Factors shaping the evolution of electronic documentation systems

The main goal is to prepare the space station technical and managerial structure for likely changes in the creation, capture, transfer, and utilization of knowledge. By anticipating advances, the design of Space Station Project (SSP) information systems can be tailored to facilitate a progression of increasingly sophisticated strategies as the space station evolves. Future generations of advanced information systems will use increases in power to deliver environmentally meaningful, contextually targeted, interconnected data (knowledge). The concept of a Knowledge Base Management System is emerging when the problem is focused on how information systems can perform such a conversion of raw data. Such a system would include traditional management functions for large space databases. Added artificial intelligence features might encompass co-existing knowledge representation schemes; effective control structures for deductive, plausible, and inductive reasoning; means for knowledge acquisition, refinement, and validation; explanation facilities; and dynamic human intervention. The major areas covered include: alternative knowledge representation approaches; advanced user interface capabilities; computer-supported cooperative work; the evolution of information system hardware; standardization, compatibility, and connectivity; and organizational impacts of information intensive environments

Expert systems and finite element structural analysis - a review

Finite element analysis of many engineering systems is practised more as an art than as a science . It involves high level expertise (analytical as well as heuristic) regarding problem modelling (e .g. problem specification,13; choosing the appropriate type of elements etc .), optical mesh design for achieving the specified accuracy (e .g . initial mesh selection, adaptive mesh refinement), selection of the appropriate type of analysis and solution13; routines and, finally, diagnosis of the finite element solutions . Very often such expertise is highly dispersed and is not available at a single place with a single expert. The design of an expert system, such that the necessary expertise is available to a novice to perform the same job even in the absence of trained experts, becomes an attractive proposition. 13; In this paper, the areas of finite element structural analysis which require experience and decision-making capabilities are explored . A simple expert system, with a feasible knowledge base for problem modelling, optimal mesh design, type of analysis and solution routines, and diagnosis, is outlined. Several efforts in these directions, reported in the open literature, are also reviewed in this paper

On the acquisition and representation of procedural knowledge

Historically knowledge acquisition has proven to be one of the greatest barriers to the development of intelligent systems. Current practice generally requires lengthy interactions between the expert whose knowledge is to be captured and the knowledge engineer whose responsibility is to acquire and represent knowledge in a useful form. Although much research has been devoted to the development of methodologies and computer software to aid in the capture and representation of some of some types of knowledge, little attention has been devoted to procedural knowledge. NASA personnel frequently perform tasks that are primarily procedural in nature. Previous work is reviewed in the field of knowledge acquisition and then focus on knowledge acquisition for procedural tasks with special attention devoted to the Navy's VISTA tool. The design and development is described of a system for the acquisition and representation of procedural knowledge-TARGET (Task Analysis and Rule Generation Tool). TARGET is intended as a tool that permits experts to visually describe procedural tasks and as a common medium for knowledge refinement by the expert and knowledge engineer. The system is designed to represent the acquired knowledge in the form of production rules. Systems such as TARGET have the potential to profoundly reduce the time, difficulties, and costs of developing knowledge-based systems for the performance of procedural tasks

Designing and Deploying Online Field Experiments

Online experiments are widely used to compare specific design alternatives, but they can also be used to produce generalizable knowledge and inform strategic decision making. Doing so often requires sophisticated experimental designs, iterative refinement, and careful logging and analysis. Few tools exist that support these needs. We thus introduce a language for online field experiments called PlanOut. PlanOut separates experimental design from application code, allowing the experimenter to concisely describe experimental designs, whether common "A/B tests" and factorial designs, or more complex designs involving conditional logic or multiple experimental units. These latter designs are often useful for understanding causal mechanisms involved in user behaviors. We demonstrate how experiments from the literature can be implemented in PlanOut, and describe two large field experiments conducted on Facebook with PlanOut. For common scenarios in which experiments are run iteratively and in parallel, we introduce a namespaced management system that encourages sound experimental practice.Comment: Proceedings of the 23rd international conference on World wide web, 283-29

