RP systems, and are therefore capable of accurately representing the geometrical characteristics of prototypes. In addition to numerical quantification of the simulation results, the system also provides stereoscopic visualisation of the product design and its prototype for detailed analyses. Indeed, the original product design may be superimposed on its virtual prototype, so that areas with dimensional errors beyond design limits may be clearly highlighted to facilitate point-to-point analysis of the surface texture and the dimensional accuracy of the prototype. Hence, the key control parameters of an RP process, such as part orientation, layer thickness and hatch space, may be effectively tuned up for optimal fabrication of physical prototypes in subsequent product development. Furthermore, the virtual prototypes can be transmitted via the Internet to customers to facilitate global manufacturing. As a result, both the lead-time and the product development costs can be significantly reduced.     

Integrated knowledge-based system design and validation for solving problems in uncertain environments

Symbolic problem solving, specifically which knowledge-based systems (KBSs), in new and uncertain problem domains is a difficult task. An essential part of developing systems for these environments is determining whether the system is adequately and reliably solving the problem. KBSs that utilize heuristics have a development cycle not conducive to formal control and have high potential for error or incorrect characterizations of the problem they are meant to solve. A method of validating and testing such systems to increase and quantify their reliability is needed. Software engineering strategies for accessing and projecting the reliability of traditional software have been developed after years of experience with the cause and effect of errors. Since KBSs are new, methods for accessing and projecting their reliability are not as well understood. However, validation techniques from traditional software development can be applied to KBSs. Validation and testing techniques unique to KBSs can also be used to determine system reliability. In essence, tools and techniques can be used to meet the need for a legitimate, integrated approach to validation and testing of KBSs as they are developed.     

A survey of applications systems prototyping in industry

Managers of information systems development are faced with a substantial backlog of development projects. Traditional approaches to developing systems can not keep pace with new application demand. New methods must be found to develop systems. This study investigates prototyping, an approach that promises order-of-magnitude reductions in the time and effort required to implement satisfactory information systems.A mail survey was used to collect information about systems development and prototyping in Fortune 500 firms. Data was collected on methodologies, tools, and practices from the Directors of Information Systems. The findings suggest that a large number of organizations are prototyping and consider it successful. Generic high level prototyping tools are rated and the reasons for replacing prototypes with conventionally developed systems are explored.     

Experiences with an expert systems prototyping methodology

Abstract: Although the benefits of knowledge-based expert systems (ES) and experiences with the methods, techniques and tools employed in knowledge engineering have been extensively reported, less is known about experiences with development and development methodologies. Although ES development is frequently associated with prototyping, a growing number of specific development methodologies have been proposed and are in use. Using information on four development projects at General Electric Industrial and Power Systems, this paper reports on the use of a variation of a prototyping methodology. It identifies some of the advantages, disadvantages and effects of using this approach to development. It raises a number of issues that future ES development methodologies will have to address.     

A patterned approach for linking knowledge-based systems to external resources

Knowledge-based systems (KBSs) have been developed and used in industry and government as assistance systems, voting partner systems, and embedded applications. As web-based systems change the face of software implementations, these closed, internal KBSs need to be integrated into multicomponent applications that provide updated and extensible services. Therefore, KBSs must be adapted to an environment in which data and control are exchanged with external processes and resources; complementing other participating systems or using them to refine its own results. This integration can be a daunting task. If improperly done, it can result in an inefficient and unmanageable composite application. One approach to simplifying this task is the use of architectural patterns for integration. These patterns are assembled from functional entities that resolve component interoperability conflicts. In this paper, we describe an architectural pattern called the Knowledge Director pattern, which directs the integration of a closed KBS into a broader application environment.     

Expert system methodologies and applications—a decade review from 1995 to 2004

This paper surveys expert systems (ES) development using a literature review and classification of articles from 1995 to 2004 with a keyword index and article abstract in order to explore how ES methodologies and applications have developed during this period. Based on the scope of 166 articles from 78 academic journals (retrieved from five online database) of ES applications, this paper surveys and classifies ES methodologies using the following eleven categories: rule-based systems, knowledge-based systems, neural networks, fuzzy ESs, object-oriented methodology, case-based reasoning, system architecture, intelligent agent systems, database methodology, modeling, and ontology together with their applications for different research and problem domains. Discussion is presented, indicating the followings future development directions for ES methodologies and applications: (1) ES methodologies are tending to develop towards expertise orientation and ES applications development is a problem-oriented domain. (2) It is suggested that different social science methodologies, such as psychology, cognitive science, and human behavior could implement ES as another kind of methodology. (3) The ability to continually change and obtain new understanding is the driving power of ES methodologies, and should be the ES application of future works.     

