Guidance, navigation, and control subsystem equipment selection algorithm using expert system methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allen, Cheryl L.

1991-01-01

Enhanced engineering tools can be obtained through the integration of expert system methodologies and existing design software. The application of these methodologies to the spacecraft design and cost model (SDCM) software provides an improved technique for the selection of hardware for unmanned spacecraft subsystem design. The knowledge engineering system (KES) expert system development tool was used to implement a smarter equipment section algorithm than that which is currently achievable through the use of a standard data base system. The guidance, navigation, and control subsystems of the SDCM software was chosen as the initial subsystem for implementation. The portions of the SDCM code which compute the selection criteria and constraints remain intact, and the expert system equipment selection algorithm is embedded within this existing code. The architecture of this new methodology is described and its implementation is reported. The project background and a brief overview of the expert system is described, and once the details of the design are characterized, an example of its implementation is demonstrated.

Expert system verification and validation study: ES V/V Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

French, Scott; Hamilton, David

1992-01-01

The primary purpose of this document is to build a foundation for applying principles of verification and validation (V&V) of expert systems. To achieve this, some V&V as applied to conventionally implemented software is required. Part one will discuss the background of V&V from the perspective of (1) what is V&V of software and (2) V&V's role in developing software. Part one will also overview some common analysis techniques that are applied when performing V&V of software. All of these materials will be presented based on the assumption that the reader has little or no background in V&V or in developing procedural software. The primary purpose of part two is to explain the major techniques that have been developed for V&V of expert systems.

Users manual for an expert system (HSPEXP) for calibration of the hydrological simulation program; Fortran

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lumb, A.M.; McCammon, R.B.; Kittle, J.L.

1994-01-01

Expert system software was developed to assist less experienced modelers with calibration of a watershed model and to facilitate the interaction between the modeler and the modeling process not provided by mathematical optimization. A prototype was developed with artificial intelligence software tools, a knowledge engineer, and two domain experts. The manual procedures used by the domain experts were identified and the prototype was then coded by the knowledge engineer. The expert system consists of a set of hierarchical rules designed to guide the calibration of the model through a systematic evaluation of model parameters. When the prototype was completed and tested, it was rewritten for portability and operational use and was named HSPEXP. The watershed model Hydrological Simulation Program--Fortran (HSPF) is used in the expert system. This report is the users manual for HSPEXP and contains a discussion of the concepts and detailed steps and examples for using the software. The system has been tested on watersheds in the States of Washington and Maryland, and the system correctly identified the model parameters to be adjusted and the adjustments led to improved calibration.

An expert system executive for automated assembly of large space truss structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allen, Cheryl L.

1993-01-01

Langley Research Center developed a unique test bed for investigating the practical problems associated with the assembly of large space truss structures using robotic manipulators. The test bed is the result of an interdisciplinary effort that encompasses the full spectrum of assembly problems - from the design of mechanisms to the development of software. The automated structures assembly test bed and its operation are described, the expert system executive and its development are detailed, and the planned system evolution is discussed. Emphasis is on the expert system implementation of the program executive. The executive program must direct and reliably perform complex assembly tasks with the flexibility to recover from realistic system errors. The employment of an expert system permits information that pertains to the operation of the system to be encapsulated concisely within a knowledge base. This consolidation substantially reduced code, increased flexibility, eased software upgrades, and realized a savings in software maintenance costs.

Development of an expert system prototype for determining software functional requirements for command management activities at NASA Goddard

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liebowitz, J.

1986-01-01

The development of an expert system prototype for software functional requirement determination for NASA Goddard's Command Management System, as part of its process of transforming general requests into specific near-earth satellite commands, is described. The present knowledge base was formulated through interactions with domain experts, and was then linked to the existing Knowledge Engineering Systems (KES) expert system application generator. Steps in the knowledge-base development include problem-oriented attribute hierarchy development, knowledge management approach determination, and knowledge base encoding. The KES Parser and Inspector, in addition to backcasting and analogical mapping, were used to validate the expert system-derived requirements for one of the major functions of a spacecraft, the solar Maximum Mission. Knowledge refinement, evaluation, and implementation procedures of the expert system were then accomplished.

An SSME High Pressure Oxidizer Turbopump diagnostic system using G2 real-time expert system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guo, Ten-Huei

1991-01-01

An expert system which diagnoses various seal leakage faults in the High Pressure Oxidizer Turbopump of the SSME was developed using G2 real-time expert system. Three major functions of the software were implemented: model-based data generation, real-time expert system reasoning, and real-time input/output communication. This system is proposed as one module of a complete diagnostic system for the SSME. Diagnosis of a fault is defined as the determination of its type, severity, and likelihood. Since fault diagnosis is often accomplished through the use of heuristic human knowledge, an expert system based approach has been adopted as a paradigm to develop this diagnostic system. To implement this approach, a software shell which can be easily programmed to emulate the human decision process, the G2 Real-Time Expert System, was selected. Lessons learned from this implementation are discussed.

An SSME high pressure oxidizer turbopump diagnostic system using G2(TM) real-time expert system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guo, Ten-Huei

1991-01-01

An expert system which diagnoses various seal leakage faults in the High Pressure Oxidizer Turbopump of the SSME was developed using G2(TM) real-time expert system. Three major functions of the software were implemented: model-based data generation, real-time expert system reasoning, and real-time input/output communication. This system is proposed as one module of a complete diagnostic system for Space Shuttle Main Engine. Diagnosis of a fault is defined as the determination of its type, severity, and likelihood. Since fault diagnosis is often accomplished through the use of heuristic human knowledge, an expert system based approach was adopted as a paradigm to develop this diagnostic system. To implement this approach, a software shell which can be easily programmed to emulate the human decision process, the G2 Real-Time Expert System, was selected. Lessons learned from this implementation are discussed.

An Investigation of Expert Systems Usage for Software Requirements Development in the Strategic Defense Initiative Environment.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-06-10

the solution of the base could be the solution of the target. If expert systems are to mimic humans , then they should inherently utilize analogy. In the...expert systems environment, the theory of frames for representing knowledge developed partly because humans usually solve problems by first seeing if...Goals," Computer, May 1975, p. 17. 8. A.I. Wasserman, "Some Principles of User Software Engineering for Information Systems ," Digest of Papers, COMPCON

Artificial intelligence and expert systems in-flight software testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Demasie, M. P.; Muratore, J. F.

1991-01-01

The authors discuss the introduction of advanced information systems technologies such as artificial intelligence, expert systems, and advanced human-computer interfaces directly into Space Shuttle software engineering. The reconfiguration automation project (RAP) was initiated to coordinate this move towards 1990s software technology. The idea behind RAP is to automate several phases of the flight software testing procedure and to introduce AI and ES into space shuttle flight software testing. In the first phase of RAP, conventional tools to automate regression testing have already been developed or acquired. There are currently three tools in use.

An expert system as applied to bridges : software development phase.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1989-01-01

This report describes the results of the third of a four-part study dealing with the use of a computerized expert system to assist bridge engineers in their structures management program. In this phase of the study, software (called DOBES) was writte...

System of experts for intelligent data management (SEIDAM)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goodenough, David G.; Iisaka, Joji; Fung, KO

1993-01-01

A proposal to conduct research and development on a system of expert systems for intelligent data management (SEIDAM) is being developed. CCRS has much expertise in developing systems for integrating geographic information with space and aircraft remote sensing data and in managing large archives of remotely sensed data. SEIDAM will be composed of expert systems grouped in three levels. At the lowest level, the expert systems will manage and integrate data from diverse sources, taking account of symbolic representation differences and varying accuracies. Existing software can be controlled by these expert systems, without rewriting existing software into an Artificial Intelligence (AI) language. At the second level, SEIDAM will take the interpreted data (symbolic and numerical) and combine these with data models. at the top level, SEIDAM will respond to user goals for predictive outcomes given existing data. The SEIDAM Project will address the research areas of expert systems, data management, storage and retrieval, and user access and interfaces.

System of Experts for Intelligent Data Management (SEIDAM)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goodenough, David G.; Iisaka, Joji; Fung, KO

1992-01-01

It is proposed to conduct research and development on a system of expert systems for intelligent data management (SEIDAM). CCRS has much expertise in developing systems for integrating geographic information with space and aircraft remote sensing data and in managing large archives of remotely sensed data. SEIDAM will be composed of expert systems grouped in three levels. At the lowest level, the expert systems will manage and integrate data from diverse sources, taking account of symbolic representation differences and varying accuracies. Existing software can be controlled by these expert systems, without rewriting existing software into an Artificial Intelligence (AI) language. At the second level, SEIDAM will take the interpreted data (symbolic and numerical) and combine these with data models. At the top level, SEIDAM will respond to user goals for predictive outcomes given existing data. The SEIDAM Project will address the research areas of expert systems, data management, storage and retrieval, and user access and interfaces.

Probabilistic structural analysis methods for select space propulsion system components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Millwater, H. R.; Cruse, T. A.

1989-01-01

The Probabilistic Structural Analysis Methods (PSAM) project developed at the Southwest Research Institute integrates state-of-the-art structural analysis techniques with probability theory for the design and analysis of complex large-scale engineering structures. An advanced efficient software system (NESSUS) capable of performing complex probabilistic analysis has been developed. NESSUS contains a number of software components to perform probabilistic analysis of structures. These components include: an expert system, a probabilistic finite element code, a probabilistic boundary element code and a fast probability integrator. The NESSUS software system is shown. An expert system is included to capture and utilize PSAM knowledge and experience. NESSUS/EXPERT is an interactive menu-driven expert system that provides information to assist in the use of the probabilistic finite element code NESSUS/FEM and the fast probability integrator (FPI). The expert system menu structure is summarized. The NESSUS system contains a state-of-the-art nonlinear probabilistic finite element code, NESSUS/FEM, to determine the structural response and sensitivities. A broad range of analysis capabilities and an extensive element library is present.

Design of an Ada expert system shell for the VHSIC avionic modular flight processor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fanning, F. Jesse

1992-01-01

The Embedded Computer System Expert System Shell (ES Shell) is an Ada-based expert system shell developed at the Avionics Laboratory for use on the VHSIC Avionic Modular Processor (VAMP) running under the Ada Avionics Real-Time Software (AARTS) Operating System. The ES Shell provides the interface between the expert system and the avionics environment, and controls execution of the expert system. Testing of the ES Shell in the Avionics Laboratory's Integrated Test Bed (ITB) has demonstrated its ability to control a non-deterministic software application executing on the VAMP's which can control the ITB's real-time closed-loop aircraft simulation. The results of these tests and the conclusions reached in the design and development of the ES Shell have played an important role in the formulation of the requirements for a production-quality expert system inference engine, an ingredient necessary for the successful use of expert systems on the VAMP embedded avionic flight processor.

Power subsystem automation study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tietz, J. C.; Sewy, D.; Pickering, C.; Sauers, R.

1984-01-01

The purpose of the phase 2 of the power subsystem automation study was to demonstrate the feasibility of using computer software to manage an aspect of the electrical power subsystem on a space station. The state of the art in expert systems software was investigated in this study. This effort resulted in the demonstration of prototype expert system software for managing one aspect of a simulated space station power subsystem.

Software For Design Of Life-Support Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rudokas, Mary R.; Cantwell, Elizabeth R.; Robinson, Peter I.; Shenk, Timothy W.

1991-01-01

Design Assistant Workstation (DAWN) computer program is prototype of expert software system for analysis and design of regenerative, physical/chemical life-support systems that revitalize air, reclaim water, produce food, and treat waste. Incorporates both conventional software for quantitative mathematical modeling of physical, chemical, and biological processes and expert system offering user stored knowledge about materials and processes. Constructs task tree as it leads user through simulated process, offers alternatives, and indicates where alternative not feasible. Also enables user to jump from one design level to another.

The Management and Security Expert (MASE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, Mark D.; Barr, Stanley J.; Gryphon, Coranth D.; Keegan, Jeff; Kniker, Catherine A.; Krolak, Patrick D.

1991-01-01

The Management and Security Expert (MASE) is a distributed expert system that monitors the operating systems and applications of a network. It is capable of gleaning the information provided by the different operating systems in order to optimize hardware and software performance; recognize potential hardware and/or software failure, and either repair the problem before it becomes an emergency, or notify the systems manager of the problem; and monitor applications and known security holes for indications of an intruder or virus. MASE can eradicate much of the guess work of system management.

An expert system prototype for aiding in the development of software functional requirements for NASA Goddard's command management system: A case study and lessons learned

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liebowitz, Jay

1986-01-01

At NASA Goddard, the role of the command management system (CMS) is to transform general requests for spacecraft opeerations into detailed operational plans to be uplinked to the spacecraft. The CMS is part of the NASA Data System which entails the downlink of science and engineering data from NASA near-earth satellites to the user, and the uplink of command and control data to the spacecraft. Presently, it takes one to three years, with meetings once or twice a week, to determine functional requirements for CMS software design. As an alternative approach to the present technique of developing CMS software functional requirements, an expert system prototype was developed to aid in this function. Specifically, the knowledge base was formulated through interactions with domain experts, and was then linked to an existing expert system application generator called 'Knowledge Engineering System (Version 1.3).' Knowledge base development focused on four major steps: (1) develop the problem-oriented attribute hierachy; (2) determine the knowledge management approach; (3) encode the knowledge base; and (4) validate, test, certify, and evaluate the knowledge base and the expert system prototype as a whole. Backcasting was accomplished for validating and testing the expert system prototype. Knowledge refinement, evaluation, and implementation procedures of the expert system prototype were then transacted.

What Is An Expert System? ERIC Digest.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boss, Richard W.

This digest describes and defines the various components of an expert system, e.g., a computerized tool designed to enhance the quality and availability of knowledge required by decision makers. It is noted that expert systems differ from conventional applications software in the following areas: (1) the existence of the expert systems shell, or…

Expert Systems: A Challenge for the Reading Profession.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balajthy, Ernest

The expert systems are designed to imitate the reasoning of a human expert in a content area field. Designed to be advisors, these software systems combine the content area knowledge and decision-making ability of an expert with the user's understanding and knowledge of particular circumstances. The reading diagnosis system, the RD2P System…

Advanced automation of a prototypic thermal control system for Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dominick, Jeff

1990-01-01

Viewgraphs on an advanced automation of a prototypic thermal control system for space station are presented. The Thermal Expert System (TEXSYS) was initiated in 1986 as a cooperative project between ARC and JCS as a way to leverage on-going work at both centers. JSC contributed Thermal Control System (TCS) hardware and control software, TCS operational expertise, and integration expertise. ARC contributed expert system and display expertise. The first years of the project were dedicated to parallel development of expert system tools, displays, interface software, and TCS technology and procedures by a total of four organizations.

Techniques and implementation of the embedded rule-based expert system using Ada

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liberman, Eugene M.; Jones, Robert E.

1991-01-01

Ada is becoming an increasingly popular programming language for large Government-funded software projects. Ada with its portability, transportability, and maintainability lends itself well to today's complex programming environment. In addition, expert systems have also assured a growing role in providing human-like reasoning capability and expertise for computer systems. The integration of expert system technology with Ada programming language, specifically a rule-based expert system using an ART-Ada (Automated Reasoning Tool for Ada) system shell is discussed. The NASA Lewis Research Center was chosen as a beta test site for ART-Ada. The test was conducted by implementing the existing Autonomous Power EXpert System (APEX), a Lisp-base power expert system, in ART-Ada. Three components, the rule-based expert system, a graphics user interface, and communications software make up SMART-Ada (Systems fault Management with ART-Ada). The main objective, to conduct a beta test on the ART-Ada rule-based expert system shell, was achieved. The system is operational. New Ada tools will assist in future successful projects. ART-Ada is one such tool and is a viable alternative to the straight Ada code when an application requires a rule-based or knowledge-based approach.

Real Time Data System (RTDS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Muratore, John F.

1991-01-01

Lessons learned from operational real time expert systems are examined. The basic system architecture is discussed. An expert system is any software that performs tasks to a standard that would normally require a human expert. An expert system implies knowledge contained in data rather than code. And an expert system implies the use of heuristics as well as algorithms. The 15 top lessons learned by the operation of a real time data system are presented.

Expert systems applied to fault isolation and energy storage management, phase 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1987-01-01

A user's guide for the Fault Isolation and Energy Storage (FIES) II system is provided. Included are a brief discussion of the background and scope of this project, a discussion of basic and advanced operating installation and problem determination procedures for the FIES II system and information on hardware and software design and implementation. A number of appendices are provided including a detailed specification for the microprocessor software, a detailed description of the expert system rule base and a description and listings of the LISP interface software.

Expert system verification concerns in an operations environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goodwin, Mary Ann; Robertson, Charles C.

1987-01-01

The Space Shuttle community is currently developing a number of knowledge-based tools, primarily expert systems, to support Space Shuttle operations. It is proposed that anticipating and responding to the requirements of the operations environment will contribute to a rapid and smooth transition of expert systems from development to operations, and that the requirements for verification are critical to this transition. The paper identifies the requirements of expert systems to be used for flight planning and support and compares them to those of existing procedural software used for flight planning and support. It then explores software engineering concepts and methodology that can be used to satisfy these requirements, to aid the transition from development to operations and to support the operations environment during the lifetime of expert systems. Many of these are similar to those used for procedural hardware.

Security System Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1993-01-01

C Language Integration Production System (CLIPS), a NASA-developed expert systems program, has enabled a security systems manufacturer to design a new generation of hardware. C.CURESystem 1 Plus, manufactured by Software House, is a software based system that is used with a variety of access control hardware at installations around the world. Users can manage large amounts of information, solve unique security problems and control entry and time scheduling. CLIPS acts as an information management tool when accessed by C.CURESystem 1 Plus. It asks questions about the hardware and when given the answer, recommends possible quick solutions by non-expert persons.

Software life cycle methodologies and environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fridge, Ernest

1991-01-01

Products of this project will significantly improve the quality and productivity of Space Station Freedom Program software processes by: improving software reliability and safety; and broadening the range of problems that can be solved with computational solutions. Projects brings in Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) technology for: Environments such as Engineering Script Language/Parts Composition System (ESL/PCS) application generator, Intelligent User Interface for cost avoidance in setting up operational computer runs, Framework programmable platform for defining process and software development work flow control, Process for bringing CASE technology into an organization's culture, and CLIPS/CLIPS Ada language for developing expert systems; and methodologies such as Method for developing fault tolerant, distributed systems and a method for developing systems for common sense reasoning and for solving expert systems problems when only approximate truths are known.

Proceedings of Tenth Annual Software Engineering Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1985-01-01

Papers are presented on the following topics: measurement of software technology, recent studies of the Software Engineering Lab, software management tools, expert systems, error seeding as a program validation technique, software quality assurance, software engineering environments (including knowledge-based environments), the Distributed Computing Design System, and various Ada experiments.

