Ch8Expert System

Dr. Bernard Chen Ph.D.

University of Central Arkansas
Spring 2011

Outline

Expert System introduction

Rule-Based Expert System

Goal Driven Approach

Data Driven Approach

Model-Based Expert System

Expert System
Introduction

Human experts are able to perform at a

successful level because they know a lot about
their areas of expertise

An Expert System use knowledge specific to

a problem domain to provide expert quality
performance in that application area

As with skilled humans, expert systems tend to

be specialists, focusing on a narrow set of
problems

Expert System
Introduction

Because of their heuristic,

knowledge intensive nature, expert
systems generally:

Support inspection of their reasoning

processes
Allow easy modification in adding and
deleting skills from knowledge base
Reason heuristically, using knowledge
to get useful solutions

Expert System
Introduction

Expert systems are built to solve a wide

range of problems in domain such as
medicine, math, engineering, chemistry,
geology, computer science, business, low,
defense and education

These programs address a variety of

problems, the following list is a summary of
general expert system problem categories:

Expert System
Introduction

Interpretation --- forming high-level

conclusions from collections of raw data

Prediction --- projecting probable

consequences of given situations

Diagnosis --- determining the cause of

malfunctions based on observable
symptoms

Expert System
Introduction

Design --- finding a configuration of

system components that meets
performance goals while satisfying a set
of design constrains

Planning --- devising a sequence of

actions that will achieve a set of goals
given starting conditions and runtime
constrains

The Design of Rule-Based

Expert System

architecture of a typical expert

system for a particular problem
domain.

The Design of Rule-Based

Expert System

The hear of the expert system is the

knowledge base, which contains the
knowledge of a particular application
domain

In a rule-based expert system, this

knowledge is most often represented in
the form of ifthen

In the figure, the knowledge base contains

both general and case-specific information

The Design of Rule-Based

Expert System

The inference engine applies the knowledge to

the solution of actual problems

It is important to maintain this separation of

the knowledge and inference engine because:

Makes it possible to represent knowledge in a more

natural fashion
Expert system builder can focus on capturing and
organizing problem-solving knowledge than the
details of code implementation
Allow change to be made easily
Allows the same control and interface software to be
used in different systems

Selecting a problem

Expert System involve a considerable

investment of money and human effort
Researchers have developed guidelines
to determine whether a problem is
appropriate for expert system solution:

The need for the solution justifies the cost

and efforts of building an expert system
Human expertise is not available in all
situation where it is needed

Selecting a problem

The problem domain is well

structured and does not require
common sense reasoning
The problem may not be solved using
traditional computing methods
Cooperative and articulate experts
exist
The problem is proper size and scope

NASA Example

NASA has supported its presence in space by

developing a fleet of intelligent space probes
that autonomously explore the solar system

To achieve success through years in the

harsh conditions of space travel, a craft
needs to be able to radically reconfigure its
control regime in response to failures and
then plan around these failures during it
remaining flight

NASA Example

Finally, NASA expects that the set of

potential failure scenarios and possible
responses will be much too large to use
software that supports preflight
enumeration of all contingencies

Livingstone is an implemented kernel for

a model-based reactive self-configuring
autonomous system

NASA Example

A long-held vision of model-based reasoning

has been to use a single centralized model to
support a variety of engineering tasks

The tasks include

keeping-track of developing plans

Confirming hardware modes
Reconfiguring hardware
Detecting anomalies
Diagnosis
Fault recovery

NASA Example

NASA Example

It consist of

a helium tank
Regulators
Propellant tanks
A pair of main engine
Latch valves
Pyro valves

NASA Example

The helium tank pressurizes the two propellant tanks,

with the regulators acting to reduce the high helium
pressure

When propellant path to a main engine are open, the

pressurized tank forces fuel and oxidizer into the main
engine to produce thrust

The pyro valve is to isolate parts of the main engine

subsystem until they are needed, or to permanently
isolate failed components

The latch valve are controlled using valve drivers and

the accelerometer

NASA Example

Thrust can be provided by either of

the main engines and there are a
number of ways of opening
propellant paths to either main
engine

NASA Example

Suppose the main engine subsystem has been

configured to provide thrust from the left
engine by opening the latch valves leading to it

