5: How organizations use

ICT 2

Expert systems

 Wide range of human knowledge is used.

Human expertise required.
Pay for online services

Components of an Expert system

Knowledge base
A knowledge engineer is employed to collect
information of an expert system. He is responsible to
gather correct and relevant information and ignoring the
irrelevant data. Process known as Data Mining.

Rule Base
A set of rules that the inference engine uses.It is used to reason
through a problem.Different programming loops such as the
IF THEN can be used to extract the relevant date.

 User Interface/GUI
The development of a proper user interface is very crucial for a
successful expert system. The user should be facilitated in such
a way so that proper validation rules and the designing of the
interface -should be developed in such a manner that makes
the GUI user friendly.

 Inference Engine
The inference engine is the most important component and
is considered the brain of an ES. The inference engine is the
knowledge process that is modeled on the methods of
human expert reasoning.
It is a process in the Expert System that pairs the facts
stored in the working memory with the knowledge domain
that is stored in the knowledge database, to get the method
from the problem. It is also known as the control structure
or the rule interpreter for an ES base rule.

Forward and backward chaining

There are two types of chaining techniques:
forward chaining and backward chaining.
The forward chaining technique moves a student from
the first part
of the task to the end.
The backward chaining technique moves a student
from the last part of the task to the beginning.

Forward Chaining
Forward chaining breaks a task down into understandable and manageable
steps. Each step in the sequence is then taught from the beginning to the end.
The inference engine starts reasoning from the facts provided and moves on
until it achieves its decision or conclusion. This strategy is guided by the
provided facts in the memory space and the premises which it can obtain
them from.
The inference engine will try to match the required premise (IF) for all rules in
the knowledge database with the facts given, which are in its memory. If there
are several rules that match, the solving procedures will be used.
The inference engine will repeatedly match the rules of the basic knowledge
to the data stored in its memory.

BACKWARD CHAINING
The backward chaining technique involves the same process as forward
chaining, but the teaching process begins at the end of the sequence and
moves to the beginning.
Backward chaining is used when a student can be taught a task easier
from the last step of the task than the first.
The student is provided with adult assistance throughout the process until
the last step. The student is encouraged to complete the last step alone.

 This strategy is the opposite of the forward chaining strategy.

It starts from the decision and moves backward to obtain
supporting facts for the decision made.
If there are no matching facts that support the chosen decision,
the decision will be rejected and another decision will be
selected. The process continues until a suitable decision and
the facts that support it are obtained.

Knowledge base

Facts base
Holds the data collected from

Rules base
Holds the rules as a series of

experts

IF...THEN...
Tests the input data

Explanation

Backward/forward chaining
providing a trace of the reasoning that produced a decision

system
User interface

using a display

Inference engine

to allow user to input data/request

which reasons by chaining
used in conjunction with rules base to reason through a problem to
provide a solution

Applications of Expert systems

Mineral prospecting
Helping to discover locations to drill for water / oil (the
knowledge base would contain characteristics of likely rock
formations where oil / water could be found, the details of a
particular location would be used as the query, and the advice
would be the likelihood of finding oil / water there).

 This system can gather inputs directly from sensors

sited in a particular location or use satellite data from
such sensors. Comparing the data with the models that
are stored in the knowledge base can help to locate the
presence of minerals

 Investment analysis
Used by investors to monitor stocks Can also be used to sell
shares automatically Knowledge base consists of huge
knowledge of prices of multiple stocks over time.

Car engine fault diagnosis

Two forms.
Usual question and answer session. The mechanic can
make a decision later on based on the fact findings by the
expert system.
The second system is of the type that is fitted in the modern cars
and connected to a car management system.
When the car owner sees a particular light on the dashboard, it
helps the expert system that can be connected to a port in the car
to figure out the problem.

Medical Diagnosis
Patient can type their problems/illness.
The system provides possible answers.
It acts as a consultative and supporting
Data mining using previous research reports/the internet
Sorting relevant diseases and symptoms from the data
collected

INSERT HEAD

Project management
Gantt Chart
a chart in which a series of horizontal lines shows the
amount of work done or production completed in certain
periods of time in relation to the amount planned for
those periods.

 A Gantt chart created using Microsoft Project (MSP).

Note
(1) the critical path is in red,
(2) the slack is the black lines connected to non-critical
activities,
(3) since Saturday and Sunday are not work days and
are thus excluded from the schedule,
some bars on the Gantt chart are longer if they cut
through a weekend.

Pert Chart
A PERT chart is a project management tool used to
schedule, organize, and coordinate tasks within a
project. PERT stands for Program Evaluation Review
Technique

Flight simulation

(Simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real-world process or

system over time)

Devices for flight simulator

Joystick/flight yoke for use by hand linked to potentiometer to record
movement by pilot/manoeuvre aircraft
Pedals for use by feet linked to sensor to record movement by pilot
Switches to control inputs to system e.g. lower under-carriage
Microphone to communicate with instructor
Loudspeakers/headset/headphones to output sound to provide feedback to pilot
Throttle levers linked to sensor/potentiometers for input of engine control
Instruments/dials/display showing current conditions of plane
Navigation display to show direction/location
Large display/screen to project image for pilot to interpret

Advantages and disadvantages of

flight simulators for training pilots

Market research