The Effects of Word Processing Software on User Satisfaction: An Empirical Study of Micro, Mini, and Mainframe Computers Using an Interactive Artificial Intelligence Expert-System.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rushinek, Avi; Rushinek, Sara

1984-01-01

Describes results of a system rating study in which users responded to WPS (word processing software) questions. Study objectives were data collection and evaluation of variables; statistical quantification of WPS's contribution (along with other variables) to user satisfaction; design of an expert system to evaluate WPS; and database update and…

Expert systems for C3I. Volume 1. A user's introduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clapp, J. A.; Hockett, S. M.; Prelle, M. J.; Tallant, A. M.; Triant, D. D.

1985-10-01

There has been a tremendous burgeoning of interest in artificial intelligence (AI) over the last few years. Investments of commercial and government sponsors reflect a widespread belief that AI is now ready for practical applications. The area of AI currently receiving the greatest attention and investment is expert system technology. Most major high tech corporations have begun to develop expert systems, and many software houses specializing in expert system tools and applications have recently appeared. The defense community is one of the heaviest investors in expert system technology, and within this community one of the application areas receiving greatest attention is C3I. Many ESD programs are now beginning to ask whether expert system applications for C3I are ready for incorporation into ESD-developed systems, and, if so, what are the potential benefits and risks of doing so. This report was prepared to help ESD and MITRE personnel working on acquisition programs to address these issues and to gain a better understanding of what expert systems are all about. The primary intention of this report is to investigate what expert systems are and the advances that are being made in expert system technology for C3I applications. The report begins with a brief tutorial on expert systems, emphasizing how they differ from conventional software systems and what they are best at doing.

Bonneville Power Administration Communication Alarm Processor expert system:

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Goeltz, R.; Purucker, S.; Tonn, B.

This report describes the Communications Alarm Processor (CAP), a prototype expert system developed for the Bonneville Power Administration by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The system is designed to receive and diagnose alarms from Bonneville's Microwave Communications System (MCS). The prototype encompasses one of seven branches of the communications network and a subset of alarm systems and alarm types from each system. The expert system employs a backward chaining approach to diagnosing alarms. Alarms are fed into the expert system directly from the communication system via RS232 ports and sophisticated alarm filtering and mailbox software. Alarm diagnoses are presented to operatorsmore » for their review and concurrence before the diagnoses are archived. Statistical software is incorporated to allow analysis of archived data for report generation and maintenance studies. The delivered system resides on a Digital Equipment Corporation VAX 3200 workstation and utilizes Nexpert Object and SAS for the expert system and statistical analysis, respectively. 11 refs., 23 figs., 7 tabs.« less

Formal verification of AI software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rushby, John; Whitehurst, R. Alan

1989-01-01

The application of formal verification techniques to Artificial Intelligence (AI) software, particularly expert systems, is investigated. Constraint satisfaction and model inversion are identified as two formal specification paradigms for different classes of expert systems. A formal definition of consistency is developed, and the notion of approximate semantics is introduced. Examples are given of how these ideas can be applied in both declarative and imperative forms.

Integration of an expert system into a user interface language demonstration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stclair, D. C.

1986-01-01

The need for a User Interface Language (UIL) has been recognized by the Space Station Program Office as a necessary tool to aid in minimizing the cost of software generation by multiple users. Previous history in the Space Shuttle Program has shown that many different areas of software generation, such as operations, integration, testing, etc., have each used a different user command language although the types of operations being performed were similar in many respects. Since the Space Station represents a much more complex software task, a common user command language--a user interface language--is required to support the large spectrum of space station software developers and users. To assist in the selection of an appropriate set of definitions for a UIL, a series of demonstration programs was generated with which to test UIL concepts against specific Space Station scenarios using operators for the astronaut and scientific community. Because of the importance of expert system in the space station, it was decided that an expert system should be embedded in the UIL. This would not only provide insight into the UIL components required but would indicate the effectiveness with which an expert system could function in such an environment.

Management Expert Systems (M.E.S.): A Framework for Development and Implementation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moser, Jorge; Christoph, Richard

1987-01-01

This description of the development of expert systems designed to solve management problems focuses on the issue of corporate divestment as an example. Software needs are discussed, and an example of a management expert system for divestment analysis at James Madison University is briefly described. (Author/LRW)

An hierarchical approach to performance evaluation of expert systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dominick, Wayne D. (Editor); Kavi, Srinu

1985-01-01

The number and size of expert systems is growing rapidly. Formal evaluation of these systems - which is not performed for many systems - increases the acceptability by the user community and hence their success. Hierarchical evaluation that had been conducted for computer systems is applied for expert system performance evaluation. Expert systems are also evaluated by treating them as software systems (or programs). This paper reports many of the basic concepts and ideas in the Performance Evaluation of Expert Systems Study being conducted at the University of Southwestern Louisiana.

Expert Systems for Libraries at SCIL [Small Computers in Libraries]'88.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kochtanek, Thomas R.; And Others

1988-01-01

Six brief papers on expert systems for libraries cover (1) a knowledge-based approach to database design; (2) getting started in expert systems; (3) using public domain software to develop a business reference system; (4) a music cataloging inquiry system; (5) linguistic analysis of reference transactions; and (6) a model of a reference librarian.…

Desiderata for product labeling of medical expert systems.

PubMed

Geissbühler, A; Miller, R A

1997-12-01

The proliferation and increasing complexity of medical expert systems raise ethical and legal concerns about the ability of practitioners to protect their patients from defective or misused software. Appropriate product labeling of expert systems can help clinical users to understand software indications and limitations. Mechanisms of action and knowledge representation schema should be explained in layperson's terminology. User qualifications and resources available for acquiring the skills necessary to understand and critique the system output should be listed. The processes used for building and maintaining the system's knowledge base are key determinants of the product's quality, and should be carefully documented. To meet these desiderata, a printed label is insufficient. The authors suggest a new, more active, model of product labeling for medical expert systems that involves embedding 'knowledge of the knowledge base', creating user-specific data, and sharing global information using the Internet.

Translating expert system rules into Ada code with validation and verification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Becker, Lee; Duckworth, R. James; Green, Peter; Michalson, Bill; Gosselin, Dave; Nainani, Krishan; Pease, Adam

1991-01-01

The purpose of this ongoing research and development program is to develop software tools which enable the rapid development, upgrading, and maintenance of embedded real-time artificial intelligence systems. The goals of this phase of the research were to investigate the feasibility of developing software tools which automatically translate expert system rules into Ada code and develop methods for performing validation and verification testing of the resultant expert system. A prototype system was demonstrated which automatically translated rules from an Air Force expert system was demonstrated which detected errors in the execution of the resultant system. The method and prototype tools for converting AI representations into Ada code by converting the rules into Ada code modules and then linking them with an Activation Framework based run-time environment to form an executable load module are discussed. This method is based upon the use of Evidence Flow Graphs which are a data flow representation for intelligent systems. The development of prototype test generation and evaluation software which was used to test the resultant code is discussed. This testing was performed automatically using Monte-Carlo techniques based upon a constraint based description of the required performance for the system.

Perspective on intelligent avionics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jones, H.L.

1987-01-01

Technical issues which could potentially limit the capability and acceptibility of expert systems decision-making for avionics applications are addressed. These issues are: real-time AI, mission-critical software, conventional algorithms, pilot interface, knowledge acquisition, and distributed expert systems. Examples from on-going expert system development programs are presented to illustrate likely architectures and applications of future intelligent avionic systems. 13 references.

Computer Sciences and Data Systems, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1987-01-01

Topics addressed include: software engineering; university grants; institutes; concurrent processing; sparse distributed memory; distributed operating systems; intelligent data management processes; expert system for image analysis; fault tolerant software; and architecture research.

Computer Series, 82. The Application of Expert Systems in the General Chemistry Laboratory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Settle, Frank A., Jr.

1987-01-01

Describes the construction of expert computer systems using artificial intelligence technology and commercially available software, known as an expert system shell. Provides two applications; a simple one, the identification of seven white substances, and a more complicated one involving the qualitative analysis of six metal ions. (TW)

Artificial Intelligence: The Expert Way.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bitter, Gary G.

1989-01-01

Discussion of artificial intelligence (AI) and expert systems focuses on their use in education. Characteristics of good expert systems are explained; computer software programs that contain applications of AI are described, highlighting one used to help educators identify learning-disabled students; and the future of AI is discussed. (LRW)

A Thermal Expert System (TEXSYS) development overview - AI-based control of a Space Station prototype thermal bus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glass, B. J.; Hack, E. C.

1990-01-01

A knowledge-based control system for real-time control and fault detection, isolation and recovery (FDIR) of a prototype two-phase Space Station Freedom external thermal control system (TCS) is discussed in this paper. The Thermal Expert System (TEXSYS) has been demonstrated in recent tests to be capable of both fault anticipation and detection and real-time control of the thermal bus. Performance requirements were achieved by using a symbolic control approach, layering model-based expert system software on a conventional numerical data acquisition and control system. The model-based capabilities of TEXSYS were shown to be advantageous during software development and testing. One representative example is given from on-line TCS tests of TEXSYS. The integration and testing of TEXSYS with a live TCS testbed provides some insight on the use of formal software design, development and documentation methodologies to qualify knowledge-based systems for on-line or flight applications.

Computer Software for Intelligent Systems.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lenat, Douglas B.

1984-01-01

Discusses the development and nature of computer software for intelligent systems, indicating that the key to intelligent problem-solving lies in reducing the random search for solutions. Formal reasoning methods, expert systems, and sources of power in problem-solving are among the areas considered. Specific examples of such software are…

Web-Based Environment for Maintaining Legacy Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tigges, Michael; Thompson, Nelson; Orr, Mark; Fox, Richard

2007-01-01

Advanced Tool Integration Environment (ATIE) is the name of both a software system and a Web-based environment created by the system for maintaining an archive of legacy software and expertise involved in developing the legacy software. ATIE can also be used in modifying legacy software and developing new software. The information that can be encapsulated in ATIE includes experts documentation, input and output data of tests cases, source code, and compilation scripts. All of this information is available within a common environment and retained in a database for ease of access and recovery by use of powerful search engines. ATIE also accommodates the embedment of supporting software that users require for their work, and even enables access to supporting commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software within the flow of the experts work. The flow of work can be captured by saving the sequence of computer programs that the expert uses. A user gains access to ATIE via a Web browser. A modern Web-based graphical user interface promotes efficiency in the retrieval, execution, and modification of legacy code. Thus, ATIE saves time and money in the support of new and pre-existing programs.

Artificial Intelligence In Computational Fluid Dynamics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vogel, Alison Andrews

1991-01-01

Paper compares four first-generation artificial-intelligence (Al) software systems for computational fluid dynamics. Includes: Expert Cooling Fan Design System (EXFAN), PAN AIR Knowledge System (PAKS), grid-adaptation program MITOSIS, and Expert Zonal Grid Generation (EZGrid). Focuses on knowledge-based ("expert") software systems. Analyzes intended tasks, kinds of knowledge possessed, magnitude of effort required to codify knowledge, how quickly constructed, performances, and return on investment. On basis of comparison, concludes Al most successful when applied to well-formulated problems solved by classifying or selecting preenumerated solutions. In contrast, application of Al to poorly understood or poorly formulated problems generally results in long development time and large investment of effort, with no guarantee of success.

Calculation Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

MathSoft Plus 5.0 is a calculation software package for electrical engineers and computer scientists who need advanced math functionality. It incorporates SmartMath, an expert system that determines a strategy for solving difficult mathematical problems. SmartMath was the result of the integration into Mathcad of CLIPS, a NASA-developed shell for creating expert systems. By using CLIPS, MathSoft, Inc. was able to save the time and money involved in writing the original program.

Final Technical Report on Quantifying Dependability Attributes of Software Based Safety Critical Instrumentation and Control Systems in Nuclear Power Plants

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Smidts, Carol; Huang, Funqun; Li, Boyuan

With the current transition from analog to digital instrumentation and control systems in nuclear power plants, the number and variety of software-based systems have significantly increased. The sophisticated nature and increasing complexity of software raises trust in these systems as a significant challenge. The trust placed in a software system is typically termed software dependability. Software dependability analysis faces uncommon challenges since software systems’ characteristics differ from those of hardware systems. The lack of systematic science-based methods for quantifying the dependability attributes in software-based instrumentation as well as control systems in safety critical applications has proved itself to be amore » significant inhibitor to the expanded use of modern digital technology in the nuclear industry. Dependability refers to the ability of a system to deliver a service that can be trusted. Dependability is commonly considered as a general concept that encompasses different attributes, e.g., reliability, safety, security, availability and maintainability. Dependability research has progressed significantly over the last few decades. For example, various assessment models and/or design approaches have been proposed for software reliability, software availability and software maintainability. Advances have also been made to integrate multiple dependability attributes, e.g., integrating security with other dependability attributes, measuring availability and maintainability, modeling reliability and availability, quantifying reliability and security, exploring the dependencies between security and safety and developing integrated analysis models. However, there is still a lack of understanding of the dependencies between various dependability attributes as a whole and of how such dependencies are formed. To address the need for quantification and give a more objective basis to the review process -- therefore reducing regulatory uncertainty -- measures and methods are needed to assess dependability attributes early on, as well as throughout the life-cycle process of software development. In this research, extensive expert opinion elicitation is used to identify the measures and methods for assessing software dependability. Semi-structured questionnaires were designed to elicit expert knowledge. A new notation system, Causal Mechanism Graphing, was developed to extract and represent such knowledge. The Causal Mechanism Graphs were merged, thus, obtaining the consensus knowledge shared by the domain experts. In this report, we focus on how software contributes to dependability. However, software dependability is not discussed separately from the context of systems or socio-technical systems. Specifically, this report focuses on software dependability, reliability, safety, security, availability, and maintainability. Our research was conducted in the sequence of stages found below. Each stage is further examined in its corresponding chapter. Stage 1 (Chapter 2): Elicitation of causal maps describing the dependencies between dependability attributes. These causal maps were constructed using expert opinion elicitation. This chapter describes the expert opinion elicitation process, the questionnaire design, the causal map construction method and the causal maps obtained. Stage 2 (Chapter 3): Elicitation of the causal map describing the occurrence of the event of interest for each dependability attribute. The causal mechanisms for the “event of interest” were extracted for each of the software dependability attributes. The “event of interest” for a dependability attribute is generally considered to be the “attribute failure”, e.g. security failure. The extraction was based on the analysis of expert elicitation results obtained in Stage 1. Stage 3 (Chapter 4): Identification of relevant measurements. Measures for the “events of interest” and their causal mechanisms were obtained from expert opinion elicitation for each of the software dependability attributes. The measures extracted are presented in this chapter. Stage 4 (Chapter 5): Assessment of the coverage of the causal maps via measures. Coverage was assessed to determine whether the measures obtained were sufficient to quantify software dependability, and what measures are further required. Stage 5 (Chapter 6): Identification of “missing” measures and measurement approaches for concepts not covered. New measures, for concepts that had not been covered sufficiently as determined in Stage 4, were identified using supplementary expert opinion elicitation as well as literature reviews. Stage 6 (Chapter 7): Building of a detailed quantification model based on the causal maps and measurements obtained. Ability to derive such a quantification model shows that the causal models and measurements derived from the previous stages (Stage 1 to Stage 5) can form the technical basis for developing dependability quantification models. Scope restrictions have led us to prioritize this demonstration effort. The demonstration was focused on a critical system, i.e. the reactor protection system. For this system, a ranking of the software dependability attributes by nuclear stakeholders was developed. As expected for this application, the stakeholder ranking identified safety as the most critical attribute to be quantified. A safety quantification model limited to the requirements phase of development was built. Two case studies were conducted for verification. A preliminary control gate for software safety for the requirements stage was proposed and applied to the first case study. The control gate allows a cost effective selection of the duration of the requirements phase.« less

Special Report: Part One. New Tools for Professionals.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liskin, Miriam; And Others

1984-01-01

This collection of articles includes an examination of word-processing software; project management software; new expert systems that turn microcomputers into logical, well-informed consultants; simulated negotiation software; telephone management systems; and the physical design of an efficient microcomputer work space. (MBR)

Simulation Of Combat With An Expert System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Provenzano, J. P.

1989-01-01

Proposed expert system predicts outcomes of combat situations. Called "COBRA", combat outcome based on rules for attrition, system selects rules for mathematical modeling of losses and discrete events in combat according to previous experiences. Used with another software module known as the "Game". Game/COBRA software system, consisting of Game and COBRA modules, provides for both quantitative aspects and qualitative aspects in simulations of battles. COBRA intended for simulation of large-scale military exercises, concepts embodied in it have much broader applicability. In industrial research, knowledge-based system enables qualitative as well as quantitative simulations.

Engineering monitoring expert system's developer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lo, Ching F.

1991-01-01

This research project is designed to apply artificial intelligence technology including expert systems, dynamic interface of neural networks, and hypertext to construct an expert system developer. The developer environment is specifically suited to building expert systems which monitor the performance of ground support equipment for propulsion systems and testing facilities. The expert system developer, through the use of a graphics interface and a rule network, will be transparent to the user during rule constructing and data scanning of the knowledge base. The project will result in a software system that allows its user to build specific monitoring type expert systems which monitor various equipments used for propulsion systems or ground testing facilities and accrues system performance information in a dynamic knowledge base.

An expert system for the design of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Camejo, Pedro Jose

1989-12-01

Expert systems are computer programs that seek to mimic human reason. An expert system shelf, a software program commonly used for developing expert systems in a relatively short time, was used to develop a prototypical expert system for the design of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems in buildings. Because HVAC design involves several related knowledge domains, developing an expert system for HVAC design requires the integration of several smaller expert systems known as knowledge bases. A menu program and several auxiliary programs for gathering data, completing calculations, printing project reports, and passing data between the knowledge bases are needed and have been developed to join the separate knowledge bases into one simple-to-use program unit.

Thermal Expert System (TEXSYS): Systems autonomy demonstration project, volume 2. Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glass, B. J. (Editor)

1992-01-01

The Systems Autonomy Demonstration Project (SADP) produced a knowledge-based real-time control system for control and fault detection, isolation, and recovery (FDIR) of a prototype two-phase Space Station Freedom external active thermal control system (EATCS). The Thermal Expert System (TEXSYS) was demonstrated in recent tests to be capable of reliable fault anticipation and detection, as well as ordinary control of the thermal bus. Performance requirements were addressed by adopting a hierarchical symbolic control approach-layering model-based expert system software on a conventional, numerical data acquisition and control system. The model-based reasoning capabilities of TEXSYS were shown to be advantageous over typical rule-based expert systems, particularly for detection of unforeseen faults and sensor failures. Volume 1 gives a project overview and testing highlights. Volume 2 provides detail on the EATCS testbed, test operations, and online test results. Appendix A is a test archive, while Appendix B is a compendium of design and user manuals for the TEXSYS software.