高性能知识库构造环境

知识库系统(KBS)开发环境的特点是简便性和领域适应性。我们认为如果在KBS开发环境中既有抽象结均,又有多种集成工具,则该环境将会非常有效。本文介绍一个KBS 开发环境DECISION-E,它有一个适应应用领域KBS 的清晰、灵活的抽象结构,而且还有许多集成工具。这种结构使得DECISION-E能建立多种现实领域中的KBS,并使建立的KBS能较全面地反映应用领域的性质。集成工具将辅助设计者建立KBS,支持KBS 的问题求解并进行多种事务处理。在DECISIGN-E 中还采用了下面的一些特殊技术:不同层次的知识表达方法,多推理机,推理中断处理,基于全局黑板的分布式问题求解,基于知识的建模及数据抽象,演绎数据库管理方法。     

UAS Flight Simulation with Hardware-in-the-loop Testing and Vision Generation

UAS flight simulation for research and development is a difficult problem because each airframe requires accurate physical models, control systems, an organized method of testing new control systems, virtual cameras for vision-based control, and methods of testing new control in the transition from simulation to flight tests. In an environment where researchers are temporary, such as a university, a standard research and development platform with these properties expedites prototyping and prevents code loss when an employee leaves. We develop a research simulation which conforms to all of these properties inside a Matlab environment. A series of mex functions provide connections to the autopilot for hardware-in-the-loop testing, graphical interfaces, and vision processing. The option to write C mex functions offers a seamless method of porting code to embedded systems, minimizing coding errors. We demonstrate fast prototyping by showing flight test data where the simulation provided virtual vision data to avoid virtual obstacles.     

Goal-directed reasoning with ACE-SSM

The goal of knowledge-based systems (KBSs) is not only to produce a solution to a problem that these systems face but also to construct, implicitly or explicitly, a situation-specific model (SSM) that explicates the rationale behind that solution. This paper focuses on how KBSs can benefit from the availability of explicit goal knowledge that reflects the underlying structure (ontology) of SSMs constructed for an application task. It first shows how goal knowledge can be captured. Then, it explains how ACE-SSM-an architecture for constructing explicit SSMs-uses this knowledge to direct the construction of explicit SSMs. Finally, it discusses benefits that KBSs can derive from the availability of explicit SSMs and their underlying goal knowledge. Some of these benefits pertain to ways to simplify the construction and maintenance of KBSs through reuse, while others relate to ways to endow KBSs with more robust problem solving and explanation capabilities. These benefits are illustrated using concrete examples     

一种UAV飞行控制器虚拟原型设计与验证新技术

为适应飞行控制器（FC）开发的快速性和可靠性要求，研究一种基于Statemate的FC虚拟原型（VP）（简称FC-VP）设计与验证新技术。该技术运用功能结构图建立FC的功能层次模型，基于离散状态图详细描述FC的功能行为，并通过三种方法对FC VP进行验证测试该项研究为FC等复杂嵌入式系统的工程开发和VP在控制系统中的应用探索了一条实用途径，具有很好的应用与推广价值．     

固体火箭发动机虚拟样机支撑平台建模体系研究

为满足虚拟样机支撑平台建模的复杂性需求,定义了一个三维的虚拟样机支撑平台建模体系。给出了从建模周期维、视图模型维、应用工具维分析虚拟样机支撑平台的建模策略,将支撑平台建模周期分为需求分析、原型设计、原型实施、分析优化4个阶段,重点从视图模型维对虚拟样机开发过程关键要素进行了分析,对过程、产品、组织、资源、约束5个视图进行了定义和建模,详细介绍了固体火箭发动机虚拟样机支撑平台应用工具集。     

