Title: Design expert system tool with hybrid knowledge representation and reasoning

Authors: Zhan Si Jiang, Yi Zhong Wu, Li Ping Chen, Nian Meng Luo

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Center for Computer Aided Design, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, PR China. ' Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Center for Computer Aided Design, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, PR China. ' Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Center for Computer Aided Design, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, PR China. ' Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Center for Computer Aided Design, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, PR China

Abstract: According to the characteristics and requirements for design expert systems, this paper describes a Design Expert System Tool (DEST) with hybrid knowledge representation and reasoning. The main goal is to provide an effective and convenient development environment of expert system for design domains. It adopts the technique of object oriented knowledge representation, which integrates frame, rule and procedure. For each knowledge representation, different inference engines are designed. Inductive reasoning and Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) are combined to form a hybrid inference engine. For improving the quality of case retrieval, it presents a new method of attribute similarity calculation and weight assigning. Moreover, it provides a visualisation knowledge management platform for expert and designer to build and apply expert systems.

Keywords: expert systems; knowledge representation; inductive reasoning; CBR; case-based reasoning; object-oriented representation; design process; intelligent design; visualisation; knowledge management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCAT.2008.021934

International Journal of Computer Applications in Technology, 2008 Vol.33 No.2/3, pp.120 - 130

Published online: 10 Dec 2008 *

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