Thermal Expert System (TEXSYS): Systems automony demonstration project, volume 1. Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glass, B. J. (Editor)

1992-01-01

The Systems Autonomy Demonstration Project (SADP) produced a knowledge-based real-time control system for control and fault detection, isolation, and recovery (FDIR) of a prototype two-phase Space Station Freedom external active thermal control system (EATCS). The Thermal Expert System (TEXSYS) was demonstrated in recent tests to be capable of reliable fault anticipation and detection, as well as ordinary control of the thermal bus. Performance requirements were addressed by adopting a hierarchical symbolic control approach-layering model-based expert system software on a conventional, numerical data acquisition and control system. The model-based reasoning capabilities of TEXSYS were shown to be advantageous over typical rule-based expert systems, particularly for detection of unforeseen faults and sensor failures. Volume 1 gives a project overview and testing highlights. Volume 2 provides detail on the EATCS test bed, test operations, and online test results. Appendix A is a test archive, while Appendix B is a compendium of design and user manuals for the TEXSYS software.

Thermal Expert System (TEXSYS): Systems autonomy demonstration project, volume 2. Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glass, B. J.

1992-10-01

The Systems Autonomy Demonstration Project (SADP) produced a knowledge-based real-time control system for control and fault detection, isolation, and recovery (FDIR) of a prototype two-phase Space Station Freedom external active thermal control system (EATCS). The Thermal Expert System (TEXSYS) was demonstrated in recent tests to be capable of reliable fault anticipation and detection, as well as ordinary control of the thermal bus. Performance requirements were addressed by adopting a hierarchical symbolic control approach-layering model-based expert system software on a conventional, numerical data acquisition and control system. The model-based reasoning capabilities of TEXSYS were shown to be advantageous over typical rule-based expert systems, particularly for detection of unforeseen faults and sensor failures. Volume 1 gives a project overview and testing highlights. Volume 2 provides detail on the EATCS testbed, test operations, and online test results. Appendix A is a test archive, while Appendix B is a compendium of design and user manuals for the TEXSYS software.

An expert systems approach to automated fault management in a regenerative life support subsystem

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malin, J. T.; Lance, N., Jr.

1986-01-01

This paper describes FIXER, a prototype expert system for automated fault management in a regenerative life support subsystem typical of Space Station applications. The development project provided an evaluation of the use of expert systems technology to enhance controller functions in space subsystems. The software development approach permitted evaluation of the effectiveness of direct involvement of the expert in design and development. The approach also permitted intensive observation of the knowledge and methods of the expert. This paper describes the development of the prototype expert system and presents results of the evaluation.

Implementation of a data management software system for SSME test history data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abernethy, Kenneth

1986-01-01

The implementation of a software system for managing Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) test/flight historical data is presented. The software system uses the database management system RIM7 for primary data storage and routine data management, but includes several FORTRAN programs, described here, which provide customized access to the RIM7 database. The consolidation, modification, and transfer of data from the database THIST, to the RIM7 database THISRM is discussed. The RIM7 utility modules for generating some standard reports from THISRM and performing some routine updating and maintenance are briefly described. The FORTRAN accessing programs described include programs for initial loading of large data sets into the database, capturing data from files for database inclusion, and producing specialized statistical reports which cannot be provided by the RIM7 report generator utility. An expert system tutorial, constructed using the expert system shell product INSIGHT2, is described. Finally, a potential expert system, which would analyze data in the database, is outlined. This system could use INSIGHT2 as well and would take advantage of RIM7's compatibility with the microcomputer database system RBase 5000.

A knowledge based expert system for propellant system monitoring at the Kennedy Space Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jamieson, J. R.; Delaune, C.; Scarl, E.

1985-01-01

The Lox Expert System (LES) is the first attempt to build a realtime expert system capable of simulating the thought processes of NASA system engineers, with regard to fluids systems analysis and troubleshooting. An overview of the hardware and software describes the techniques used, and possible applications to other process control systems. LES is now in the advanced development stage, with a full implementation planned for late 1985.

Explanation Generation in Expert Systems (A Literature Review and Implementation)

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-01-01

Rubinoff. Explaining concepts in expert systems: The clear system. In Proceedings of the Second Conference on Aritificial Intelligence Applications. pages... intelligent computer software systems are Heedled. The Expert System (ES) technology of Artificial Intelligence (Al) is ore solution that is (nerging to...Random House College Dictionary defines explanation as: "to make plain, clear, or intelligible something that is not known or understood". [33] While

Analysis of methods of processing of expert information by optimization of administrative decisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Churakov, D. Y.; Tsarkova, E. G.; Marchenko, N. D.; Grechishnikov, E. V.

2018-03-01

In the real operation the measure definition methodology in case of expert estimation of quality and reliability of application-oriented software products is offered. In operation methods of aggregation of expert estimates on the example of a collective choice of an instrumental control projects in case of software development of a special purpose for needs of institutions are described. Results of operation of dialogue decision making support system are given an algorithm of the decision of the task of a choice on the basis of a method of the analysis of hierarchies and also. The developed algorithm can be applied by development of expert systems to the solution of a wide class of the tasks anyway connected to a multicriteria choice.

Enhancements to highway construction scheduling expert system.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-05-01

This research was performed to enhance the software tool (Illinois Construction Scheduling Expert : System, ICSES) developed in Phase I of this project (ICT project R27-86) by mining data collected on : IDOT construction projects and differentiating ...

Rule groupings: An approach towards verification of expert systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mehrotra, Mala

1991-01-01

Knowledge-based expert systems are playing an increasingly important role in NASA space and aircraft systems. However, many of NASA's software applications are life- or mission-critical and knowledge-based systems do not lend themselves to the traditional verification and validation techniques for highly reliable software. Rule-based systems lack the control abstractions found in procedural languages. Hence, it is difficult to verify or maintain such systems. Our goal is to automatically structure a rule-based system into a set of rule-groups having a well-defined interface to other rule-groups. Once a rule base is decomposed into such 'firewalled' units, studying the interactions between rules would become more tractable. Verification-aid tools can then be developed to test the behavior of each such rule-group. Furthermore, the interactions between rule-groups can be studied in a manner similar to integration testing. Such efforts will go a long way towards increasing our confidence in the expert-system software. Our research efforts address the feasibility of automating the identification of rule groups, in order to decompose the rule base into a number of meaningful units.

The Many Faces of a Software Engineer in a Research Community

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marinovici, Maria C.; Kirkham, Harold

2013-10-14

The ability to gather, analyze and make decisions based on real world data is changing nearly every field of human endeavor. These changes are particularly challenging for software engineers working in a scientific community, designing and developing large, complex systems. To avoid the creation of a communications gap (almost a language barrier), the software engineers should possess an ‘adaptive’ skill. In the science and engineering research community, the software engineers must be responsible for more than creating mechanisms for storing and analyzing data. They must also develop a fundamental scientific and engineering understanding of the data. This paper looks atmore » the many faces that a software engineer should have: developer, domain expert, business analyst, security expert, project manager, tester, user experience professional, etc. Observations made during work on a power-systems scientific software development are analyzed and extended to describe more generic software development projects.« less

Advanced Automation for Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry-New Opportunities for Real-Time Autonomous Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Palmer, Peter T.; Wong, C. M.; Salmonson, J. D.; Yost, R. A.; Griffin, T. P.; Yates, N. A.; Lawless, James G. (Technical Monitor)

1994-01-01

The utility of MS/MS for both target compound analysis and the structure elucidation of unknowns has been described in a number of references. A broader acceptance of this technique has not yet been realized as it requires large, complex, and costly instrumentation which has not been competitive with more conventional techniques. Recent advancements in ion trap mass spectrometry promise to change this situation. Although the ion trap's small size, sensitivity, and ability to perform multiple stages of mass spectrometry have made it eminently suitable for on-line, real-time monitoring applications, advance automation techniques are required to make these capabilities more accessible to non-experts. Towards this end we have developed custom software for the design and implementation of MS/MS experiments. This software allows the user to take full advantage of the ion trap's versatility with respect to ionization techniques, scan proxies, and ion accumulation/ejection methods. Additionally, expert system software has been developed for autonomous target compound analysis. This software has been linked to ion trap control software and a commercial data system to bring all of the steps in the analysis cycle under control of the expert system. These software development efforts and their utilization for a number of trace analysis applications will be described.

Expert system for the design of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems. Master's thesis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Camejo, P.J.

1989-12-01

Expert systems are computer programs that seek to mimic human reason. An expert system shelf, a software program commonly used for developing expert systems in a relatively short time, was used to develop a prototypical expert system for the design of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems in buildings. Because HVAC design involves several related knowledge domains, developing an expert system for HVAC design requires the integration of several smaller expert systems known as knowledge bases. A menu program and several auxiliary programs for gathering data, completing calculations, printing project reports, and passing data between the knowledge bases are neededmore » and have been developed to join the separate knowledge bases into one simple-to-use program unit.« less

Open-Source web-based geographical information system for health exposure assessment

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

This paper presents the design and development of an open source web-based Geographical Information System allowing users to visualise, customise and interact with spatial data within their web browser. The developed application shows that by using solely Open Source software it was possible to develop a customisable web based GIS application that provides functions necessary to convey health and environmental data to experts and non-experts alike without the requirement of proprietary software. PMID:22233606

NASA's Software Bank (CLIPS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) was used by Esse Systems to develop an expert system for clients who want to automate portions of their operations. The resulting program acts as a scheduling expert and automates routine, repetitive scheduling decisions, allowing employees to spend time on more creative projects.

A Data-Driven Solution for Performance Improvement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

Marketed as the "Software of the Future," Optimal Engineering Systems P.I. EXPERT(TM) technology offers statistical process control and optimization techniques that are critical to businesses looking to restructure or accelerate operations in order to gain a competitive edge. Kennedy Space Center granted Optimal Engineering Systems the funding and aid necessary to develop a prototype of the process monitoring and improvement software. Completion of this prototype demonstrated that it was possible to integrate traditional statistical quality assurance tools with robust optimization techniques in a user- friendly format that is visually compelling. Using an expert system knowledge base, the software allows the user to determine objectives, capture constraints and out-of-control processes, predict results, and compute optimal process settings.

Online Patent Searching: Guided by an Expert System.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ardis, Susan B.

1990-01-01

Describes the development of an expert system for online patent searching that uses menu driven software to interpret the user's knowledge level and the general nature of the search problem. The discussion covers the rationale for developing such a system, current system functions, cost effectiveness, user reactions, and plans for future…

Space shuttle onboard navigation console expert/trainer system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Lui; Bochsler, Dan

1987-01-01

A software system for use in enhancing operational performance as well as training ground controllers in monitoring onboard Space Shuttle navigation sensors is described. The Onboard Navigation (ONAV) development reflects a trend toward following a structured and methodical approach to development. The ONAV system must deal with integrated conventional and expert system software, complex interfaces, and implementation limitations due to the target operational environment. An overview of the onboard navigation sensor monitoring function is presented, along with a description of guidelines driving the development effort, requirements that the system must meet, current progress, and future efforts.

Expert system verification and validation guidelines/workshop task. Deliverable no. 1: ES V/V guidelines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

French, Scott W.

1991-01-01

The goals are to show that verifying and validating a software system is a required part of software development and has a direct impact on the software's design and structure. Workshop tasks are given in the areas of statistics, integration/system test, unit and architectural testing, and a traffic controller problem.

An Embedded Rule-Based Diagnostic Expert System in Ada

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Robert E.; Liberman, Eugene M.

1992-01-01

Ada is becoming an increasingly popular programming language for large Government-funded software projects. Ada with it portability, transportability, and maintainability lends itself well to today's complex programming environment. In addition, expert systems have also assumed a growing role in providing human-like reasoning capability expertise for computer systems. The integration is discussed of expert system technology with Ada programming language, especially a rule-based expert system using an ART-Ada (Automated Reasoning Tool for Ada) system shell. NASA Lewis was chosen as a beta test site for ART-Ada. The test was conducted by implementing the existing Autonomous Power EXpert System (APEX), a Lisp-based power expert system, in ART-Ada. Three components, the rule-based expert systems, a graphics user interface, and communications software make up SMART-Ada (Systems fault Management with ART-Ada). The rules were written in the ART-Ada development environment and converted to Ada source code. The graphics interface was developed with the Transportable Application Environment (TAE) Plus, which generates Ada source code to control graphics images. SMART-Ada communicates with a remote host to obtain either simulated or real data. The Ada source code generated with ART-Ada, TAE Plus, and communications code was incorporated into an Ada expert system that reads the data from a power distribution test bed, applies the rule to determine a fault, if one exists, and graphically displays it on the screen. The main objective, to conduct a beta test on the ART-Ada rule-based expert system shell, was achieved. The system is operational. New Ada tools will assist in future successful projects. ART-Ada is one such tool and is a viable alternative to the straight Ada code when an application requires a rule-based or knowledge-based approach.

Application Reuse Library for Software, Requirements, and Guidelines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malin, Jane T.; Thronesbery, Carroll

1994-01-01

Better designs are needed for expert systems and other operations automation software, for more reliable, usable and effective human support. A prototype computer-aided Application Reuse Library shows feasibility of supporting concurrent development and improvement of advanced software by users, analysts, software developers, and human-computer interaction experts. Such a library expedites development of quality software, by providing working, documented examples, which support understanding, modification and reuse of requirements as well as code. It explicitly documents and implicitly embodies design guidelines, standards and conventions. The Application Reuse Library provides application modules with Demo-and-Tester elements. Developers and users can evaluate applicability of a library module and test modifications, by running it interactively. Sub-modules provide application code and displays and controls. The library supports software modification and reuse, by providing alternative versions of application and display functionality. Information about human support and display requirements is provided, so that modifications will conform to guidelines. The library supports entry of new application modules from developers throughout an organization. Example library modules include a timer, some buttons and special fonts, and a real-time data interface program. The library prototype is implemented in the object-oriented G2 environment for developing real-time expert systems.

Mapping analysis and planning system for the John F. Kennedy Space Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, C. R.; Barkaszi, M. J.; Provancha, M. J.; Reddick, N. A.; Hinkle, C. R.; Engel, B. A.; Summerfield, B. R.

1994-01-01

Environmental management, impact assessment, research and monitoring are multidisciplinary activities which are ideally suited to incorporate a multi-media approach to environmental problem solving. Geographic information systems (GIS), simulation models, neural networks and expert-system software are some of the advancing technologies being used for data management, query, analysis and display. At the 140,000 acre John F. Kennedy Space Center, the Advanced Software Technology group has been supporting development and implementation of a program that integrates these and other rapidly evolving hardware and software capabilities into a comprehensive Mapping, Analysis and Planning System (MAPS) based in a workstation/local are network environment. An expert-system shell is being developed to link the various databases to guide users through the numerous stages of a facility siting and environmental assessment. The expert-system shell approach is appealing for its ease of data access by management-level decision makers while maintaining the involvement of the data specialists. This, as well as increased efficiency and accuracy in data analysis and report preparation, can benefit any organization involved in natural resources management.

Bayesian methods in reliability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sander, P.; Badoux, R.

1991-11-01

The present proceedings from a course on Bayesian methods in reliability encompasses Bayesian statistical methods and their computational implementation, models for analyzing censored data from nonrepairable systems, the traits of repairable systems and growth models, the use of expert judgment, and a review of the problem of forecasting software reliability. Specific issues addressed include the use of Bayesian methods to estimate the leak rate of a gas pipeline, approximate analyses under great prior uncertainty, reliability estimation techniques, and a nonhomogeneous Poisson process. Also addressed are the calibration sets and seed variables of expert judgment systems for risk assessment, experimental illustrations of the use of expert judgment for reliability testing, and analyses of the predictive quality of software-reliability growth models such as the Weibull order statistics.

Development of a Spacecraft Materials Selector Expert System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pippin, G.; Kauffman, W. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

This report contains a description of the knowledge base tool and examples of its use. A downloadable version of the Spacecraft Materials Selector (SMS) knowledge base is available through the NASA Space Environments and Effects Program. The "Spacecraft Materials Selector" knowledge base is part of an electronic expert system. The expert system consists of an inference engine that contains the "decision-making" code and the knowledge base that contains the selected body of information. The inference engine is a software package previously developed at Boeing, called the Boeing Expert System Tool (BEST) kit.

The integration of automated knowledge acquisition with computer-aided software engineering for space shuttle expert systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Modesitt, Kenneth L.

1990-01-01

A prediction was made that the terms expert systems and knowledge acquisition would begin to disappear over the next several years. This is not because they are falling into disuse; it is rather that practitioners are realizing that they are valuable adjuncts to software engineering, in terms of problem domains addressed, user acceptance, and in development methodologies. A specific problem was discussed, that of constructing an automated test analysis system for the Space Shuttle Main Engine. In this domain, knowledge acquisition was part of requirements systems analysis, and was performed with the aid of a powerful inductive ESBT in conjunction with a computer aided software engineering (CASE) tool. The original prediction is not a very risky one -- it has already been accomplished.

The integration of quantitative information with an intelligent decision support system for residential energy retrofits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mo, Yunjeong

The purpose of this research is to support the development of an intelligent Decision Support System (DSS) by integrating quantitative information with expert knowledge in order to facilitate effective retrofit decision-making. To achieve this goal, the Energy Retrofit Decision Process Framework is analyzed. Expert system shell software, a retrofit measure cost database, and energy simulation software are needed for developing the DSS; Exsys Corvid, the NREM database and BEopt were chosen for implementing an integration model. This integration model demonstrates the holistic function of a residential energy retrofit system for existing homes, by providing a prioritized list of retrofit measures with cost information, energy simulation and expert advice. The users, such as homeowners and energy auditors, can acquire all of the necessary retrofit information from this unified system without having to explore several separate systems. The integration model plays the role of a prototype for the finalized intelligent decision support system. It implements all of the necessary functions for the finalized DSS, including integration of the database, energy simulation and expert knowledge.

An expert system to manage the operation of the Space Shuttle's fuel cell cryogenic reactant tanks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murphey, Amy Y.

1990-01-01

This paper describes a rule-based expert system to manage the operation of the Space Shuttle's cryogenic fuel system. Rules are based on standard fuel tank operating procedures described in the EECOM Console Handbook. The problem of configuring the operation of the Space Shuttle's fuel tanks is well-bounded and well defined. Moreover, the solution of this problem can be encoded in a knowledge-based system. Therefore, a rule-based expert system is the appropriate paradigm. Furthermore, the expert system could be used in coordination with power system simulation software to design operating procedures for specific missions.