And suppose this engine fails (overheating), so

that is fails to provide the required thrust

To ensure that the desire thrust is provided, the

spacecraft must be transitioned to a new
configuration in which thrust is now provided
by the main engine on the right side

Selecting a problem

The primary people involved in building an

expert system are the knowledge
engineer, domain expert, and end user

The domain expert is primarily responsible

for spelling out skills to knowledge
engineer
It is often useful for knowledge engineer to
be a novice in the problem domain

Exploratory development
cycle

Exploratory development
cycle

It is also understood that the prototype

may be thrown away if it becomes to
cumbersome or if the designers decide
to change their basic approach to the
problem

Another major feature of expert system

is that the program need never be
considered finished

Outline

Expert System introduction

Rule-Based Expert System

Goal Driven Approach

Data Driven Approach

Model-Based Expert System

Strategies for state space

search

In data driven search, also called forward

chaining, the problem solver begins with the
given facts of the problem and set of legal
moves for changing state
This process continues until (we hope!!) it
generates a path that satisfies the goal
condition

tic-tac-toe state space

graph

Strategies for state space

search

An alternative approach (Goal Driven) is start with the

goal that we want to solve
See what rules can generate this goal and determine
what conditions must be true to use them
These conditions become the new goals
Working backward through successive subgoals until
(we hope again!) it work back to

Rule-Based Expert System

Rule based expert system represent

problem-solving knowledge as ifthen
It is one of the oldest techniques for
representing domain knowledge in an
expert system
It is also one of the most natural and
widely used in practical and
experimental expert system

Rule-Based Expert System

In a goal-driven expert system, the

goal expression is initially placed in
working memory

The system matches rule conclusions with the goal,

selecting one rule and placing its premises in the working
memory

This corresponds to a decomposition of the problems goal

into simpler subgoals

The process continues in the next iteration of the production

system, with these premises becoming the new goals to
match

A unreal Expert System

Example
Rule 1: if
the engine is getting gas, and
the engine will turn over,
then
the problem is spark plugs.
Rule 2: if
the engine does not turn over, and
the lights do not come on
then
the problem is battery or cables.
Rule 3: if
the engine does not turn over, and
the lights do come on
then
the problem is the starter motor.
Rule 4: if
there is gas in the fuel tank, and
there is gas in the carburetor
then
the engine is getting gas.

The production system at the start of a

consultation in the car
diagnostic
example.

The production system at the start of a

consultation in the car
diagnostic
example.

Three rules match with this expression in

working memory: rule 1, 2, and 3

If we resolve conflicts in favor of the

lowest-numbered rule, then rule 1 will fire

This cause X to be bound to the value

spark plugs and the premises of rule 1 to
be placed in the working memory

The production system

after Rule 1 has fired.

The production system

after Rule 1 has fired.

Note that there are two premises to rule

1, both of which must be satisfied to
prove the conclusion true

So now we need to find out whether

The engine is getting gas, and

The engine will turn over

We may then fire rule 4 for whether

The engine is getting gas

The system after Rule 4 has fired. Note

the stack-based approach to goal
reduction.

The and/or graph searched in the car

diagnosis example, with the conclusion of
Rule 4 matching the first premise of Rule
1.

Explanation and
Transparency in GoalDriven
Reasoning
The following dialogue begins with the

computer asking the user about the

goals present in the working memory:
Gas in fuel tank?
YES
Gas in carburetor?
YES
Engine will turn over?
WHY

Explanation and
Transparency in GoalDriven
Reasoning
In general, the two questions answered by

rule-based expert system are WHY? and HOW?

WHY means why did you ask for that

information

The answer is the current rule that the production

system is attempting to fire

HOW means How did you get the result

The answer is the sequence of rules that were used

to conclude a goal

Explanation and
Transparency in GoalDriven Reasoning

The following dialogue begins with the computer asking the user about
the goals present in the working memory:

Gas in fuel tank?

YES

Gas in carburetor?
YES

Engine will turn over?

WHY

It has been established that:

1. The engine is getting gas,
2. The engine will turn over, (we need to know)
So that we can make the conclusion that
Then the problem is the spark plugs.

