CBR and MBR techniques: review for an application in the emergencies domain

The purpose of this document is to provide an in-depth analysis of current reasoning engine practice and the integration strategies of Case Based Reasoning and Model Based Reasoning that will be used in the design and development of the RIMSAT system. RIMSAT (Remote Intelligent Management Support and Training) is a European Commission funded project designed to: a.. Provide an innovative, 'intelligent', knowledge based solution aimed at improving the quality of critical decisions b.. Enhance the competencies and responsiveness of individuals and organisations involved in highly complex, safety critical incidents - irrespective of their location. In other words, RIMSAT aims to design and implement a decision support system that using Case Base Reasoning as well as Model Base Reasoning technology is applied in the management of emergency situations. This document is part of a deliverable for RIMSAT project, and although it has been done in close contact with the requirements of the project, it provides an overview wide enough for providing a state of the art in integration strategies between CBR and MBR technologies.Postprint (published version

An Intelligent Help-Desk Framework for Effective Troubleshooting

Nowadays, technological infrastructure requires an intelligent virtual environment based on decision processes. These processes allow the coordination of individual elements and the tasks that connect them. Thus, incident resolution must be efficient and effective to achieve maximum productivity. In this paper, we present the design and implementation of an intelligent decision-support system applied in technology infrastructure at the University of Seville (Spain). We have used a Case Based Reasoning (CBR) methodology and an ontology to develop an intelligent system for supporting expert diagnosis and intelligent management of incidents. This is an innovative and interdisciplinary approach to knowledge management in problem-solving processes that are related to environmental issues. Our system provides an automatic semantic indexing for the generating of question/answer pairs, a case based reasoning technique for finding similar questions, and an integration of external information sources via ontologies. A real ontology-based question/answer platform named ExpertSOS is presented as a proof of concept. The intelligent diagnosis platform is able to identify and isolate the most likely cause of infrastructure failure in case of a faulty operation

The role of intelligent systems in delivering the smart grid

The development of "smart" or "intelligent" energy networks has been proposed by both EPRI's IntelliGrid initiative and the European SmartGrids Technology Platform as a key step in meeting our future energy needs. A central challenge in delivering the energy networks of the future is the judicious selection and development of an appropriate set of technologies and techniques which will form "a toolbox of proven technical solutions". This paper considers functionality required to deliver key parts of the Smart Grid vision of future energy networks. The role of intelligent systems in providing these networks with the requisite decision-making functionality is discussed. In addition to that functionality, the paper considers the role of intelligent systems, in particular multi-agent systems, in providing flexible and extensible architectures for deploying intelligence within the Smart Grid. Beyond exploiting intelligent systems as architectural elements of the Smart Grid, with the purpose of meeting a set of engineering requirements, the role of intelligent systems as a tool for understanding what those requirements are in the first instance, is also briefly discussed

Novel Agent Based-approach for Industrial Diagnosis: A Combined use Between Case-based Reasoning and Similarity Measure

In spunlace nonwovens industry, the maintenance task is very complex, it requires experts and operators collaboration. In this paper, we propose a new approach integrating an agent- based modelling with case-based reasoning that utilizes similarity measures and preferences module. The main purpose of our study is to compare and evaluate the most suitable similarity measure for our case. Furthermore, operators that are usually geographically dispersed, have to collaborate and negotiate to achieve mutual agreements, especially when their proposals (diagnosis) lead to a conflicting situation. The experimentation shows that the suggested agent-based approach is very interesting and efficient for operators and experts who collaborate in INOTIS enterprise

A methodology to conceive a case based system of industrial diagnosis.