End effector monitoring system: An illustrated case of operational prototyping

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malin, Jane T.; Land, Sherry A.; Thronesbery, Carroll

1994-01-01

Operational prototyping is introduced to help developers apply software innovations to real-world problems, to help users articulate requirements, and to help develop more usable software. Operational prototyping has been applied to an expert system development project. The expert system supports fault detection and management during grappling operations of the Space Shuttle payload bay arm. The dynamic exchanges among operational prototyping team members are illustrated in a specific prototyping session. We discuss the requirements for operational prototyping technology, types of projects for which operational prototyping is best suited and when it should be applied to those projects.

Distributed expert systems for ground and space applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buckley, Brian; Wheatcraft, Louis

1992-01-01

Presented here is the Spacecraft Command Language (SCL) concept of the unification of ground and space operations using a distributed approach. SCL is a hybrid software environment borrowing from expert system technology, fifth generation language development, and multitasking operating system environments. Examples of potential uses for the system and current distributed applications of SCL are given.

Diagnosis - Using automatic test equipment and artificial intelligence expert systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramsey, J. E., Jr.

Three expert systems (ATEOPS, ATEFEXPERS, and ATEFATLAS), which were created to direct automatic test equipment (ATE), are reviewed. The purpose of the project was to develop an expert system to troubleshoot the converter-programmer power supply card for the F-15 aircraft and have that expert system direct the automatic test equipment. Each expert system uses a different knowledge base or inference engine, basing the testing on the circuit schematic, test requirements document, or ATLAS code. Implementing generalized modules allows the expert systems to be used for any different unit under test. Using converted ATLAS to LISP code allows the expert system to direct any ATE using ATLAS. The constraint propagated frame system allows for the expansion of control by creating the ATLAS code, checking the code for good software engineering techniques, directing the ATE, and changing the test sequence as needed (planning).

Living Design Memory: Framework, Implementation, Lessons Learned.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Terveen, Loren G.; And Others

1995-01-01

Discusses large-scale software development and describes the development of the Designer Assistant to improve software development effectiveness. Highlights include the knowledge management problem; related work, including artificial intelligence and expert systems, software process modeling research, and other approaches to organizational memory;…

Knowledge-based control of an adaptive interface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lachman, Roy

1989-01-01

The analysis, development strategy, and preliminary design for an intelligent, adaptive interface is reported. The design philosophy couples knowledge-based system technology with standard human factors approaches to interface development for computer workstations. An expert system has been designed to drive the interface for application software. The intelligent interface will be linked to application packages, one at a time, that are planned for multiple-application workstations aboard Space Station Freedom. Current requirements call for most Space Station activities to be conducted at the workstation consoles. One set of activities will consist of standard data management services (DMS). DMS software includes text processing, spreadsheets, data base management, etc. Text processing was selected for the first intelligent interface prototype because text-processing software can be developed initially as fully functional but limited with a small set of commands. The program's complexity then can be increased incrementally. The intelligent interface includes the operator's behavior and three types of instructions to the underlying application software are included in the rule base. A conventional expert-system inference engine searches the data base for antecedents to rules and sends the consequents of fired rules as commands to the underlying software. Plans for putting the expert system on top of a second application, a database management system, will be carried out following behavioral research on the first application. The intelligent interface design is suitable for use with ground-based workstations now common in government, industrial, and educational organizations.

PSG-EXPERT. An expert system for the diagnosis of sleep disorders.

PubMed

Fred, A; Filipe, J; Partinen, M; Paiva, T

2000-01-01

This paper describes PSG-EXPERT, an expert system in the domain of sleep disorders exploring polysomnographic data. The developed software tool is addressed from two points of view: (1)--as an integrated environment for the development of diagnosis-oriented expert systems; (2)--as an auxiliary diagnosis tool in the particular domain of sleep disorders. Developed over a Windows platform, this software tool extends one of the most popular shells--CLIPS (C Language Integrated Production System) with the following features: backward chaining engine; graph-based explanation facilities; knowledge editor including a fuzzy fact editor and a rules editor, with facts-rules integrity checking; belief revision mechanism; built-in case generator and validation module. It therefore provides graphical support for knowledge acquisition, edition, explanation and validation. From an application domain point of view, PSG-Expert is an auxiliary diagnosis system for sleep disorders based on polysomnographic data, that aims at assisting the medical expert in his diagnosis task by providing automatic analysis of polysomnographic data, summarising the results of this analysis in terms of a report of major findings and possible diagnosis consistent with the polysomnographic data. Sleep disorders classification follows the International Classification of Sleep Disorders. Major features of the system include: browsing on patients data records; structured navigation on Sleep Disorders descriptions according to ASDA definitions; internet links to related pages; diagnosis consistent with polysomnographic data; graphical user-interface including graph-based explanatory facilities; uncertainty modelling and belief revision; production of reports; connection to remote databases.

SigmaCLIPSE = presentation management + NASA CLI PS + SQL

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weiss, Bernard P., Jr.

1990-01-01

SigmaCLIPSE provides an expert systems and 'intelligent' data base development program for diverse systems integration environments that require support for automated reasoning and expert systems technology, presentation management, and access to 'intelligent' SQL data bases. The SigmaCLIPSE technology and and its integrated ability to access 4th generation application development and decision support tools through a portable SQL interface, comprises a sophisticated software development environment for solving knowledge engineering and expert systems development problems in information intensive commercial environments -- financial services, health care, and distributed process control -- where the expert system must be extendable -- a major architectural advantage of NASA CLIPS. SigmaCLIPSE is a research effort intended to test the viability of merging SQL data bases with expert systems technology.

Expert system development methodology and the transition from prototyping to operations: FIESTA, a case study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Happell, Nadine; Miksell, Steve; Carlisle, Candace

1989-01-01

A major barrier in taking expert systems from prototype to operational status involves instilling end user confidence in the operational system. The software of different life cycle models is examined and the advantages and disadvantages of each when applied to expert system development are explored. The Fault Isolation Expert System for Tracking and data relay satellite system Applications (FIESTA) is presented as a case study of development of an expert system. The end user confidence necessary for operational use of this system is accentuated by the fact that it will handle real-time data in a secure environment, allowing little tolerance for errors. How FIESTA is dealing with transition problems as it moves from an off-line standalone prototype to an on-line real-time system is discussed.

Expert system development methodology and the transition from prototyping to operations - Fiesta, a case study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Happell, Nadine; Miksell, Steve; Carlisle, Candace

1989-01-01

A major barrier in taking expert systems from prototype to operational status involves instilling end user confidence in the operational system. The software of different life cycle models is examined and the advantages and disadvantages of each when applied to expert system development are explored. The Fault Isolation Expert System for Tracking and data relay satellite system Applications (FIESTA) is presented as a case study of development of an expert system. The end user confidence necessary for operational use of this system is accentuated by the fact that it will handle real-time data in a secure environment, allowing little tolerance for errors. How FIESTA is dealing with transition problems as it moves from an off-line standalone prototype to an on-line real-time system is discussed.

Digital casts in orthodontics: a comparison of 4 software systems.

PubMed

Westerlund, Anna; Tancredi, Weronika; Ransjö, Maria; Bresin, Andrea; Psonis, Spyros; Torgersson, Olof

2015-04-01

The introduction of digital cast models is inevitable in the otherwise digitized everyday life of orthodontics. The introduction of this new technology, however, is not straightforward, and selecting an appropriate system can be difficult. The aim of the study was to compare 4 orthodontic digital software systems regarding service, features, and usability. Information regarding service offered by the companies was obtained from questionnaires and Web sites. The features of each software system were collected by exploring the user manuals and the software programs. Replicas of pretreatment casts were sent to Cadent (OrthoCAD; Cadent, Carlstadt, NJ), OthoLab (O3DM; OrthoLab, Poznan, Poland), OrthoProof (DigiModel; OrthoProof, Nieuwegein, The Netherlands), and 3Shape (OrthoAnalyzer; 3Shape, Copenhagen, Denmark). The usability of the programs was assessed by experts in interaction design and usability using the "enhanced cognitive walkthrough" method: 4 tasks were defined and performed by a group of domain experts while they were observed by usability experts. The services provided by the companies were similar. Regarding the features, all 4 systems were able to perform basic measurements; however, not all provided the peer assessment rating index or the American Board of Orthodontics analysis, simulation of the treatment with braces, or digital articulation of the casts. All systems demonstrated weaknesses in usability. However, OrthoCAD and 03DM were considered to be easier to learn for first-time users. In general, the usability of these programs was poor and needs to be further developed. Hands-on training supervised by the program experts is recommended for beginners. Copyright © 2015 American Association of Orthodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated Predictive Diagnosis (APD): A 3-tiered shell for building expert systems for automated predictions and decision making

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Steib, Michael

1991-01-01

The APD software features include: On-line help, Three level architecture, (Logic environments, Setup/Application environment, Data environment), Explanation capability, and File handling. The kinds of experimentation and record keeping that leads to effective expert systems is facilitated by: (1) a library of inferencing modules (in the logic environment); (2) an explanation capability which reveals logic strategies to users; (3) automated file naming conventions; (4) an information retrieval system; and (5) on-line help. These aid with effective use of knowledge, debugging and experimentation. Since the APD software anticipates the logical rules becoming complicated, it is embedded in a production system language (CLIPS) to insure the full power of the production system paradigm of CLIPS and availability of the procedural language C. The development is discussed of the APD software and three example applications: toy, experimental, and operational prototype for submarine maintenance predictions.

User Documentation; POTW EXPERT v1.1; An Advisory System for Improving the Performance of Wastewater Treatment Facilities

EPA Science Inventory

POTW Expert is a PCX-based software program modeled after EPA/s Handbook Retrofitting POTWs (EPA-625/6-89/020) (formerly, Handbook for Improving POTW Performance Using the Composite Correction Program Approach). POTW Expert assists POTW owners and operators, state and local regu...

Expert system technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prince, Mary Ellen

1987-01-01

The expert system is a computer program which attempts to reproduce the problem-solving behavior of an expert, who is able to view problems from a broad perspective and arrive at conclusions rapidly, using intuition, shortcuts, and analogies to previous situations. Expert systems are a departure from the usual artificial intelligence approach to problem solving. Researchers have traditionally tried to develop general modes of human intelligence that could be applied to many different situations. Expert systems, on the other hand, tend to rely on large quantities of domain specific knowledge, much of it heuristic. The reasoning component of the system is relatively simple and straightforward. For this reason, expert systems are often called knowledge based systems. The report expands on the foregoing. Section 1 discusses the architecture of a typical expert system. Section 2 deals with the characteristics that make a problem a suitable candidate for expert system solution. Section 3 surveys current technology, describing some of the software aids available for expert system development. Section 4 discusses the limitations of the latter. The concluding section makes predictions of future trends.

A rule-based expert system for generating control displays at the Advanced Photon Source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coulter, Karen J.

1994-12-01

The integration of a rule-based expert system for generating screen displays for controlling and monitoring instrumentation under the Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS) is presented. The expert system is implemented using CLIPS, an expert system shell from the Software Technology Branch at Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. The user selects the hardware input and output to be displayed and the expert system constructs a graphical control screen appropriate for the data. Such a system provides a method for implementing a common look and feel for displays created by several different users and reduces the amount of time required to create displays for new hardware configurations. Users are able to modify the displays as needed using the EPICS display editor tool.

Developing Software For Monitoring And Diagnosis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edwards, S. J.; Caglayan, A. K.

1993-01-01

Expert-system software shell produces executable code. Report discusses beginning phase of research directed toward development of artificial intelligence for real-time monitoring of, and diagnosis of faults in, complicated systems of equipment. Motivated by need for onboard monitoring and diagnosis of electronic sensing and controlling systems of advanced aircraft. Also applicable to such equipment systems as refineries, factories, and powerplants.

Spacecraft attitude control using a smart control system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buckley, Brian; Wheatcraft, Louis

1992-01-01

Traditionally, spacecraft attitude control has been implemented using control loops written in native code for a space hardened processor. The Naval Research Lab has taken this approach during the development of the Attitude Control Electronics (ACE) package. After the system was developed and delivered, NRL decided to explore alternate technologies to accomplish this same task more efficiently. The approach taken by NRL was to implement the ACE control loops using systems technologies. The purpose of this effort was to: (1) research capabilities required of an expert system in processing a classic closed-loop control algorithm; (2) research the development environment required to design and test an embedded expert systems environment; (3) research the complexity of design and development of expert systems versus a conventional approach; and (4) test the resulting systems against the flight acceptance test software for both response and accuracy. Two expert systems were selected to implement the control loops. Criteria used for the selection of the expert systems included that they had to run in both embedded systems and ground based environments. Using two different expert systems allowed a comparison of the real-time capabilities, inferencing capabilities, and the ground-based development environment. The two expert systems chosen for the evaluation were Spacecraft Command Language (SCL), and NEXTPERT Object. SCL is a smart control system produced for the NRL by Interface and Control Systems (ICS). SCL was developed to be used for real-time command, control, and monitoring of a new generation of spacecraft. NEXPERT Object is a commercially available product developed by Neuron Data. Results of the effort were evaluated using the ACE test bed. The ACE test bed had been developed and used to test the original flight hardware and software using simulators and flight-like interfaces. The test bed was used for testing the expert systems in a 'near-flight' environment. The technical approach, the system architecture, the development environments, knowledge base development, and results of this effort are detailed.

Expert System Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) is a software shell for developing expert systems is designed to allow research and development of artificial intelligence on conventional computers. Originally developed by Johnson Space Center, it enables highly efficient pattern matching. A collection of conditions and actions to be taken if the conditions are met is built into a rule network. Additional pertinent facts are matched to the rule network. Using the program, E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. is monitoring chemical production machines; California Polytechnic State University is investigating artificial intelligence in computer aided design; Mentor Graphics has built a new Circuit Synthesis system, and Brooke and Brooke, a law firm, can determine which facts from a file are most important.

Software Design for Interactive Graphic Radiation Treatment Simulation Systems*

PubMed Central

Kalet, Ira J.; Sweeney, Christine; Jacky, Jonathan

1990-01-01

We examine issues in the design of interactive computer graphic simulation programs for radiation treatment planning (RTP), as well as expert system programs that automate parts of the RTP process, in light of ten years of experience at designing, building and using such programs. An experiment in object-oriented design using standard Pascal shows that while some advantage is gained from the design, it is still difficult to achieve modularity and to integrate expert system components. A new design based on the Common LISP Object System (CLOS) is described. This series of designs for RTP software shows that this application benefits in specific ways from object-oriented design methods and appropriate languages and tools.

Advanced software development workstation project: Engineering scripting language. Graphical editor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

Software development is widely considered to be a bottleneck in the development of complex systems, both in terms of development and in terms of maintenance of deployed systems. Cost of software development and maintenance can also be very high. One approach to reducing costs and relieving this bottleneck is increasing the reuse of software designs and software components. A method for achieving such reuse is a software parts composition system. Such a system consists of a language for modeling software parts and their interfaces, a catalog of existing parts, an editor for combining parts, and a code generator that takes a specification and generates code for that application in the target language. The Advanced Software Development Workstation is intended to be an expert system shell designed to provide the capabilities of a software part composition system.

Use of Software Tools in Teaching Relational Database Design.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McIntyre, D. R.; And Others

1995-01-01

Discusses the use of state-of-the-art software tools in teaching a graduate, advanced, relational database design course. Results indicated a positive student response to the prototype of expert systems software and a willingness to utilize this new technology both in their studies and in future work applications. (JKP)

Early-Stage Software Design for Usability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Golden, Elspeth

2010-01-01

In spite of the goodwill and best efforts of software engineers and usability professionals, systems continue to be built and released with glaring usability flaws that are costly and difficult to fix after the system has been built. Although user interface (UI) designers, be they usability or design experts, communicate usability requirements to…

Advanced technologies for Mission Control Centers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dalton, John T.; Hughes, Peter M.

1991-01-01

Advance technologies for Mission Control Centers are presented in the form of the viewgraphs. The following subject areas are covered: technology needs; current technology efforts at GSFC (human-machine interface development, object oriented software development, expert systems, knowledge-based software engineering environments, and high performance VLSI telemetry systems); and test beds.

NASA's Software Bank (CLIPS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) is a NASA Johnson Space Center developed software shell for developing expert systems, is used by researchers at Ohio State University to determine solid waste disposal sites to assist in historic preservation. The program has various other applications and has even been included in a widely-used textbook.

Abstract for 1999 Rational Software User Conference

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dunphy, Julia; Rouquette, Nicolas; Feather, Martin; Tung, Yu-Wen

1999-01-01

We develop spacecraft fault-protection software at NASA/JPL. Challenges exemplified by our task: 1) high-quality systems - need for extensive validation & verification; 2) multi-disciplinary context - involves experts from diverse areas; 3) embedded systems - must adapt to external practices, notations, etc.; and 4) development pressures - NASA's mandate of "better, faster, cheaper".

Machine learning research 1989-90

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Porter, Bruce W.; Souther, Arthur

1990-01-01

Multifunctional knowledge bases offer a significant advance in artificial intelligence because they can support numerous expert tasks within a domain. As a result they amortize the costs of building a knowledge base over multiple expert systems and they reduce the brittleness of each system. Due to the inevitable size and complexity of multifunctional knowledge bases, their construction and maintenance require knowledge engineering and acquisition tools that can automatically identify interactions between new and existing knowledge. Furthermore, their use requires software for accessing those portions of the knowledge base that coherently answer questions. Considerable progress was made in developing software for building and accessing multifunctional knowledge bases. A language was developed for representing knowledge, along with software tools for editing and displaying knowledge, a machine learning program for integrating new information into existing knowledge, and a question answering system for accessing the knowledge base.

Multidisciplinary Tool for Systems Analysis of Planetary Entry, Descent, and Landing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Samareh, Jamshid A.

2011-01-01

Systems analysis of a planetary entry (SAPE), descent, and landing (EDL) is a multidisciplinary activity in nature. SAPE improves the performance of the systems analysis team by automating and streamlining the process, and this improvement can reduce the errors that stem from manual data transfer among discipline experts. SAPE is a multidisciplinary tool for systems analysis of planetary EDL for Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Titan. It performs EDL systems analysis for any planet, operates cross-platform (i.e., Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems), uses existing software components and open-source software to avoid software licensing issues, performs low-fidelity systems analysis in one hour on a computer that is comparable to an average laptop, and keeps discipline experts in the analysis loop. SAPE uses Python, a platform-independent, open-source language, for integration and for the user interface. Development has relied heavily on the object-oriented programming capabilities that are available in Python. Modules are provided to interface with commercial and government off-the-shelf software components (e.g., thermal protection systems and finite-element analysis). SAPE currently includes the following analysis modules: geometry, trajectory, aerodynamics, aerothermal, thermal protection system, and interface for structural sizing.

Artificial intelligence against breast cancer (A.N.N.E.S-B.C.-Project).