虚拟样机三维表现系统设计与实现

虚拟样机是一种新型的基于一体化产品和过程开发策略的新的设计、开发手段。本文首先介绍了协同虚拟样机的基本概念和样机设计过程中对可视化的要求,接着对虚拟样机三维表现系统进行设计,最后对支持虚拟样机分布表现的虚拟样机软总线技术和同步技术进行分析。     

An integrated manufacturing system for rapid tooling based on rapid prototyping

To reduce the time and cost of moulds fabrication, a novel integrated developing and manufacturing system of rapid tooling (RT) based on rapid prototyping (RP) is proposed. The architecture of system which consists of four building blocks: digital prototype, virtual prototype (VP), physical prototype and RT system, is presented. A digital prototype can be established by 3D CAD software packages or reveres engineering technique. A VP is employed to guide in optimization of the mould design and manufacturing process planning. A physical prototype, which is built using RP technology, generally serves as a pattern for producing RT. By integrating these building blocks closely, the system can aid effectively in mould design, analysis, prototyping, simulating, and manufacturing process development. Three typical cases are discussed in detail to illustrate the application of the system. It has been shown from a number of case studies that the system has a high potential to reduce further the cycle and cost of die development while minimizing error introduction. As a result, the integrated system provides a feasible and useful tool for companies to speed up their product development.     

Development of an Autonomous Quadruped Robot for Robot Entertainment

In this paper, we present Robot Entertainment as a new field of the entertainment industry using autonomous robots. For feasibility studies of Robot Entertainment, we have developed an autonomous quadruped robot, named MUTANT, as a pet-type robot. It has four legs, each of which has three degree-of-freedom, and a head which also has three degree-of-freedom. Micro camera, stereo microphone, touch sensors, and other sensor systems are coupled with newly developed behavior generation system, which has emotion module as its major components, and generates high complex and interactive behaviors. Agent architecture, real-world recognition technologies, software component technology, and some dedicated devices such as Micro Camera Unit, were developed and tested for this purpose. From the lessons learned from the development of MUTANT, we refined the design concept of MUTANT to derive requirements for a general architecture and a set of interfaces of robot systems for entertainment applications. Through these feasibility studies, we consider entertainment applications a significant target at this moment from both scientific and engineering points of view.     

A versatile virtual prototyping system for rapid product development

This paper presents a versatile virtual prototyping (VP) system for digital fabrication of multi-material prototypes to facilitate rapid product development. The VP system comprises a suite of software packages for multi-material layered manufacturing (MMLM) processes, including multi-toolpath planning, build-time estimation and accuracy analysis, integrated with semi-immersive desktop-based and full-immersive CAVE-based virtual reality (VR) technology. Such versatility makes the VP system adaptable to suit specific cost and functionality requirements of various applications.

The desktop-based VR system creates a semi-immersive environment for stereoscopic visualisation and quality analysis of a product design. It is relatively cost-effective and easy to operate, but its users may be distracted by environmental disturbances that could possibly diminish their efficiency of product design evaluation and improvement. To alleviate disturbance problems, the CAVE-based VR system provides an enclosed room-like environment that blocks out most disturbances, making it possible for a design team to fully concentrate and collaborate on their product design work.

The VP system enhances collaboration and communication of a design team working on product development. It provides simulation techniques to analyse and improve the design of a product and its fabrication processes. Through simulations, assessment and modification of a product design can be iterated without much worry about the manufacturing and material costs of prototypes. Hence, key factors such as product shape, manufacturability, and durability that affect the profitability of manufactured products are optimised quickly. Moreover, the resulting product design can be sent via the Internet to customers for comments or marketing purposes. The VP system therefore facilitates advanced product design and helps reduce development time and cost considerably.     

复杂产品虚拟样机支撑平台的初步研究与开发

该文主要研究并介绍了复杂产品虚拟样机支撑平台研究项目取得的阶段研究成果，包括支撑平台体系结构及其关键技术等，尤其重点介绍了目前自行开发集成的，开放的，基于标准支持多领域复杂产品虚拟样机工程的支撑平台，并给了两个基于支撑平台的典型虚拟样机开发应用案例。初步实践表明复杂产品虚拟样机支撑平台可看作为下一代企业协同应用各领域CAx/DFx工具的有效手段。最后，对进一步研究工作进行了展望。