226,244 research outputs found

    Qualitative mechanism models and the rationalization of procedures

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    A qualitative, cluster-based approach to the representation of hydraulic systems is described and its potential for generating and explaining procedures is demonstrated. Many ideas are formalized and implemented as part of an interactive, computer-based system. The system allows for designing, displaying, and reasoning about hydraulic systems. The interactive system has an interface consisting of three windows: a design/control window, a cluster window, and a diagnosis/plan window. A qualitative mechanism model for the ORS (Orbital Refueling System) is presented to coordinate with ongoing research on this system being conducted at NASA Ames Research Center

    Considering context and users in interactive systems analysis

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    Although the take-up of formal approaches to modelling and reasoning about software has been slow, there has been recent interest and facility in the use of automated reasoning techniques such as model checking [5] on increasingly complex systems. In the case of interactive systems, formal methods can be particularly useful in reasoning about systems that involve complex interactions. These techniques for the analysis of interactive systems typically focus on the device and leave the context of use undocumented. In this paper we look at models that incorporate complexity explicitly, and discuss how they can be used in a formal setting. The paper is concerned particularly with the type of analysis that can be performed with them.This work was carried out in the context of the IVY project, supported by FCT (the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) and FEDER (the European Regional Development Fund) under contract POSC/EIA/26646/2004

    Using automated reasoning in the design of an audio-visual communication system

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    Formal reasoning about how users and systems interact poses a difficult challenge. Interactive systems design provides a context in which the subjective area of human understanding meets the objectivity of computer systems logic. We present results of a case study in the use of automated reasoning to aid the formal analysis of interactive systems. We show how we can use human-factors issues to generate properties of interest, and how we can use model checking and theorem proving to analyse our specifications against those properties. This is part of ongoing work in the development of a tool to allow the automatic translation of interactor based specifications into SMV, and in the analysis of the role which different verification techniques might have during the development of interactive systems.Fundação para a CiĂȘncia e Tecnologia - PRAXIS XXI/BD/9562/96

    Modelling rational user behaviour as games between an angel and a demon

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    Formal models of rational user behavior are essential for user-centered reasoning about interactive systems. At an abstract level, planned behavior and reactive behavior are two important aspects of the rational behavior of users for which existing cognitive modeling approaches are too detailed. In this paper, we propose a novel treatment of these aspects within our formal framework of cognitively plausible behavior. We develop an abstract, formal model of rational behavior as a game between two opponents. Intuitively, an Angel abstractly represents the planning aspects, whereas a Demon represents the reactive aspects of user behavior. The formalization is carried out within the MOCHA framework and is illustrated by simple examples of interactive tasks

    JECC: Commonsense Reasoning Tasks Derived from Interactive Fictions

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    Commonsense reasoning simulates the human ability to make presumptions about our physical world, and it is an essential cornerstone in building general AI systems. We propose a new commonsense reasoning dataset based on human's Interactive Fiction (IF) gameplay walkthroughs as human players demonstrate plentiful and diverse commonsense reasoning. The new dataset provides a natural mixture of various reasoning types and requires multi-hop reasoning. Moreover, the IF game-based construction procedure requires much less human interventions than previous ones. Experiments show that the introduced dataset is challenging to previous machine reading models with a significant 20% performance gap compared to human experts.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2010.0978

    Reasoning about interactive systems in dynamic situations of use

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    Interactive software, systems and devices are typically designed for a specific (set of) purpose(s) and the design process used ensures that they will perform satisfactorily when used as specified. In many cases, users will use these systems in unintended and unexpected ways where it seems appropriate, which can lead to problems as the differing usage situations have unintended effects on use. We have previously introduced a method of combining formal models of interactive systems with models of usage scenarios to allow reasoning about the effects that this unintended use may have. We now extend this approach to consider how such models might be used when considering deliberately extending the usage scenarios of existing interactive systems to support other activities, for example in emergency situations. This chapter explores a methodology to identify the effect of properties of emergency scenarios on the interactivity of interactive systems and devices. This then enables us to consider when, and how, we might utilise such devices in such emergencies

    Teaching Specifications Using An Interactive Reasoning Assistant

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    The importance of verifiably correct software has grown enormously in recent years as software has become integral to the design of critical systems, including airplanes, automobiles, and medical equipment. Hence, the importance of solid analytical reasoning skills to complement basic programming skills has also increased. If developers cannot reason about the software they design, they cannot ensure the correctness of the resulting systems. And if these systems fail, the economic and human costs can be substantial. In addition to learning analytical reasoning principles as part of the standard Computer Science curriculum, students must be excited about learning these skills and engaged in their practice. Our approach to achieving these goals at the introductory level is based on the Test Case Reasoning Assistant (TCRA), interactive courseware that allows students to provide test cases that demonstrate their understanding of instructor-supplied interface specifications while receiving immediate feedback as they work. The constituent tools also enable instructors to rapidly generate graphs of student performance data to understand the progress of their classes. We evaluate the courseware using two case-studies. The evaluation centers on understanding the impact of the tool on students\u27 ability to read and interpret specifications

    Accessible reasoning with diagrams: From cognition to automation

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    High-tech systems are ubiquitous and often safety and se- curity critical: reasoning about their correctness is paramount. Thus, precise modelling and formal reasoning are necessary in order to convey knowledge unambiguously and accurately. Whilst mathematical mod- elling adds great rigour, it is opaque to many stakeholders which leads to errors in data handling, delays in product release, for example. This is a major motivation for the development of diagrammatic approaches to formalisation and reasoning about models of knowledge. In this paper, we present an interactive theorem prover, called iCon, for a highly expressive diagrammatic logic that is capable of modelling OWL 2 ontologies and, thus, has practical relevance. Significantly, this work is the first to design diagrammatic inference rules using insights into what humans find accessible. Specifically, we conducted an experiment about relative cognitive benefits of primitive (small step) and derived (big step) inferences, and use the results to guide the implementation of inference rules in iCon
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