PubMed

Parmeggiani, Domenico; Avenia, Nicola; Sanguinetti, Alessandro; Ruggiero, Roberto; Docimo, Giovanni; Siciliano, Mattia; Ambrosino, Pasquale; Madonna, Imma; Peltrini, Roberto; Parmeggiani, Umberto

2012-01-01

Our preliminary study examined the development of an advanced innovative technology with the objectives of--developing methodologies and algorithms for a Artificial Neural Network (ANN) system, improving mammography and ultra-sonography images interpretation;--creating autonomous software as a diagnostic tool for the physicians, allowing the possibility for the advanced application of databases using Artificial Intelligence (Expert System). Since 2004 550 F patients over 40 yrs old were divided in two groups: 1) 310 pts underwent echo every 6 months and mammography every year by expert radiologists. 2) 240 pts had the same screening program and were also examined by our diagnosis software, developed with ANN-ES technology by the Engineering Aircraft Research Project team. The information was continually updated and returned to the Expert System, defining the principal rules of automatic diagnosis. In the second group we selected: Expert radiologist decision; ANN-ES decision; Expert radiologists with ANN-ES decision. The second group had significantly better diagnosis for cancer and better specificity for breast lesions risk as well as the highest percentage account when the radiologist's decision was helped by the ANN software. The ANN-ES group was able to select, by anamnestic, diagnostic and genetic means, 8 patients for prophylactic surgery, finding 4 cancers in a very early stage. Although it is only a preliminary study, this innovative diagnostic tool seems to provide better positive and negative predictive value in cancer diagnosis as well as in breast risk lesion identification.

Space shuttle main engine anomaly data and inductive knowledge based systems: Automated corporate expertise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Modesitt, Kenneth L.

1987-01-01

Progress is reported on the development of SCOTTY, an expert knowledge-based system to automate the analysis procedure following test firings of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME). The integration of a large-scale relational data base system, a computer graphics interface for experts and end-user engineers, potential extension of the system to flight engines, application of the system for training of newly-hired engineers, technology transfer to other engines, and the essential qualities of good software engineering practices for building expert knowledge-based systems are among the topics discussed.

Expert system verification and validation study. Delivery 3A and 3B: Trip summaries

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

French, Scott

1991-01-01

Key results are documented from attending the 4th workshop on verification, validation, and testing. The most interesting part of the workshop was when representatives from the U.S., Japan, and Europe presented surveys of VV&T within their respective regions. Another interesting part focused on current efforts to define industry standards for artificial intelligence and how that might affect approaches to VV&T of expert systems. The next part of the workshop focused on VV&T methods of applying mathematical techniques to verification of rule bases and techniques for capturing information relating to the process of developing software. The final part focused on software tools. A summary is also presented of the EPRI conference on 'Methodologies, Tools, and Standards for Cost Effective Reliable Software Verification and Validation. The conference was divided into discussion sessions on the following issues: development process, automated tools, software reliability, methods, standards, and cost/benefit considerations.

IEEE/AIAA/NASA Digital Avionics Systems Conference, 9th, Virginia Beach, VA, Oct. 15-18, 1990, Proceedings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

The present conference on digital avionics discusses vehicle-management systems, spacecraft avionics, special vehicle avionics, communication/navigation/identification systems, software qualification and quality assurance, launch-vehicle avionics, Ada applications, sensor and signal processing, general aviation avionics, automated software development, design-for-testability techniques, and avionics-software engineering. Also discussed are optical technology and systems, modular avionics, fault-tolerant avionics, commercial avionics, space systems, data buses, crew-station technology, embedded processors and operating systems, AI and expert systems, data links, and pilot/vehicle interfaces.

Linking medical records to an expert system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Naeymi-Rad, Frank; Trace, David; Desouzaalmeida, Fabio

1991-01-01

This presentation will be done using the IMR-Entry (Intelligent Medical Record Entry) system. IMR-Entry is a software program developed as a front-end to our diagnostic consultant software MEDAS (Medical Emergency Decision Assistance System). MEDAS (the Medical Emergency Diagnostic Assistance System) is a diagnostic consultant system using a multimembership Bayesian design for its inference engine and relational database technology for its knowledge base maintenance. Research on MEDAS began at the University of Southern California and the Institute of Critical Care in the mid 1970's with support from NASA and NSF. The MEDAS project moved to Chicago in 1982; its current progress is due to collaboration between Illinois Institute of Technology, The Chicago Medical School, Lake Forest College and NASA at KSC. Since the purpose of an expert system is to derive a hypothesis, its communication vocabulary is limited to features used by its knowledge base. The development of a comprehensive problem based medical record entry system which could handshake with an expert system while creating an electronic medical record at the same time was studied. IMR-E is a computer based patient record that serves as a front end to the expert system MEDAS. IMR-E is a graphically oriented comprehensive medical record. The programs major components are demonstrated.

Proceedings of the Workshop on software tools for distributed intelligent control systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Herget, C.J.

1990-09-01

The Workshop on Software Tools for Distributed Intelligent Control Systems was organized by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for the United States Army Headquarters Training and Doctrine Command and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The goals of the workshop were to the identify the current state of the art in tools which support control systems engineering design and implementation, identify research issues associated with writing software tools which would provide a design environment to assist engineers in multidisciplinary control design and implementation, formulate a potential investment strategy to resolve the research issues and develop public domain code which can formmore » the core of more powerful engineering design tools, and recommend test cases to focus the software development process and test associated performance metrics. Recognizing that the development of software tools for distributed intelligent control systems will require a multidisciplinary effort, experts in systems engineering, control systems engineering, and compute science were invited to participate in the workshop. In particular, experts who could address the following topics were selected: operating systems, engineering data representation and manipulation, emerging standards for manufacturing data, mathematical foundations, coupling of symbolic and numerical computation, user interface, system identification, system representation at different levels of abstraction, system specification, system design, verification and validation, automatic code generation, and integration of modular, reusable code.« less

Robotic air vehicle. Blending artificial intelligence with conventional software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcnulty, Christa; Graham, Joyce; Roewer, Paul

1987-01-01

The Robotic Air Vehicle (RAV) system is described. The program's objectives were to design, implement, and demonstrate cooperating expert systems for piloting robotic air vehicles. The development of this system merges conventional programming used in passive navigation with Artificial Intelligence techniques such as voice recognition, spatial reasoning, and expert systems. The individual components of the RAV system are discussed as well as their interactions with each other and how they operate as a system.

Towards a Methodology for Identifying Program Constraints During Requirements Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Romo, Lilly; Gates, Ann Q.; Della-Piana, Connie Kubo

1997-01-01

Requirements analysis is the activity that involves determining the needs of the customer, identifying the services that the software system should provide and understanding the constraints on the solution. The result of this activity is a natural language document, typically referred to as the requirements definition document. Some of the problems that exist in defining requirements in large scale software projects includes synthesizing knowledge from various domain experts and communicating this information across multiple levels of personnel. One approach that addresses part of this problem is called context monitoring and involves identifying the properties of and relationships between objects that the system will manipulate. This paper examines several software development methodologies, discusses the support that each provide for eliciting such information from experts and specifying the information, and suggests refinements to these methodologies.

Development of expert system for biobased polymer material selection: food packaging application.

PubMed

Sanyang, M L; Sapuan, S M

2015-10-01

Biobased food packaging materials are gaining more attention owing to their intrinsic biodegradable nature and renewability. Selection of suitable biobased polymers for food packaging applications could be a tedious task with potential mistakes in choosing the best materials. In this paper, an expert system was developed using Exsys Corvid software to select suitable biobased polymer materials for packaging fruits, dry food and dairy products. If - Then rule based system was utilized to accomplish the material selection process whereas a score system was formulated to facilitate the ranking of selected materials. The expert system selected materials that satisfied all constraints and selection results were presented in suitability sequence depending on their scores. The expert system selected polylactic acid (PLA) as the most suitable material.

The Delphi Method Online: Medical Expert Consensus Via the Internet

PubMed Central

Cam, Kenneth M.; McKnight, Patrick E.; Doctor, Jason N.

2002-01-01

Delphi is an expert consensus method. The theory behind the Delphi method is that the interaction of experts may lead to a reduction in individual bias. We have developed software that carries out all aspects of the Delphi method via the Internet. The Delphi method online consists of three components: 1) authorship, 2) interactive polling, and 3) reporting/results. We hope that researchers use this tool in future medical expert systems.

An expert system for integrated structural analysis and design optimization for aerospace structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

The results of a research study on the development of an expert system for integrated structural analysis and design optimization is presented. An Object Representation Language (ORL) was developed first in conjunction with a rule-based system. This ORL/AI shell was then used to develop expert systems to provide assistance with a variety of structural analysis and design optimization tasks, in conjunction with procedural modules for finite element structural analysis and design optimization. The main goal of the research study was to provide expertise, judgment, and reasoning capabilities in the aerospace structural design process. This will allow engineers performing structural analysis and design, even without extensive experience in the field, to develop error-free, efficient and reliable structural designs very rapidly and cost-effectively. This would not only improve the productivity of design engineers and analysts, but also significantly reduce time to completion of structural design. An extensive literature survey in the field of structural analysis, design optimization, artificial intelligence, and database management systems and their application to the structural design process was first performed. A feasibility study was then performed, and the architecture and the conceptual design for the integrated 'intelligent' structural analysis and design optimization software was then developed. An Object Representation Language (ORL), in conjunction with a rule-based system, was then developed using C++. Such an approach would improve the expressiveness for knowledge representation (especially for structural analysis and design applications), provide ability to build very large and practical expert systems, and provide an efficient way for storing knowledge. Functional specifications for the expert systems were then developed. The ORL/AI shell was then used to develop a variety of modules of expert systems for a variety of modeling, finite element analysis, and design optimization tasks in the integrated aerospace structural design process. These expert systems were developed to work in conjunction with procedural finite element structural analysis and design optimization modules (developed in-house at SAT, Inc.). The complete software, AutoDesign, so developed, can be used for integrated 'intelligent' structural analysis and design optimization. The software was beta-tested at a variety of companies, used by a range of engineers with different levels of background and expertise. Based on the feedback obtained by such users, conclusions were developed and are provided.

An expert system for integrated structural analysis and design optimization for aerospace structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1992-04-01

The results of a research study on the development of an expert system for integrated structural analysis and design optimization is presented. An Object Representation Language (ORL) was developed first in conjunction with a rule-based system. This ORL/AI shell was then used to develop expert systems to provide assistance with a variety of structural analysis and design optimization tasks, in conjunction with procedural modules for finite element structural analysis and design optimization. The main goal of the research study was to provide expertise, judgment, and reasoning capabilities in the aerospace structural design process. This will allow engineers performing structural analysis and design, even without extensive experience in the field, to develop error-free, efficient and reliable structural designs very rapidly and cost-effectively. This would not only improve the productivity of design engineers and analysts, but also significantly reduce time to completion of structural design. An extensive literature survey in the field of structural analysis, design optimization, artificial intelligence, and database management systems and their application to the structural design process was first performed. A feasibility study was then performed, and the architecture and the conceptual design for the integrated 'intelligent' structural analysis and design optimization software was then developed. An Object Representation Language (ORL), in conjunction with a rule-based system, was then developed using C++. Such an approach would improve the expressiveness for knowledge representation (especially for structural analysis and design applications), provide ability to build very large and practical expert systems, and provide an efficient way for storing knowledge. Functional specifications for the expert systems were then developed. The ORL/AI shell was then used to develop a variety of modules of expert systems for a variety of modeling, finite element analysis, and design optimization tasks in the integrated aerospace structural design process. These expert systems were developed to work in conjunction with procedural finite element structural analysis and design optimization modules (developed in-house at SAT, Inc.). The complete software, AutoDesign, so developed, can be used for integrated 'intelligent' structural analysis and design optimization. The software was beta-tested at a variety of companies, used by a range of engineers with different levels of background and expertise. Based on the feedback obtained by such users, conclusions were developed and are provided.

QUEST/Ada (Query Utility Environment for Software Testing of Ada): The development of a prgram analysis environment for Ada, task 1, phase 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, David B.

1990-01-01

The results of research and development efforts are described for Task one, Phase two of a general project entitled The Development of a Program Analysis Environment for Ada. The scope of this task includes the design and development of a prototype system for testing Ada software modules at the unit level. The system is called Query Utility Environment for Software Testing of Ada (QUEST/Ada). The prototype for condition coverage provides a platform that implements expert system interaction with program testing. The expert system can modify data in the instrument source code in order to achieve coverage goals. Given this initial prototype, it is possible to evaluate the rule base in order to develop improved rules for test case generation. The goals of Phase two are the following: (1) to continue to develop and improve the current user interface to support the other goals of this research effort (i.e., those related to improved testing efficiency and increased code reliable); (2) to develop and empirically evaluate a succession of alternative rule bases for the test case generator such that the expert system achieves coverage in a more efficient manner; and (3) to extend the concepts of the current test environment to address the issues of Ada concurrency.

A parallel strategy for implementing real-time expert systems using CLIPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ilyes, Laszlo A.; Villaseca, F. Eugenio; Delaat, John

1994-01-01

As evidenced by current literature, there appears to be a continued interest in the study of real-time expert systems. It is generally recognized that speed of execution is only one consideration when designing an effective real-time expert system. Some other features one must consider are the expert system's ability to perform temporal reasoning, handle interrupts, prioritize data, contend with data uncertainty, and perform context focusing as dictated by the incoming data to the expert system. This paper presents a strategy for implementing a real time expert system on the iPSC/860 hypercube parallel computer using CLIPS. The strategy takes into consideration not only the execution time of the software, but also those features which define a true real-time expert system. The methodology is then demonstrated using a practical implementation of an expert system which performs diagnostics on the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME). This particular implementation uses an eight node hypercube to process ten sensor measurements in order to simultaneously diagnose five different failure modes within the SSME. The main program is written in ANSI C and embeds CLIPS to better facilitate and debug the rule based expert system.

Expert system development for commonality analysis in space programs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yeager, Dorian P.

1987-01-01

This report is a combination of foundational mathematics and software design. A mathematical model of the Commonality Analysis problem was developed and some important properties discovered. The complexity of the problem is described herein and techniques, both deterministic and heuristic, for reducing that complexity are presented. Weaknesses are pointed out in the existing software (System Commonality Analysis Tool) and several improvements are recommended. It is recommended that: (1) an expert system for guiding the design of new databases be developed; (2) a distributed knowledge base be created and maintained for the purpose of encoding the commonality relationships between design items in commonality databases; (3) a software module be produced which automatically generates commonality alternative sets from commonality databases using the knowledge associated with those databases; and (4) a more complete commonality analysis module be written which is capable of generating any type of feasible solution.

Expert system decision support for low-cost launch vehicle operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Szatkowski, G. P.; Levin, Barry E.

1991-01-01

Progress in assessing the feasibility, benefits, and risks associated with AI expert systems applied to low cost expendable launch vehicle systems is described. Part one identified potential application areas in vehicle operations and on-board functions, assessed measures of cost benefit, and identified key technologies to aid in the implementation of decision support systems in this environment. Part two of the program began the development of prototypes to demonstrate real-time vehicle checkout with controller and diagnostic/analysis intelligent systems and to gather true measures of cost savings vs. conventional software, verification and validation requirements, and maintainability improvement. The main objective of the expert advanced development projects was to provide a robust intelligent system for control/analysis that must be performed within a specified real-time window in order to meet the demands of the given application. The efforts to develop the two prototypes are described. Prime emphasis was on a controller expert system to show real-time performance in a cryogenic propellant loading application and safety validation implementation of this system experimentally, using commercial-off-the-shelf software tools and object oriented programming techniques. This smart ground support equipment prototype is based in C with imbedded expert system rules written in the CLIPS protocol. The relational database, ORACLE, provides non-real-time data support. The second demonstration develops the vehicle/ground intelligent automation concept, from phase one, to show cooperation between multiple expert systems. This automated test conductor (ATC) prototype utilizes a knowledge-bus approach for intelligent information processing by use of virtual sensors and blackboards to solve complex problems. It incorporates distributed processing of real-time data and object-oriented techniques for command, configuration control, and auto-code generation.

Automated Help System For A Supercomputer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Callas, George P.; Schulbach, Catherine H.; Younkin, Michael

1994-01-01

Expert-system software developed to provide automated system of user-helping displays in supercomputer system at Ames Research Center Advanced Computer Facility. Users located at remote computer terminals connected to supercomputer and each other via gateway computers, local-area networks, telephone lines, and satellite links. Automated help system answers routine user inquiries about how to use services of computer system. Available 24 hours per day and reduces burden on human experts, freeing them to concentrate on helping users with complicated problems.

Inductive knowledge acquisition experience with commercial tools for space shuttle main engine testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Modesitt, Kenneth L.

1990-01-01

Since 1984, an effort has been underway at Rocketdyne, manufacturer of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME), to automate much of the analysis procedure conducted after engine test firings. Previously published articles at national and international conferences have contained the context of and justification for this effort. Here, progress is reported in building the full system, including the extensions of integrating large databases with the system, known as Scotty. Inductive knowledge acquisition has proven itself to be a key factor in the success of Scotty. The combination of a powerful inductive expert system building tool (ExTran), a relational data base management system (Reliance), and software engineering principles and Computer-Assisted Software Engineering (CASE) tools makes for a practical, useful and state-of-the-art application of an expert system.

Expert system for web based collaborative CAE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hou, Liang; Lin, Zusheng

2006-11-01

An expert system for web based collaborative CAE was developed based on knowledge engineering, relational database and commercial FEA (Finite element analysis) software. The architecture of the system was illustrated. In this system, the experts' experiences, theories and typical examples and other related knowledge, which will be used in the stage of pre-process in FEA, were categorized into analysis process and object knowledge. Then, the integrated knowledge model based on object-oriented method and rule based method was described. The integrated reasoning process based on CBR (case based reasoning) and rule based reasoning was presented. Finally, the analysis process of this expert system in web based CAE application was illustrated, and an analysis example of a machine tool's column was illustrated to prove the validity of the system.

Interfacing An Intelligent Decision-Maker To A Real-Time Control System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Evers, D. C.; Smith, D. M.; Staros, C. J.

1984-06-01

This paper discusses some of the practical aspects of implementing expert systems in a real-time environment. There is a conflict between the needs of a process control system and the computational load imposed by intelligent decision-making software. The computation required to manage a real-time control problem is primarily concerned with routine calculations which must be executed in real time. On most current hardware, non-trivial AI software should not be forced to operate under real-time constraints. In order for the system to work efficiently, the two processes must be separated by a well-defined interface. Although the precise nature of the task separation will vary with the application, the definition of the interface will need to follow certain fundamental principles in order to provide functional separation. This interface was successfully implemented in the expert scheduling software currently running the automated chemical processing facility at Lockheed-Georgia. Potential applications of this concept in the areas of airborne avionics and robotics will be discussed.