International audienceThe objective of this paper is to address the diagnosis knowledge-oriented system in terms of artificial intelligence, particular by the Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) approach. Indeed, the use of CBR, which is an approach to problem solving and learning, in diagnosis goes back to a long time with the appearance of diagnostic support systems based on CBR. A diagnostic system by CBR implements an expertise-base composed of past experiences through which the origins of failure and the maintenance strategy are given according to a description of a specific situation of diagnostic. A study is made on the different diagnostic systems based on CBR. This study showed that there was no common methodology for building a CBR system. This design depends primarily on the case representation and knowledge models of the domain application. Consequently, this paper proposes a general design approach of a diagnostic system based on the CBR approach

A knowledge based machine tool maintenance planning system Using case-based reasoning techniques

In advanced manufacturing systems, Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine tools are important equipment to manufacture product components of high precision, whilst from equipment maintenance point of view, they are regarded as the ‘products’ provided by machine tool manufacturers. Therefore, the reliability of CNC machine tools affects not only the quality of the components they manufacture, but also the reputation and profits of equipment suppliers. This paper presents a novel knowledge-based maintenance planning system to facilitate information and knowledge sharing between all stakeholders including machine tool manufacturers, users (manufacturing systems), maintenance service providers and part suppliers (for machine tools), in the emerging ‘Product-Service’ business model. Case Based Reasoning principles have been implemented to improve the efficiency of maintenance planning. Ontologies were adopted to represent field knowledge using adaptation guided retrievals based on semantic similarity and correlation. The adaption algorithm has been developed based on the Casual Theory and the dependence relationship to generate the solution for required maintenance problems. The proposed system was implemented using Content Management technologies, which proved to have advantages over traditional database systems in managing engineering knowledge, and has been verified using an example CNC machine tool. The results were commented by industrial collaborators as very promising and further exploitation in industry was recommended

Graph-based reasoning in collaborative knowledge management for industrial maintenance

Capitalization and sharing of lessons learned play an essential role in managing the activities of industrial systems. This is particularly the case for the maintenance management, especially for distributed systems often associated with collaborative decision-making systems. Our contribution focuses on the formalization of the expert knowledge required for maintenance actors that will easily engage support tools to accomplish their missions in collaborative frameworks. To do this, we use the conceptual graphs formalism with their reasoning operations for the comparison and integration of several conceptual graph rules corresponding to different viewpoint of experts. The proposed approach is applied to a case study focusing on the maintenance management of a rotary machinery system