Explanation and
Transparency in GoalDriven Reasoning
Gas in fuel tank?
Yes
Gas in carburetor?
Yes
Engine will turn over?
Why

It has been established that:

1. The engine is getting gas,
2. The engine will turn over,
Then the problem is the spark plugs.

How the engine is getting gas

This follows from rule 4:

if
gas in fuel tank, and
gas in carburetor
then
engine is getting gas.
gas in fuel tank was given by the user
gas in carburetor was given by the user

Outline

Expert System introduction

Rule-Based Expert System

Goal Driven Approach

Data Driven Approach

Model-Based Expert System

Data-Driven Reasoning

The previous example exhibits goaldriven search. The search was also
depth-first search

Breadth-first search is more common in

Data Driven reasoning
The algorithm for this category is simple:
compare the contents of working
memory with the conditions of each rule
in the rule base according to the order of
the rules

Data-Driven Reasoning

If a piece of information that makes up

the premise of a rule is not the
conclusion of some other rule,
then that fact will be deemed
askable
For example: the engine is getting gas
is not askable in the premise of rule 1

A unreal Expert System

Example
Rule 1: if
(not askable) the engine is getting gas, and
the engine will turn over,
then
the problem is spark plugs.
Rule 2: if
the engine does not turn over, and
the lights do not come on
then
the problem is battery or cables.
Rule 3: if
the engine does not turn over, and
the lights do come on
then
the problem is the starter motor.
Rule 4: if
there is gas in the fuel tank, and
there is gas in the carburetor
then
the engine is getting gas.

Data-Driven Reasoning

Data-Driven Reasoning

The premise, the engine is getting gas is

NOT askable, so rule 1 fails and continue
to rule 2

The engine does not turn over is askable

Suppose the answer to this query is
false, so the engine will turn over is
placed in working memory

The production system after evaluating

the first premise of Rule 2, which then
fails.

The production system after evaluating

the first premise of Rule 2, which then
fails.

Rule 2 fails, since the first of two

AND premises is false, we move to
rule 3

Where rule 3 also fails

So finally, we move to rule 4

The data-driven production system after

considering Rule 4, beginning its second
pass through the rules.

The data-driven production system after

considering Rule 4, beginning its second
pass through the rules.

At this point, all the rules have

been considered
With the new contents of working
memory, we consider the rules in
order for the second round

Outline

Expert System introduction

Rule-Based Expert System

Goal Driven Approach

Data Driven Approach

Model-Based Expert System

Model-Based Expert
System

Human expertise is an extremely complex

combination of:

Theoretical knowledge
Experienced based problem solving heuristics
Example of past problems and their solutions
Interpretive skills

Through years of experience, human expert

develop very powerful rules for dealing with
commonly encountered situations

These rules are often highly complied

Model-Based Expert
System

In a rule-based expert system example for

semiconductor failure analysis, a descriptive
approach might base on:

Discoloration of components (burned-out)

History of faults in similar devices
Observation of component by electron microscope

However, approaches that use rules to link

observations and diagnosis do not offer the
benefits of a deeper analysis of devices
structure and function

Model-Based Expert
System

A more robust, deeply explanatory approach

would begin with a detailed model of the
physical structure of the circuit and
equations describing the expected behavior
of each component and their interactions.

A knowledge based reasoner whose analysis

is founded directly on the specification and
functionality of a physical system is called a
MODEL-BASED System

Model-Based Expert
System

The model based system tells its user

what to expect, and when observations
differ from these expectations, it will lead
to identification of faults

Qualitative model-based reasoning

includes:

A description of each component in the device

A description of the devices internal structure
Observation of the devices actual performance

Model-Based Expert System

Example

The expected output value are given in () and the actual

outputs in [ ]

Model-Based Expert System

Example

At F, we have a conflict

We check the dependencies at this point

and determined ADD1, MULT1 and MULT2
are involved

One of these three devices must have a

fault, so we have three hypotheses to
consider:

Either the adder behavior is bad or

one of its two inputs was incorrect

Model-Based Expert System

Example

Assuming ADD1 and one of its input X is

correct (6)
Another input Y must be (4)

Continue this reasoning, Y can not be

MULT2 since G is correct

We are left with the hypotheses that the

fault lies in either MULT1 or ADD1

Model-Based Expert System

Example

Finally, we should note that in the

example, there was assumed to be
a single faulty device.
The world is not always this perfect
Many other possible problems may
occur:

Wire is broken
Faulty connection to the multiplier