Use of artificial intelligence in analytical systems for the clinical laboratory

PubMed Central

Truchaud, Alain; Ozawa, Kyoichi; Pardue, Harry; Schnipelsky, Paul

1995-01-01

The incorporation of information-processing technology into analytical systems in the form of standard computing software has recently been advanced by the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI), both as expert systems and as neural networks. This paper considers the role of software in system operation, control and automation, and attempts to define intelligence. AI is characterized by its ability to deal with incomplete and imprecise information and to accumulate knowledge. Expert systems, building on standard computing techniques, depend heavily on the domain experts and knowledge engineers that have programmed them to represent the real world. Neural networks are intended to emulate the pattern-recognition and parallel processing capabilities of the human brain and are taught rather than programmed. The future may lie in a combination of the recognition ability of the neural network and the rationalization capability of the expert system. In the second part of the paper, examples are given of applications of AI in stand-alone systems for knowledge engineering and medical diagnosis and in embedded systems for failure detection, image analysis, user interfacing, natural language processing, robotics and machine learning, as related to clinical laboratories. It is concluded that AI constitutes a collective form of intellectual propery, and that there is a need for better documentation, evaluation and regulation of the systems already being used in clinical laboratories. PMID:18924784

Proceedings of the 1986 IEEE international conference on systems, man and cybernetics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1986-01-01

This book presents the papers given at a conference on man-machine systems. Topics considered at the conference included neural model-based cognitive theory and engineering, user interfaces, adaptive and learning systems, human interaction with robotics, decision making, the testing and evaluation of expert systems, software development, international conflict resolution, intelligent interfaces, automation in man-machine system design aiding, knowledge acquisition in expert systems, advanced architectures for artificial intelligence, pattern recognition, knowledge bases, and machine vision.

Computer-aided software development process design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, Chi Y.; Levary, Reuven R.

1989-01-01

The authors describe an intelligent tool designed to aid managers of software development projects in planning, managing, and controlling the development process of medium- to large-scale software projects. Its purpose is to reduce uncertainties in the budget, personnel, and schedule planning of software development projects. It is based on dynamic model for the software development and maintenance life-cycle process. This dynamic process is composed of a number of time-varying, interacting developmental phases, each characterized by its intended functions and requirements. System dynamics is used as a modeling methodology. The resulting Software LIfe-Cycle Simulator (SLICS) and the hybrid expert simulation system of which it is a subsystem are described.

Fuzzy Logic Engine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howard, Ayanna

2005-01-01

The Fuzzy Logic Engine is a software package that enables users to embed fuzzy-logic modules into their application programs. Fuzzy logic is useful as a means of formulating human expert knowledge and translating it into software to solve problems. Fuzzy logic provides flexibility for modeling relationships between input and output information and is distinguished by its robustness with respect to noise and variations in system parameters. In addition, linguistic fuzzy sets and conditional statements allow systems to make decisions based on imprecise and incomplete information. The user of the Fuzzy Logic Engine need not be an expert in fuzzy logic: it suffices to have a basic understanding of how linguistic rules can be applied to the user's problem. The Fuzzy Logic Engine is divided into two modules: (1) a graphical-interface software tool for creating linguistic fuzzy sets and conditional statements and (2) a fuzzy-logic software library for embedding fuzzy processing capability into current application programs. The graphical- interface tool was developed using the Tcl/Tk programming language. The fuzzy-logic software library was written in the C programming language.

A Model-Based Expert System for Space Power Distribution Diagnostics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quinn, Todd M.; Schlegelmilch, Richard F.

1994-01-01

When engineers diagnose system failures, they often use models to confirm system operation. This concept has produced a class of advanced expert systems that perform model-based diagnosis. A model-based diagnostic expert system for the Space Station Freedom electrical power distribution test bed is currently being developed at the NASA Lewis Research Center. The objective of this expert system is to autonomously detect and isolate electrical fault conditions. Marple, a software package developed at TRW, provides a model-based environment utilizing constraint suspension. Originally, constraint suspension techniques were developed for digital systems. However, Marple provides the mechanisms for applying this approach to analog systems such as the test bed, as well. The expert system was developed using Marple and Lucid Common Lisp running on a Sun Sparc-2 workstation. The Marple modeling environment has proved to be a useful tool for investigating the various aspects of model-based diagnostics. This report describes work completed to date and lessons learned while employing model-based diagnostics using constraint suspension within an analog system.

Best Practices for Reduction of Uncertainty in CFD Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mendenhall, Michael R.; Childs, Robert E.; Morrison, Joseph H.

2003-01-01

This paper describes a proposed best-practices system that will present expert knowledge in the use of CFD. The best-practices system will include specific guidelines to assist the user in problem definition, input preparation, grid generation, code selection, parameter specification, and results interpretation. The goal of the system is to assist all CFD users in obtaining high quality CFD solutions with reduced uncertainty and at lower cost for a wide range of flow problems. The best-practices system will be implemented as a software product which includes an expert system made up of knowledge databases of expert information with specific guidelines for individual codes and algorithms. The process of acquiring expert knowledge is discussed, and help from the CFD community is solicited. Benefits and challenges associated with this project are examined.

Heat exchanger expert system logic

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cormier, R.

1988-01-01

The reduction is described of the operation and fault diagnostics of a Deep Space Network heat exchanger to a rule base by the application of propositional calculus to a set of logic statements. The value of this approach lies in the ease of converting the logic and subsequently implementing it on a computer as an expert system. The rule base was written in Process Intelligent Control software.

Expert system verification and validation study. Phase 2: Requirements Identification. Delivery 2: Current requirements applicability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

The second phase of a task is described which has the ultimate purpose of ensuring that adequate Expert Systems (ESs) Verification and Validation (V and V) tools and techniques are available for Space Station Freedom Program Knowledge Based Systems development. The purpose of this phase is to recommend modifications to current software V and V requirements which will extend the applicability of the requirements to NASA ESs.

Design and Implementation of an Intelligent Cost Estimation Model for Decision Support System Software

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-09-01

following two chapters. 28 V. COCOMO MODEL A. OVERVIEW The COCOMO model which stands for COnstructive COst MOdel was developed by Barry Boehm and is...estimation model which uses an expert system to automate the Intermediate COnstructive Cost Estimation MOdel (COCOMO), developed by Barry W. Boehm and...cost estimation model which uses an expert system to automate the Intermediate COnstructive Cost Estimation MOdel (COCOMO), developed by Barry W

[Research & development on computer expert system for forensic bones estimation].

PubMed

Zhao, Jun-ji; Zhang, Jan-zheng; Liu, Nin-guo

2005-08-01

To build an expert system for forensic bones estimation. By using the object oriented method, employing statistical data of forensic anthropology, combining the statistical data frame knowledge representation with productions and also using the fuzzy matching and DS evidence theory method. Software for forensic estimation of sex, age and height with opened knowledge base was designed. This system is reliable and effective, and it would be a good assistant of the forensic technician.

Using Ada to implement the operations management system in a community of experts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frank, M. S.

1986-01-01

An architecture is described for the Space Station Operations Management System (OMS), consisting of a distributed expert system framework implemented in Ada. The motivation for such a scheme is based on the desire to integrate the very diverse elements of the OMS while taking maximum advantage of knowledge based systems technology. Part of the foundation of an Ada based distributed expert system was accomplished in the form of a proof of concept prototype for the KNOMES project (Knowledge-based Maintenance Expert System). This prototype successfully used concurrently active experts to accomplish monitoring and diagnosis for the Remote Manipulator System. The basic concept of this software architecture is named ACTORS for Ada Cognitive Task ORganization Scheme. It is when one considers the overall problem of integrating all of the OMS elements into a cooperative system that the AI solution stands out. By utilizing a distributed knowledge based system as the framework for OMS, it is possible to integrate those components which need to share information in an intelligent manner.

Towards an operational fault isolation expert system for French telecommunication satellite Telecom 2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haziza, M.

1990-10-01

The DIAMS satellite fault isolation expert system shell concept is described. The project, initiated in 1985, has led to the development of a prototype Expert System (ES) dedicated to the Telecom 1 attitude and orbit control system. The prototype ES has been installed in the Telecom 1 satellite control center and evaluated by Telecom 1 operations. The development of a fault isolation ES covering a whole spacecraft (the French telecommunication satellite Telecom 2) is currently being undertaken. Full scale industrial applications raise stringent requirements in terms of knowledge management and software development methodology. The approach used by MATRA ESPACE to face this challenge is outlined.

Automated software development workstation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1986-01-01

Engineering software development was automated using an expert system (rule-based) approach. The use of this technology offers benefits not available from current software development and maintenance methodologies. A workstation was built with a library or program data base with methods for browsing the designs stored; a system for graphical specification of designs including a capability for hierarchical refinement and definition in a graphical design system; and an automated code generation capability in FORTRAN. The workstation was then used in a demonstration with examples from an attitude control subsystem design for the space station. Documentation and recommendations are presented.

Software Engineering and Its Application to Avionics

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-01-01

34Automated Software Development Methodolgy (ASDM): An Architecture of a Knowledge-Based Expert System," Masters Thesis , Florida Atlantic University, Boca...operating system provides the control semnrim and aplication services within the miltiproossur system. Them processes timt aks up the application sofhwae...as a high-value target may no longer be occupied by the time the film is processed and analyzed. With the high mobility of today’s enemy forces

Using hybrid expert system approaches for engineering applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allen, R. H.; Boarnet, M. G.; Culbert, C. J.; Savely, R. T.

1987-01-01

In this paper, the use of hybrid expert system shells and hybrid (i.e., algorithmic and heuristic) approaches for solving engineering problems is reported. Aspects of various engineering problem domains are reviewed for a number of examples with specific applications made to recently developed prototype expert systems. Based on this prototyping experience, critical evaluations of and comparisons between commercially available tools, and some research tools, in the United States and Australia, and their underlying problem-solving paradigms are made. Characteristics of the implementation tool and the engineering domain are compared and practical software engineering issues are discussed with respect to hybrid tools and approaches. Finally, guidelines are offered with the hope that expert system development will be less time consuming, more effective, and more cost-effective than it has been in the past.

Expert Recommender: Designing for a Network Organization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reichling, Tim; Veith, Michael; Wulf, Volker

Recent knowledge management initiatives focus on expertise sharing within formal organizational units and informal communities of practice. Expert recommender systems seem to be a promising tool in support of these initiatives. This paper presents experiences in designing an expert recommender system for a knowledge- intensive organization, namely the National Industry Association (NIA). Field study results provide a set of specific design requirements. Based on these requirements, we have designed an expert recommender system which is integrated into the specific software infrastructure of the organizational setting. The organizational setting is, as we will show, specific for historical, political, and economic reasons. These particularities influence the employees’ organizational and (inter-)personal needs within this setting. The paper connects empirical findings of a long-term case study with design experiences of an expertise recommender system.

Automatic segmentation software in locally advanced rectal cancer: READY (REsearch program in Auto Delineation sYstem)-RECTAL 02: prospective study.

PubMed

Gambacorta, Maria A; Boldrini, Luca; Valentini, Chiara; Dinapoli, Nicola; Mattiucci, Gian C; Chiloiro, Giuditta; Pasini, Danilo; Manfrida, Stefania; Caria, Nicola; Minsky, Bruce D; Valentini, Vincenzo

2016-07-05

To validate autocontouring software (AS) in a clinical practice including a two steps delineation quality assurance (QA) procedure.The existing delineation agreement among experts for rectal cancer and the overlap and time criteria that have to be verified to allow the use of AS were defined.Median Dice Similarity Coefficient (MDSC), Mean slicewise Hausdorff Distances (MSHD) and Total-Time saving (TT) were analyzed.Two expert Radiation Oncologists reviewed CT-scans of 44 patients and agreed the reference-CTV: the first 14 consecutive cases were used to populate the software Atlas and 30 were used as Test.Each expert performed a manual (group A) and an automatic delineation (group B) of 15 Test patients.The delineations were compared with the reference contours.The overlap between the manual and automatic delineations with MDSC and MSHD and the TT were analyzed.Three acceptance criteria were set: MDSC ≥ 0.75, MSHD ≤1mm and TT sparing ≥ 50%.At least 2 criteria had to be met, one of which had to be TT saving, to validate the system.The MDSC was 0.75, MSHD 2.00 mm and the TT saving 55.5% between group A and group B. MDSC among experts was 0.84.Autosegmentation systems in rectal cancer partially met acceptability criteria with the present version.

FTDD973: A multimedia knowledge-based system and methodology for operator training and diagnostics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hekmatpour, Amir; Brown, Gary; Brault, Randy; Bowen, Greg

1993-01-01

FTDD973 (973 Fabricator Training, Documentation, and Diagnostics) is an interactive multimedia knowledge based system and methodology for computer-aided training and certification of operators, as well as tool and process diagnostics in IBM's CMOS SGP fabrication line (building 973). FTDD973 is an example of what can be achieved with modern multimedia workstations. Knowledge-based systems, hypertext, hypergraphics, high resolution images, audio, motion video, and animation are technologies that in synergy can be far more useful than each by itself. FTDD973's modular and object-oriented architecture is also an example of how improvements in software engineering are finally making it possible to combine many software modules into one application. FTDD973 is developed in ExperMedia/2; and OS/2 multimedia expert system shell for domain experts.

Utilizing Expert Knowledge in Estimating Future STS Costs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fortner, David B.; Ruiz-Torres, Alex J.

2004-01-01

A method of estimating the costs of future space transportation systems (STSs) involves classical activity-based cost (ABC) modeling combined with systematic utilization of the knowledge and opinions of experts to extend the process-flow knowledge of existing systems to systems that involve new materials and/or new architectures. The expert knowledge is particularly helpful in filling gaps that arise in computational models of processes because of inconsistencies in historical cost data. Heretofore, the costs of planned STSs have been estimated following a "top-down" approach that tends to force the architectures of new systems to incorporate process flows like those of the space shuttles. In this ABC-based method, one makes assumptions about the processes, but otherwise follows a "bottoms up" approach that does not force the new system architecture to incorporate a space-shuttle-like process flow. Prototype software has been developed to implement this method. Through further development of software, it should be possible to extend the method beyond the space program to almost any setting in which there is a need to estimate the costs of a new system and to extend the applicable knowledge base in order to make the estimate.

Temporal and contextual knowledge in model-based expert systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Toth-Fejel, Tihamer; Heher, Dennis

1987-01-01

A basic paradigm that allows representation of physical systems with a focus on context and time is presented. Paragon provides the capability to quickly capture an expert's knowledge in a cognitively resonant manner. From that description, Paragon creates a simulation model in LISP, which when executed, verifies that the domain expert did not make any mistakes. The Achille's heel of rule-based systems has been the lack of a systematic methodology for testing, and Paragon's developers are certain that the model-based approach overcomes that problem. The reason this testing is now possible is that software, which is very difficult to test, has in essence been transformed into hardware.

A representational basis for the development of a distributed expert system for Space Shuttle flight control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Helly, J. J., Jr.; Bates, W. V.; Cutler, M.; Kelem, S.

1984-01-01

A new representation of malfunction procedure logic which permits the automation of these procedures using Boolean normal forms is presented. This representation is discussed in the context of the development of an expert system for space shuttle flight control including software and hardware implementation modes, and a distributed architecture. The roles and responsibility of the flight control team as well as previous work toward the development of expert systems for flight control support at Johnson Space Center are discussed. The notion of malfunction procedures as graphs is introduced as well as the concept of hardware-equivalence.

Capital Expert System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dowell, Laurie; Gary, Jack; Illingworth, Bill; Sargent, Tom

1987-05-01

Gathering information, necessary forms, and financial calculations needed to generate a "capital investment proposal" is an extremely complex and difficult process. The intent of the capital investment proposal is to ensure management that the proposed investment has been thoroughly investigated and will have a positive impact on corporate goals. Meeting this requirement typically takes four or five experts a total of 12 hours to generate a "Capital Package." A Capital Expert System was therefore developed using "Personal Consultant." The completed system is hybrid and as such does not depend solely on rules but incorporates several different software packages that communicate through variables and functions passed from one to another. This paper describes the use of expert system techniques, methodology in building the knowledge base, contexts, LISP functions, data base, and special challenges that had to be overcome to create this system. The Capital Expert System is the successful result of a unique integration of artificial intelligence with business accounting, financial forms generation, and investment proposal expertise.

Integration of symbolic and algorithmic hardware and software for the automation of space station subsystems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gregg, Hugh; Healey, Kathleen; Hack, Edmund; Wong, Carla

1987-01-01

Expert systems that require access to data bases, complex simulations and real time instrumentation have both symbolic as well as algorithmic computing needs. These needs could both be met using a general computing workstation running both symbolic and algorithmic code, or separate, specialized computers networked together. The later approach was chosen to implement TEXSYS, the thermal expert system, developed to demonstrate the ability of an expert system to autonomously control the thermal control system of the space station. TEXSYS has been implemented on a Symbolics workstation, and will be linked to a microVAX computer that will control a thermal test bed. Integration options are explored and several possible solutions are presented.

Integration of symbolic and algorithmic hardware and software for the automation of space station subsystems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gregg, Hugh; Healey, Kathleen; Hack, Edmund; Wong, Carla

1987-01-01

Traditional expert systems, such as diagnostic and training systems, interact with users only through a keyboard and screen, and are usually symbolic in nature. Expert systems that require access to data bases, complex simulations and real-time instrumentation have both symbolic as well as algorithmic computing needs. These needs could both be met using a general purpose workstation running both symbolic and algorithmic code, or separate, specialized computers networked together. The latter approach was chosen to implement TEXSYS, the thermal expert system, developed by NASA Ames Research Center in conjunction with Johnson Space Center to demonstrate the ability of an expert system to autonomously monitor the thermal control system of the space station. TEXSYS has been implemented on a Symbolics workstation, and will be linked to a microVAX computer that will control a thermal test bed. This paper will explore the integration options, and present several possible solutions.

A framework for building real-time expert systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, S. Daniel

1991-01-01

The Space Station Freedom is an example of complex systems that require both traditional and artificial intelligence (AI) real-time methodologies. It was mandated that Ada should be used for all new software development projects. The station also requires distributed processing. Catastrophic failures on the station can cause the transmission system to malfunction for a long period of time, during which ground-based expert systems cannot provide any assistance to the crisis situation on the station. This is even more critical for other NASA projects that would have longer transmission delays (e.g., the lunar base, Mars missions, etc.). To address these issues, a distributed agent architecture (DAA) is proposed that can support a variety of paradigms based on both traditional real-time computing and AI. The proposed testbed for DAA is an autonomous power expert (APEX) which is a real-time monitoring and diagnosis expert system for the electrical power distribution system of the space station.