Redesign Support Framework for Complex Technical Processes

Els processos industrials requereixen avaluacions periòdiques per a verificar la seva correcta operació en termes tècnics i econòmics. Aquestes avaluacions són necessàries a causa de els canvis en els mercats i en la legislació ambiental i de seguretat. Per a satisfer aquestes demandes és necessari investigar les alternatives dels processos que permetin l'ús òptim dels recursos existents amb la mínima inversió econòmica possible. Aquesta tasca es coneix com redisseny, que és un procediment per a determinar possibles canvis en un procés existent per a millorar-lo pel en alguna mètrica, tal com econòmica, ambiental, de seguretat, etc. En aquesta tesi es proposa un marc d'ajuda al redisseny per a processos tècnics. Aquest marc fa ús d'una representació jeràrquica de models múltiples del procés que es re dissenyarà en conjunció amb un motor que raonament basat en casos per a ajudar a decidir quins elements del procés han de ser modificats. El marc consisteix en quatre etapes principals: adquisició de la descripció del disseny, identificació de candidats, generació d'alternatives, i adaptació i avaluació d'alternatives.El procés original es modela jeràrquicament emprant conceptes de mitjans-fins i parts-tot. Així el coneixement sobre el comportament, l'estructura, la funció i l'objectiu de cadascuna de les parts del procés es genera i s'emmagatzema automàticament. Donat les noves especificacions o requisits que el procés ha de satisfer, el sistema troba les parts del procés que ha de ser redissenyades. S'utilitza una llibreria de casos per a obtenir seccions alternatives del procés que es puguin adaptar per a substituir parts del procés original. Per tant, el marc proposat permet modelar el procés, identificar els components de procés viables a redissenyar, obtenir components alternatius i finalment adaptar aquests components alternatius en el procés original. Aquest procediment es pot veure com activitat d'enginyeria inversa on es generen models abstractes en diversos nivells a partir d'una descripció detallada d'un procés existent per a reduir la seva complexitat. El marc ha estat implementat i provat en el domini d'Enginyeria Química.Los procesos industriales requieren evaluaciones periódicas para verificar su correcta operación en términos técnicos y económicos. Estas evaluaciones son necesarias debido a los cambios en los mercados y en la legislación ambiental y de seguridad. Para satisfacer estas demandas es necesario investigar las alternativas de los procesos que permitan el uso óptimo de los recursos existentes con la mínima inversión económica posible. Esta tarea se conoce como rediseño, que es un procedimiento para determinar posibles cambios en un proceso existente para mejorarlo con respecto a alguna métrica, tal como económica, ambiental, de seguridad, etc.En esta tesis se propone un marco de ayuda al rediseño para procesos técnicos. Este marco emplea una representación jerárquica de modelos múltiples del proceso que se rediseñará en conjunción con un motor que razonamiento basado en casos para ayudar a decidir qué elementos del proceso deben ser modificados. El marco consiste en cuatro etapas principales: adquisición de la descripción del diseño, identificación de candidatos, generación de alternativas, y adaptación y evaluación de alternativas. El proceso original se modela jerárquicamente empleando conceptos de medios-fines y partes-todo. Así el conocimiento sobre el comportamiento, la estructura, la función y el objetivo de cada una de las parte del proceso se genera y se almacena automáticamente. Dado las nuevas especificaciones o requisitos que el proceso debe satisfacer, el sistema encuentra las partes del proceso que debe ser rediseñadas. Se utiliza una librería de casos para obtener secciones alternativas del proceso que se puedan adaptar para sustituir partes del proceso original. Por lo tanto, el marco propuesto permite modelar el proceso, identificar los componentes de proceso viables a rediseñar, obtener componentes alternativos y finalmente adaptar estos componentes alternativos en el proceso original. Este procedimiento se puede ver como actividad de ingeniería inversa donde se generan modelos abstractos en diversos niveles a partir de una descripción detallada de un proceso existente para reducir su complejidad. El marco ha sido implementado y probado en el dominio de Ingeniería Química.Industrial processes require periodic evaluations to verify their correct operation, both in technical and economical terms. These evaluations are necessary due to changes in the markets, and in safety and environmental legislation. In order to satisfy these demands it is necessary to investigate process alternatives that allow the optimal use of existing resources with the minimum possible investment. This task is known as redesign, which is a procedure to determine possible changes to an existing process in order to improve it with respect to some metric, such as economical, environmental, safety, etc.A redesign support framework for technical processes is proposed in this thesis. This framework employs a multiple-model hierarchical representation of the process to be redesigned together with a case-based reasoning engine that helps to decide which elements of the process should be modified. The framework consists of four main stages: acquisition of the design description, identification of candidates, generation of alternatives, and adaptation and evaluation of alternatives.The original process is modelled hierarchically exploiting means-end and part-whole concepts, and thus knowledge about the behaviour, structure, function and intention of each part of the process is automatically generated and stored. Given the new specifications or requirements that the process must fulfil, the system finds the parts of the process which must be redesigned and a case library is used to obtain alternative process sections which can be adapted to substitute parts of the original process. Therefore, the proposed framework allows to model the process, to identify process components suitable for redesign, to obtain alternative components, and finally, to adapt these components into the original process. This procedure can be seen as a reverse engineering activity where abstract models at different levels are generated from a detailed description of an existing process to reduce its complexity. The framework has been implemented and tested on the Chemical Engineering domain.Postprint (published version

Continuous Improvement Through Knowledge-Guided Analysis in Experience Feedback

Continuous improvement in industrial processes is increasingly a key element of competitiveness for industrial systems. The management of experience feedback in this framework is designed to build, analyze and facilitate the knowledge sharing among problem solving practitioners of an organization in order to improve processes and products achievement. During Problem Solving Processes, the intellectual investment of experts is often considerable and the opportunities for expert knowledge exploitation are numerous: decision making, problem solving under uncertainty, and expert configuration. In this paper, our contribution relates to the structuring of a cognitive experience feedback framework, which allows a flexible exploitation of expert knowledge during Problem Solving Processes and a reuse such collected experience. To that purpose, the proposed approach uses the general principles of root cause analysis for identifying the root causes of problems or events, the conceptual graphs formalism for the semantic conceptualization of the domain vocabulary and the Transferable Belief Model for the fusion of information from different sources. The underlying formal reasoning mechanisms (logic-based semantics) in conceptual graphs enable intelligent information retrieval for the effective exploitation of lessons learned from past projects. An example will illustrate the application of the proposed approach of experience feedback processes formalization in the transport industry sector