KNOWLEDGE BASED IMAGES RETRIVAL SYSTEM BASED ON INDIVIDUAL PARAMETERS SPECIFY FOR JOGGING SHOE

This project was addressed on how to guide and help beginner runner to find a great pair of shoes for their favorite sport and know details about shoes design and the characteristics of itself. This project is to encounter the problem of improper running footwear among beginner runner and lack of number of experts located in shoes store. The approach proposes is based on knowledge- based system. A knowledge-based system is a way of encoding a human expert's knowledge in a fairly narrow area into an automated system. By using knowledge-based system, is a computer program that represent some specialist subject could give a view to solve problems or give advice. The knowledge captured will be used as a scope of study to identifY three parameters which is type of foot type, shoe construction and type of surface, to design 3D shoes modeling and as a platform to transfer it into runnable program. Prototyping Methodology will be use in completing this project. It allows refinement of the system prototype during the analysis, design and implementation phase. The result of the system should be all functionality in the Knowledge-Based Images Retrieval Systems Based on Individual Parameters SpecifY for Jogging Shoe is workable and successfully fulfills the necessity needed by user to find a great pair of running shoe fit their foot and reduce injuries

TARGET: Rapid Capture of Process Knowledge

TARGET (Task Analysis/Rule Generation Tool) represents a new breed of tool that blends graphical process flow modeling capabilities with the function of a top-down reporting facility. Since NASA personnel frequently perform tasks that are primarily procedural in nature, TARGET models mission or task procedures and generates hierarchical reports as part of the process capture and analysis effort. Historically, capturing knowledge has proven to be one of the greatest barriers to the development of intelligent systems. Current practice generally requires lengthy interactions between the expert whose knowledge is to be captured and the knowledge engineer whose responsibility is to acquire and represent the expert's knowledge in a useful form. Although much research has been devoted to the development of methodologies and computer software to aid in the capture and representation of some types of knowledge, procedural knowledge has received relatively little attention. In essence, TARGET is one of the first tools of its kind, commercial or institutional, that is designed to support this type of knowledge capture undertaking. This paper will describe the design and development of TARGET for the acquisition and representation of procedural knowledge. The strategies employed by TARGET to support use by knowledge engineers, subject matter experts, programmers and managers will be discussed. This discussion includes the method by which the tool employs its graphical user interface to generate a task hierarchy report. Next, the approach to generate production rules for incorporation in and development of a CLIPS based expert system will be elaborated. TARGET also permits experts to visually describe procedural tasks as a common medium for knowledge refinement by the expert community and knowledge engineer making knowledge consensus possible. The paper briefly touches on the verification and validation issues facing the CLIPS rule generation aspects of TARGET. A description of efforts to support TARGET's interoperability issues on PCs, Macintoshes and UNIX workstations concludes the paper

Practical aspects of modeling aircraft dynamics from flight data

The purpose of parameter estimation, a subset of system identification, is to estimate the coefficients (such as stability and control derivatives) of the aircraft differential equations of motion from sampled measured dynamic responses. In the past, the primary reason for estimating stability and control derivatives from flight tests was to make comparisons with wind tunnel estimates. As aircraft became more complex, and as flight envelopes were expanded to include flight regimes that were not well understood, new requirements for the derivative estimates evolved. For many years, the flight determined derivatives were used in simulations to aid in flight planning and in pilot training. The simulations were particularly important in research flight test programs in which an envelope expansion into new flight regimes was required. Parameter estimation techniques for estimating stability and control derivatives from flight data became more sophisticated to support the flight test programs. As knowledge of these new flight regimes increased, more complex aircraft were flown. Much of this increased complexity was in sophisticated flight control systems. The design and refinement of the control system required higher fidelity simulations than were previously required

Product development knowledge-processing system

This thesis develops a methodology that integrates Quality Function Deployment (QFD), Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) and Design Structure Matrix (DSM) to address the problem of analyzing, interpreting, and transforming the knowledge data flow during the product development process. A product development process is the sequence of steps an enterprise takes to conceive, design, and commercialize a product. The general process includes: Planning, Concept Development, System-Level Design, Detail Design, Testing and Refinement, and Production Ramp-Up. One way to think about the development process is as a knowledge-processing system. Prior to this study, there are few articles integrating TRIZ and QFD. QFD is a tool for identifying the needs of the customer and translating the language of the customer into the language of the engineer . The QFD process also identifies engineering contradictions within the existing system. TRIZ can provide solutions for these contradictions. It offers one of the most efficient means to generate creative solutions for the desired improvements prioritized in QFD. Once a creative solution is developed using TRIZ, the corresponding part characteristics can be further decomposed using QFD. If we think of knowledge-processing as a work process, then both rework and iterative design requires additional project resources and time. Iteration is the repetition of activities due to the input of new information. DSM is an effective tool to plan and manage product development processes through information flow analysis by helping managers understand and mitigate unintentional rework or iteration