Automated Software Development Workstation (ASDW)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fridge, Ernie

1990-01-01

Software development is a serious bottleneck in the construction of complex automated systems. An increase of the reuse of software designs and components has been viewed as a way to relieve this bottleneck. One approach to achieving software reusability is through the development and use of software parts composition systems. A software parts composition system is a software development environment comprised of a parts description language for modeling parts and their interfaces, a catalog of existing parts, a composition editor that aids a user in the specification of a new application from existing parts, and a code generator that takes a specification and generates an implementation of a new application in a target language. The Automated Software Development Workstation (ASDW) is an expert system shell that provides the capabilities required to develop and manipulate these software parts composition systems. The ASDW is now in Beta testing at the Johnson Space Center. Future work centers on responding to user feedback for capability and usability enhancement, expanding the scope of the software lifecycle that is covered, and in providing solutions to handling very large libraries of reusable components.

An autonomous fault detection, isolation, and recovery system for a 20-kHz electric power distribution test bed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quinn, Todd M.; Walters, Jerry L.

1991-01-01

Future space explorations will require long term human presence in space. Space environments that provide working and living quarters for manned missions are becoming increasingly larger and more sophisticated. Monitor and control of the space environment subsystems by expert system software, which emulate human reasoning processes, could maintain the health of the subsystems and help reduce the human workload. The autonomous power expert (APEX) system was developed to emulate a human expert's reasoning processes used to diagnose fault conditions in the domain of space power distribution. APEX is a fault detection, isolation, and recovery (FDIR) system, capable of autonomous monitoring and control of the power distribution system. APEX consists of a knowledge base, a data base, an inference engine, and various support and interface software. APEX provides the user with an easy-to-use interactive interface. When a fault is detected, APEX will inform the user of the detection. The user can direct APEX to isolate the probable cause of the fault. Once a fault has been isolated, the user can ask APEX to justify its fault isolation and to recommend actions to correct the fault. APEX implementation and capabilities are discussed.

Assistant for Analyzing Tropical-Rain-Mapping Radar Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

James, Mark

2006-01-01

A document is defined that describes an approach for a Tropical Rain Mapping Radar Data System (TDS). TDS is composed of software and hardware elements incorporating a two-frequency spaceborne radar system for measuring tropical precipitation. The TDS would be used primarily in generating data products for scientific investigations. The most novel part of the TDS would be expert-system software to aid in the selection of algorithms for converting raw radar-return data into such primary observables as rain rate, path-integrated rain rate, and surface backscatter. The expert-system approach would address the issue that selection of algorithms for processing the data requires a significant amount of preprocessing, non-intuitive reasoning, and heuristic application, making it infeasible, in many cases, to select the proper algorithm in real time. In the TDS, tentative selections would be made to enable conversions in real time. The expert system would remove straightforwardly convertible data from further consideration, and would examine ambiguous data, performing analysis in depth to determine which algorithms to select. Conversions performed by these algorithms, presumed to be correct, would be compared with the corresponding real-time conversions. Incorrect real-time conversions would be updated using the correct conversions.

Expert System Development Methodology (ESDM)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sary, Charisse; Gilstrap, Lewey; Hull, Larry G.

1990-01-01

The Expert System Development Methodology (ESDM) provides an approach to developing expert system software. Because of the uncertainty associated with this process, an element of risk is involved. ESDM is designed to address the issue of risk and to acquire the information needed for this purpose in an evolutionary manner. ESDM presents a life cycle in which a prototype evolves through five stages of development. Each stage consists of five steps, leading to a prototype for that stage. Development may proceed to a conventional development methodology (CDM) at any time if enough has been learned about the problem to write requirements. ESDM produces requirements so that a product may be built with a CDM. ESDM is considered preliminary because is has not yet been applied to actual projects. It has been retrospectively evaluated by comparing the methods used in two ongoing expert system development projects that did not explicitly choose to use this methodology but which provided useful insights into actual expert system development practices and problems.

Social Software for Life-Long Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klamma, Ralf; Chatti, Mohamed Amine; Duval, Erik; Hummel, Hans; Hvannberg, Ebba Thora; Kravcik, Milos; Law, Effie; Naeve, Ambjorn; Scott, Peter

2007-01-01

Life-long learning is a key issue for our knowledge society. With social software systems new heterogeneous kinds of technology enhanced informal learning are now available to the life-long learner. Learners outside of learning institutions now have access to powerful social communities of experts and peers who are together forging a new web 2.0.…

Planning bioinformatics workflows using an expert system.

PubMed

Chen, Xiaoling; Chang, Jeffrey T

2017-04-15

Bioinformatic analyses are becoming formidably more complex due to the increasing number of steps required to process the data, as well as the proliferation of methods that can be used in each step. To alleviate this difficulty, pipelines are commonly employed. However, pipelines are typically implemented to automate a specific analysis, and thus are difficult to use for exploratory analyses requiring systematic changes to the software or parameters used. To automate the development of pipelines, we have investigated expert systems. We created the Bioinformatics ExperT SYstem (BETSY) that includes a knowledge base where the capabilities of bioinformatics software is explicitly and formally encoded. BETSY is a backwards-chaining rule-based expert system comprised of a data model that can capture the richness of biological data, and an inference engine that reasons on the knowledge base to produce workflows. Currently, the knowledge base is populated with rules to analyze microarray and next generation sequencing data. We evaluated BETSY and found that it could generate workflows that reproduce and go beyond previously published bioinformatics results. Finally, a meta-investigation of the workflows generated from the knowledge base produced a quantitative measure of the technical burden imposed by each step of bioinformatics analyses, revealing the large number of steps devoted to the pre-processing of data. In sum, an expert system approach can facilitate exploratory bioinformatic analysis by automating the development of workflows, a task that requires significant domain expertise. https://github.com/jefftc/changlab. jeffrey.t.chang@uth.tmc.edu. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Planning bioinformatics workflows using an expert system

PubMed Central

Chen, Xiaoling; Chang, Jeffrey T.

2017-01-01

Abstract Motivation: Bioinformatic analyses are becoming formidably more complex due to the increasing number of steps required to process the data, as well as the proliferation of methods that can be used in each step. To alleviate this difficulty, pipelines are commonly employed. However, pipelines are typically implemented to automate a specific analysis, and thus are difficult to use for exploratory analyses requiring systematic changes to the software or parameters used. Results: To automate the development of pipelines, we have investigated expert systems. We created the Bioinformatics ExperT SYstem (BETSY) that includes a knowledge base where the capabilities of bioinformatics software is explicitly and formally encoded. BETSY is a backwards-chaining rule-based expert system comprised of a data model that can capture the richness of biological data, and an inference engine that reasons on the knowledge base to produce workflows. Currently, the knowledge base is populated with rules to analyze microarray and next generation sequencing data. We evaluated BETSY and found that it could generate workflows that reproduce and go beyond previously published bioinformatics results. Finally, a meta-investigation of the workflows generated from the knowledge base produced a quantitative measure of the technical burden imposed by each step of bioinformatics analyses, revealing the large number of steps devoted to the pre-processing of data. In sum, an expert system approach can facilitate exploratory bioinformatic analysis by automating the development of workflows, a task that requires significant domain expertise. Availability and Implementation: https://github.com/jefftc/changlab Contact: jeffrey.t.chang@uth.tmc.edu PMID:28052928

Attacking the information access problem with expert systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ragusa, James M.; Orwig, Gary W.

1991-01-01

The results of applications research directed at finding an improved method of storing and accessing information are presented. Twelve microcomputer-based expert systems shells and five laser-optical formats have been studied, and the general and specific methods of interfacing these technologies are being tested in prototype systems. Shell features and interfacing capabilities are discussed, and results from the study of five laser-optical formats are recounted including the video laser, compact, and WORM disks, and laser cards and film. Interfacing, including laser disk device driver interfacing, is discussed and it is pointed out that in order to control the laser device from within the expert systems application, the expert systems shell must be able to access the device driver software. Potential integrated applications are investigated and an initial list is provided including consumer services, travel, law enforcement, human resources, marketing, and education and training.

MVP-CA Methodology for the Expert System Advocate's Advisor (ESAA)

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-11-01

The Multi-Viewpoint Clustering Analysis (MVP-CA) tool is a semi-automated tool to provide a valuable aid for comprehension, verification, validation, maintenance, integration, and evolution of complex knowledge-based software systems. In this report,...

An expert system for prediction of chemical toxicity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hickey, James P.; Aldridge, Andrew J.; Passino-Reader, Dora R.; Frank, Anthony M.

1992-01-01

The National Fisheries Research Center- Great Lakes has developed an interactive computer program that uses the structure of an organic molecule to predict its acute toxicity to four aquatic species. The expert system software, written in the muLISP language, identifies the skeletal structures and substituent groups of an organic molecule from a user-supplied standard chemical notation known as a SMILES string, and then generates values for four solvatochromic parameters. Multiple regression equations relate these parameters to the toxicities (expressed as log10LC50s and log10EC50s, along with 95% confidence intervals) for four species. The system is demonstrated by prediction of toxicity for anilide-type pesticides to the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas). This software is designed for use on an IBM-compatible personal computer by personnel with minimal toxicology background for rapid estimation of chemical toxicity. The system has numerous applications, with much potential for use in the pharmaceutical industry

Automated Diagnosis Of Conditions In A Plant-Growth Chamber

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clinger, Barry R.; Damiano, Alfred L.

1995-01-01

Biomass Production Chamber Operations Assistant software and hardware constitute expert system that diagnoses mechanical failures in controlled-environment hydroponic plant-growth chamber and recommends corrective actions to be taken by technicians. Subjects of continuing research directed toward development of highly automated closed life-support systems aboard spacecraft to process animal (including human) and plant wastes into food and oxygen. Uses Microsoft Windows interface to give technicians intuitive, efficient access to critical data. In diagnostic mode, system prompts technician for information. When expert system has enough information, it generates recovery plan.

Improved Real-Time Monitoring Using Multiple Expert Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schwuttke, Ursula M.; Angelino, Robert; Quan, Alan G.; Veregge, John; Childs, Cynthia

1993-01-01

Monitor/Analyzer of Real-Time Voyager Engineering Link (MARVEL) computer program implements combination of techniques of both conventional automation and artificial intelligence to improve monitoring of complicated engineering system. Designed to support ground-based operations of Voyager spacecraft, also adapted to other systems. Enables more-accurate monitoring and analysis of telemetry, enhances productivity of monitoring personnel, reduces required number of such personnel by performing routine monitoring tasks, and helps ensure consistency in face of turnover of personnel. Programmed in C language and includes commercial expert-system software shell also written in C.

Intelligent fault management for the Space Station active thermal control system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hill, Tim; Faltisco, Robert M.

1992-01-01

The Thermal Advanced Automation Project (TAAP) approach and architecture is described for automating the Space Station Freedom (SSF) Active Thermal Control System (ATCS). The baseline functionally and advanced automation techniques for Fault Detection, Isolation, and Recovery (FDIR) will be compared and contrasted. Advanced automation techniques such as rule-based systems and model-based reasoning should be utilized to efficiently control, monitor, and diagnose this extremely complex physical system. TAAP is developing advanced FDIR software for use on the SSF thermal control system. The goal of TAAP is to join Knowledge-Based System (KBS) technology, using a combination of rules and model-based reasoning, with conventional monitoring and control software in order to maximize autonomy of the ATCS. TAAP's predecessor was NASA's Thermal Expert System (TEXSYS) project which was the first large real-time expert system to use both extensive rules and model-based reasoning to control and perform FDIR on a large, complex physical system. TEXSYS showed that a method is needed for safely and inexpensively testing all possible faults of the ATCS, particularly those potentially damaging to the hardware, in order to develop a fully capable FDIR system. TAAP therefore includes the development of a high-fidelity simulation of the thermal control system. The simulation provides realistic, dynamic ATCS behavior and fault insertion capability for software testing without hardware related risks or expense. In addition, thermal engineers will gain greater confidence in the KBS FDIR software than was possible prior to this kind of simulation testing. The TAAP KBS will initially be a ground-based extension of the baseline ATCS monitoring and control software and could be migrated on-board as additional computation resources are made available.

Proposal for a CLIPS software library

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Porter, Ken

1991-01-01

This paper is a proposal to create a software library for the C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) expert system shell developed by NASA. Many innovative ideas for extending CLIPS were presented at the First CLIPS Users Conference, including useful user and database interfaces. CLIPS developers would benefit from a software library of reusable code. The CLIPS Users Group should establish a software library-- a course of action to make that happen is proposed. Open discussion to revise this library concept is essential, since only a group effort is likely to succeed. A response form intended to solicit opinions and support from the CLIPS community is included.

An expert system for municipal solid waste management simulation analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hsieh, M.C.; Chang, N.B.

1996-12-31

Optimization techniques were usually used to model the complicated metropolitan solid waste management system to search for the best dynamic combination of waste recycling, facility siting, and system operation, where sophisticated and well-defined interrelationship are required in the modeling process. But this paper applied the Concurrent Object-Oriented Simulation (COOS), a new simulation software construction method, to bridge the gap between the physical system and its computer representation. The case study of Kaohsiung solid waste management system in Taiwan is prepared for the illustration of the analytical methodology of COOS and its implementation in the creation of an expert system.

A Knowledge-Based System Developer for aerospace applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shi, George Z.; Wu, Kewei; Fensky, Connie S.; Lo, Ching F.

1993-01-01

A prototype Knowledge-Based System Developer (KBSD) has been developed for aerospace applications by utilizing artificial intelligence technology. The KBSD directly acquires knowledge from domain experts through a graphical interface then builds expert systems from that knowledge. This raises the state of the art of knowledge acquisition/expert system technology to a new level by lessening the need for skilled knowledge engineers. The feasibility, applicability , and efficiency of the proposed concept was established, making a continuation which would develop the prototype to a full-scale general-purpose knowledge-based system developer justifiable. The KBSD has great commercial potential. It will provide a marketable software shell which alleviates the need for knowledge engineers and increase productivity in the workplace. The KBSD will therefore make knowledge-based systems available to a large portion of industry.

Identification of features of electronic prescribing systems to support quality and safety in primary care using a modified Delphi process.

PubMed

Sweidan, Michelle; Williamson, Margaret; Reeve, James F; Harvey, Ken; O'Neill, Jennifer A; Schattner, Peter; Snowdon, Teri

2010-04-15

Electronic prescribing is increasingly being used in primary care and in hospitals. Studies on the effects of e-prescribing systems have found evidence for both benefit and harm. The aim of this study was to identify features of e-prescribing software systems that support patient safety and quality of care and that are useful to the clinician and the patient, with a focus on improving the quality use of medicines. Software features were identified by a literature review, key informants and an expert group. A modified Delphi process was used with a 12-member multidisciplinary expert group to reach consensus on the expected impact of the features in four domains: patient safety, quality of care, usefulness to the clinician and usefulness to the patient. The setting was electronic prescribing in general practice in Australia. A list of 114 software features was developed. Most of the features relate to the recording and use of patient data, the medication selection process, prescribing decision support, monitoring drug therapy and clinical reports. The expert group rated 78 of the features (68%) as likely to have a high positive impact in at least one domain, 36 features (32%) as medium impact, and none as low or negative impact. Twenty seven features were rated as high positive impact across 3 or 4 domains including patient safety and quality of care. Ten features were considered "aspirational" because of a lack of agreed standards and/or suitable knowledge bases. This study defines features of e-prescribing software systems that are expected to support safety and quality, especially in relation to prescribing and use of medicines in general practice. The features could be used to develop software standards, and could be adapted if necessary for use in other settings and countries.

Identification of features of electronic prescribing systems to support quality and safety in primary care using a modified Delphi process

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Electronic prescribing is increasingly being used in primary care and in hospitals. Studies on the effects of e-prescribing systems have found evidence for both benefit and harm. The aim of this study was to identify features of e-prescribing software systems that support patient safety and quality of care and that are useful to the clinician and the patient, with a focus on improving the quality use of medicines. Methods Software features were identified by a literature review, key informants and an expert group. A modified Delphi process was used with a 12-member multidisciplinary expert group to reach consensus on the expected impact of the features in four domains: patient safety, quality of care, usefulness to the clinician and usefulness to the patient. The setting was electronic prescribing in general practice in Australia. Results A list of 114 software features was developed. Most of the features relate to the recording and use of patient data, the medication selection process, prescribing decision support, monitoring drug therapy and clinical reports. The expert group rated 78 of the features (68%) as likely to have a high positive impact in at least one domain, 36 features (32%) as medium impact, and none as low or negative impact. Twenty seven features were rated as high positive impact across 3 or 4 domains including patient safety and quality of care. Ten features were considered "aspirational" because of a lack of agreed standards and/or suitable knowledge bases. Conclusions This study defines features of e-prescribing software systems that are expected to support safety and quality, especially in relation to prescribing and use of medicines in general practice. The features could be used to develop software standards, and could be adapted if necessary for use in other settings and countries. PMID:20398294

12 CFR 517.1 - Purpose and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

..., expert witnesses, customized training, relocation services, information systems technology (computer systems, database management, software and office automation), or micrographic services; or in support of...-Owned Businesses Outreach Program (Outreach Program) is to ensure that firms owned and operated by...

12 CFR 517.1 - Purpose and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

..., expert witnesses, customized training, relocation services, information systems technology (computer systems, database management, software and office automation), or micrographic services; or in support of...-Owned Businesses Outreach Program (Outreach Program) is to ensure that firms owned and operated by...

12 CFR 517.1 - Purpose and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

..., expert witnesses, customized training, relocation services, information systems technology (computer systems, database management, software and office automation), or micrographic services; or in support of...-Owned Businesses Outreach Program (Outreach Program) is to ensure that firms owned and operated by...

AMPHION: Specification-based programming for scientific subroutine libraries

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lowry, Michael; Philpot, Andrew; Pressburger, Thomas; Underwood, Ian; Waldinger, Richard; Stickel, Mark

1994-01-01

AMPHION is a knowledge-based software engineering (KBSE) system that guides a user in developing a diagram representing a formal problem specification. It then automatically implements a solution to this specification as a program consisting of calls to subroutines from a library. The diagram provides an intuitive domain oriented notation for creating a specification that also facilitates reuse and modification. AMPHION'S architecture is domain independent. AMPHION is specialized to an application domain by developing a declarative domain theory. Creating a domain theory is an iterative process that currently requires the joint expertise of domain experts and experts in automated formal methods for software development.

Quantitative Measures for Software Independent Verification and Validation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Alice

1996-01-01

As software is maintained or reused, it undergoes an evolution which tends to increase the overall complexity of the code. To understand the effects of this, we brought in statistics experts and leading researchers in software complexity, reliability, and their interrelationships. These experts' project has resulted in our ability to statistically correlate specific code complexity attributes, in orthogonal domains, to errors found over time in the HAL/S flight software which flies in the Space Shuttle. Although only a prototype-tools experiment, the result of this research appears to be extendable to all other NASA software, given appropriate data similar to that logged for the Shuttle onboard software. Our research has demonstrated that a more complete domain coverage can be mathematically demonstrated with the approach we have applied, thereby ensuring full insight into the cause-and-effects relationship between the complexity of a software system and the fault density of that system. By applying the operational profile we can characterize the dynamic effects of software path complexity under this same approach We now have the ability to measure specific attributes which have been statistically demonstrated to correlate to increased error probability, and to know which actions to take, for each complexity domain. Shuttle software verifiers can now monitor the changes in the software complexity, assess the added or decreased risk of software faults in modified code, and determine necessary corrections. The reports, tool documentation, user's guides, and new approach that have resulted from this research effort represent advances in the state of the art of software quality and reliability assurance. Details describing how to apply this technique to other NASA code are contained in this document.

Multi-viewpoint clustering analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mehrotra, Mala; Wild, Chris

1993-01-01

In this paper, we address the feasibility of partitioning rule-based systems into a number of meaningful units to enhance the comprehensibility, maintainability and reliability of expert systems software. Preliminary results have shown that no single structuring principle or abstraction hierarchy is sufficient to understand complex knowledge bases. We therefore propose the Multi View Point - Clustering Analysis (MVP-CA) methodology to provide multiple views of the same expert system. We present the results of using this approach to partition a deployed knowledge-based system that navigates the Space Shuttle's entry. We also discuss the impact of this approach on verification and validation of knowledge-based systems.

A Fuzzy Expert System for Fault Management of Water Supply Recovery in the ALSS Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tohala, Vapsi J.

1998-01-01

Modeling with a new software is a challenge. CONFIG is a challenge and is design to work with many types of systems in which discrete and continuous processes occur. The CONFIG software was used to model the two subsystem of the Water Recovery system: ICB and TFB. The model worked manually only for water flows with further implementation to be done in the future. Activities in the models are stiff need to be implemented based on testing of the hardware for phase III. More improvements to CONFIG are in progress to make it a more user friendly software.

Issues in Software System Safety: Polly Ann Smith Co. versus Ned I. Ludd

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holloway, C. Michael

2002-01-01

This paper is a work of fiction, but it is fiction with a very real purpose: to stimulate careful thought and friendly discussion about some questions for which thought is often careless and discussion is often unfriendly. To accomplish this purpose, the paper creates a fictional legal case. The most important issue in this fictional case is whether certain proffered expert testimony about software engineering for safety critical systems should be admitted. Resolving this issue requires deciding the extent to which current practices and research in software engineering, especially for safety-critical systems, can rightly be considered based on knowledge, rather than opinion.

Expert system for skin problem consultation in Thai traditional medicine.

PubMed

Nopparatkiat, Pornchai; na Nagara, Byaporn; Chansa-ngavej, Chuvej

2014-01-01

This paper aimed to demonstrate the research and development of a rule-based expert system for skin problem consulting in the areas of acne, melasma, freckle, wrinkle, and uneven skin tone, with recommended treatments from Thai traditional medicine knowledge. The tool selected for developing the expert system is a software program written in the PHP language. MySQL database is used to work together with PHP for building database of the expert system. The system is web-based and can be reached from anywhere with Internet access. The developed expert system gave recommendations on the skin problem treatment with Thai herbal recipes and Thai herbal cosmetics based on 416 rules derived from primary and secondary sources. The system had been tested by 50 users consisting of dermatologists, Thai traditional medicine doctors, and general users. The developed system was considered good for learning and consultation. The present work showed how such a scattered body of traditional knowledge as Thai traditional medicine and herbal recipes could be collected, organised and made accessible to users and interested parties. The expert system developed herein should contribute in a meaningful way towards preserving the knowledge and helping promote the use of Thai traditional medicine as a practical alternative medicine for the treatment of illnesses.

Second CLIPS Conference Proceedings, volume 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Giarratano, Joseph (Editor); Culbert, Christopher J. (Editor)

1991-01-01

Papers presented at the 2nd C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) Conference held at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) on 23-25 September 1991 are documented in these proceedings. CLIPS is an expert system tool developed by the Software Technology Branch at NASA JSC and is used at over 4000 sites by government, industry, and business. During the three days of the conference, over 40 papers were presented by experts from NASA, Department of Defense, other government agencies, universities, and industry.

An Expert System for Searching in Full-Text

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-12-01

2 An Expert System for Searching in Full-Text 00~ TR89-043 -December, 1989 cc D IF L, ~r." T M~ EA 13~ 1991ON- The University of North Carolina at...Full-Text by Susan Evalyn Gauch A dissertation submitted to the faculty of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of...MICROARRAS, the retrieval software. MICROARRAS developed at the University of North Carolina under the direction of John B. Smith and Stephen Weiss [Smith et

The Texas Children's Hospital immunization forecaster: conceptualization to implementation.

PubMed

Cunningham, Rachel M; Sahni, Leila C; Kerr, G Brady; King, Laura L; Bunker, Nathan A; Boom, Julie A

2014-12-01

Immunization forecasting systems evaluate patient vaccination histories and recommend the dates and vaccines that should be administered. We described the conceptualization, development, implementation, and distribution of a novel immunization forecaster, the Texas Children's Hospital (TCH) Forecaster. In 2007, TCH convened an internal expert team that included a pediatrician, immunization nurse, software engineer, and immunization subject matter experts to develop the TCH Forecaster. Our team developed the design of the model, wrote the software, populated the Excel tables, integrated the software, and tested the Forecaster. We created a table of rules that contained each vaccine's recommendations, minimum ages and intervals, and contraindications, which served as the basis for the TCH Forecaster. We created 15 vaccine tables that incorporated 79 unique dose states and 84 vaccine types to operationalize the entire United States recommended immunization schedule. The TCH Forecaster was implemented throughout the TCH system, the Indian Health Service, and the Virginia Department of Health. The TCH Forecast Tester is currently being used nationally. Immunization forecasting systems might positively affect adherence to vaccine recommendations. Efforts to support health care provider utilization of immunization forecasting systems and to evaluate their impact on patient care are needed.

Accelerating artificial intelligence with reconfigurable computing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cieszewski, Radoslaw

Reconfigurable computing is emerging as an important area of research in computer architectures and software systems. Many algorithms can be greatly accelerated by placing the computationally intense portions of an algorithm into reconfigurable hardware. Reconfigurable computing combines many benefits of both software and ASIC implementations. Like software, the mapped circuit is flexible, and can be changed over the lifetime of the system. Similar to an ASIC, reconfigurable systems provide a method to map circuits into hardware. Reconfigurable systems therefore have the potential to achieve far greater performance than software as a result of bypassing the fetch-decode-execute operations of traditional processors, and possibly exploiting a greater level of parallelism. Such a field, where there is many different algorithms which can be accelerated, is an artificial intelligence. This paper presents example hardware implementations of Artificial Neural Networks, Genetic Algorithms and Expert Systems.

Development of an expert system for analysis of Shuttle atmospheric revitalization and pressure control subsystem anomalies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lafuse, Sharon A.

1991-01-01

The paper describes the Shuttle Leak Management Expert System (SLMES), a preprototype expert system developed to enable the ECLSS subsystem manager to analyze subsystem anomalies and to formulate flight procedures based on flight data. The SLMES combines the rule-based expert system technology with the traditional FORTRAN-based software into an integrated system. SLMES analyzes the data using rules, and, when it detects a problem that requires simulation, it sets up the input for the FORTRAN-based simulation program ARPCS2AT2, which predicts the cabin total pressure and composition as a function of time. The program simulates the pressure control system, the crew oxygen masks, the airlock repress/depress valves, and the leakage. When the simulation has completed, other SLMES rules are triggered to examine the results of simulation contrary to flight data and to suggest methods for correcting the problem. Results are then presented in form of graphs and tables.

Developing Expert System for Tuberculosis Diagnose to Support Knowledge Sharing in the Era of National Health Insurance System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lidya, L.

2017-03-01

National Health Insurance has been implemented since 1st January 2014. A number of new policies have been established including multilevel referral system. The multilevel referral system classified health care center into three levels, it determined that the flow of patient treatment should be started from first level health care center. There are 144 kind of diseases that must be treat in the first level which mainly consists of general physicians. Unfortunately, competence of the physician in the first level may not fulfil the standard competence yet. To improved the physisians knowledge, government has created many events to accelerate knowledge sharing. However, it still needs times and many resources to give significan results. Expert system is kind of software that provide consulting services to non-expert users in accordance with the area of its expertise. It can improved effectivity and efficiency of knowledge sharing and learning. This research was developed a model of TB diagnose expert system which comply with the standard procedure of TB diagnosis and regulation. The proposed expert system has characteristics as follows provide facility to manage multimedia clinical data, supporting the complexity of TB diagnosis (combine rule-based and case-based expert system), interactive interface, good usability, multi-platform, evolutionary.

Reusable Rocket Engine Turbopump Health Management System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Surko, Pamela

1994-01-01

A health monitoring expert system software architecture has been developed to support condition-based health monitoring of rocket engines. Its first application is in the diagnosis decisions relating to the health of the high pressure oxidizer turbopump (HPOTP) of Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME). The post test diagnostic system runs off-line, using as input the data recorded from hundreds of sensors, each running typically at rates of 25, 50, or .1 Hz. The system is invoked after a test has been completed, and produces an analysis and an organized graphical presentation of the data with important effects highlighted. The overall expert system architecture has been developed and documented so that expert modules analyzing other line replaceable units may easily be added. The architecture emphasizes modularity, reusability, and open system interfaces so that it may be used to analyze other engines as well.

Human Benchmarking of Expert Systems. Literature Review

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-01-01

effetiveness of the development procedures used in order to predict whether the aplication of similar approaches will likely have effective and...they used in their learning and problem solving. We will describe these approaches later. Reasoning. Reasoning usually includes inference. Because to ... in the software engineering process. For example, existing approaches to software evaluation in the military are based on a model of conventional

Computer-aided decision making.

Treesearch

Keith M. Reynolds; Daniel L. Schmoldt

2006-01-01

Several major classes of software technologies have been used in decisionmaking for forest management applications over the past few decades. These computer-based technologies include mathematical programming, expert systems, network models, multi-criteria decisionmaking, and integrated systems. Each technology possesses unique advantages and disadvantages, and has...

A Software Engine to Justify the Conclusions of an Expert System for Detecting Renal Obstruction on 99mTc-MAG3 Scans

PubMed Central

Garcia, Ernest V.; Taylor, Andrew; Manatunga, Daya; Folks, Russell

2013-01-01

The purposes of this study were to describe and evaluate a software engine to justify the conclusions reached by a renal expert system (RENEX) for assessing patients with suspected renal obstruction and to obtain from this evaluation new knowledge that can be incorporated into RENEX to attempt to improve diagnostic performance. Methods RENEX consists of 60 heuristic rules extracted from the rules used by a domain expert to generate the knowledge base and a forward-chaining inference engine to determine obstruction. The justification engine keeps track of the sequence of the rules that are instantiated to reach a conclusion. The interpreter can then request justification by clicking on the specific conclusion. The justification process then reports the English translation of all concatenated rules instantiated to reach that conclusion. The justification engine was evaluated with a prospective group of 60 patients (117 kidneys). After reviewing the standard renal mercaptoacetyltriglycine (MAG3) scans obtained before and after the administration of furosemide, a masked expert determined whether each kidney was obstructed, whether the results were equivocal, or whether the kidney was not obstructed and identified and ranked the main variables associated with each interpretation. Two parameters were then tabulated: the frequency with which the main variables associated with obstruction by the expert were also justified by RENEX and the frequency with which the justification rules provided by RENEX were deemed to be correct by the expert. Only when RENEX and the domain expert agreed on the diagnosis (87 kidneys) were the results used to test the justification. Results RENEX agreed with 91% (184/203) of the rules supplied by the expert for justifying the diagnosis. RENEX provided 103 additional rules justifying the diagnosis; the expert agreed that 102 (99%) were correct, although the rules were considered to be of secondary importance. Conclusion We have described and evaluated a software engine to justify the conclusions of RENEX for detecting renal obstruction with MAG3 renal scans obtained before and after the administration of furosemide. This tool is expected to increase physician confidence in the interpretations provided by RENEX and to assist physicians and trainees in gaining a higher level of expertise. PMID:17332625

A software engine to justify the conclusions of an expert system for detecting renal obstruction on 99mTc-MAG3 scans.

PubMed

Garcia, Ernest V; Taylor, Andrew; Manatunga, Daya; Folks, Russell

2007-03-01

The purposes of this study were to describe and evaluate a software engine to justify the conclusions reached by a renal expert system (RENEX) for assessing patients with suspected renal obstruction and to obtain from this evaluation new knowledge that can be incorporated into RENEX to attempt to improve diagnostic performance. RENEX consists of 60 heuristic rules extracted from the rules used by a domain expert to generate the knowledge base and a forward-chaining inference engine to determine obstruction. The justification engine keeps track of the sequence of the rules that are instantiated to reach a conclusion. The interpreter can then request justification by clicking on the specific conclusion. The justification process then reports the English translation of all concatenated rules instantiated to reach that conclusion. The justification engine was evaluated with a prospective group of 60 patients (117 kidneys). After reviewing the standard renal mercaptoacetyltriglycine (MAG3) scans obtained before and after the administration of furosemide, a masked expert determined whether each kidney was obstructed, whether the results were equivocal, or whether the kidney was not obstructed and identified and ranked the main variables associated with each interpretation. Two parameters were then tabulated: the frequency with which the main variables associated with obstruction by the expert were also justified by RENEX and the frequency with which the justification rules provided by RENEX were deemed to be correct by the expert. Only when RENEX and the domain expert agreed on the diagnosis (87 kidneys) were the results used to test the justification. RENEX agreed with 91% (184/203) of the rules supplied by the expert for justifying the diagnosis. RENEX provided 103 additional rules justifying the diagnosis; the expert agreed that 102 (99%) were correct, although the rules were considered to be of secondary importance. We have described and evaluated a software engine to justify the conclusions of RENEX for detecting renal obstruction with MAG3 renal scans obtained before and after the administration of furosemide. This tool is expected to increase physician confidence in the interpretations provided by RENEX and to assist physicians and trainees in gaining a higher level of expertise.

Integration of symbolic and algorithmic hardware and software for the automation of space station subsystems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gregg, Hugh; Healey, Kathleen; Hack, Edmund; Wong, Carla

1988-01-01

Expert systems that require access to data bases, complex simulations and real time instrumentation have both symbolic and algorithmic needs. Both of these needs could be met using a general purpose workstation running both symbolic and algorithmic codes, or separate, specialized computers networked together. The later approach was chosen to implement TEXSYS, the thermal expert system, developed by the NASA Ames Research Center in conjunction with the Johnson Space Center to demonstrate the ability of an expert system to autonomously monitor the thermal control system of the space station. TEXSYS has been implemented on a Symbolics workstation, and will be linked to a microVAX computer that will control a thermal test bed. The integration options and several possible solutions are presented.

RICIS Symposium 1992: Mission and Safety Critical Systems Research and Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

This conference deals with computer systems which control systems whose failure to operate correctly could produce the loss of life and or property, mission and safety critical systems. Topics covered are: the work of standards groups, computer systems design and architecture, software reliability, process control systems, knowledge based expert systems, and computer and telecommunication protocols.

Diagnostics in the Extendable Integrated Support Environment (EISE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brink, James R.; Storey, Paul

1988-01-01

Extendable Integrated Support Environment (EISE) is a real-time computer network consisting of commercially available hardware and software components to support systems level integration, modifications, and enhancement to weapons systems. The EISE approach offers substantial potential savings by eliminating unique support environments in favor of sharing common modules for the support of operational weapon systems. An expert system is being developed that will help support diagnosing faults in this network. This is a multi-level, multi-expert diagnostic system that uses experiential knowledge relating symptoms to faults and also reasons from structural and functional models of the underlying physical model when experiential reasoning is inadequate. The individual expert systems are orchestrated by a supervisory reasoning controller, a meta-level reasoner which plans the sequence of reasoning steps to solve the given specific problem. The overall system, termed the Diagnostic Executive, accesses systems level performance checks and error reports, and issues remote test procedures to formulate and confirm fault hypotheses.

Knowledge Base Editor (SharpKBE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tikidjian, Raffi; James, Mark; Mackey, Ryan

2007-01-01

The SharpKBE software provides a graphical user interface environment for domain experts to build and manage knowledge base systems. Knowledge bases can be exported/translated to various target languages automatically, including customizable target languages.

Representing System Behaviors and Expert Behaviors for Intelligent Tutoring. Technical Report No. 108.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Towne, Douglas M.; And Others

Simulation-based software tools that can infer system behaviors from a deep model of the system have the potential for automatically building the semantic representations required to support intelligent tutoring in fault diagnosis. The Intelligent Maintenance Training System (IMTS) is such a resource, designed for use in training troubleshooting…

A topological substructural molecular design approach for predicting mutagenesis end-points of alpha, beta-unsaturated carbonyl compounds.

PubMed

Pérez-Garrido, Alfonso; Helguera, Aliuska Morales; López, Gabriel Caravaca; Cordeiro, M Natália D S; Escudero, Amalio Garrido

2010-01-31

Chemically reactive, alpha, beta-unsaturated carbonyl compounds are common environmental pollutants able to produce a wide range of adverse effects, including, e.g. mutagenicity. This toxic property can often be related to chemical structure, in particular to specific molecular substructures or fragments (alerts), which can then be used in specialized software or expert systems for predictive purposes. In the past, there have been many attempts to predict the mutagenicity of alpha, beta-unsaturated carbonyl compounds through quantitative structure activity relationships (QSAR) but considering only one exclusive endpoint: the Ames test. Besides, even though those studies give a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon, they do not provide substructural information that could be useful forward improving expert systems based on structural alerts (SAs). This work reports an evaluation of classification models to probe the mutagenic activity of alpha, beta-unsaturated carbonyl compounds over two endpoints--the Ames and mammalian cell gene mutation tests--based on linear discriminant analysis along with the topological Substructure molecular design (TOPS-MODE) approach. The obtained results showed the better ability of the TOPS-MODE approach in flagging structural alerts for the mutagenicity of these compounds compared to the expert system TOXTREE. Thus, the application of the present QSAR models can aid toxicologists in risk assessment and in prioritizing testing, as well as in the improvement of expert systems, such as the TOXTREE software, where SAs are implemented. 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Design a Fuzzy Rule-based Expert System to Aid Earlier Diagnosis of Gastric Cancer.

PubMed

Safdari, Reza; Arpanahi, Hadi Kazemi; Langarizadeh, Mostafa; Ghazisaiedi, Marjan; Dargahi, Hossein; Zendehdel, Kazem

2018-01-01

Screening and health check-up programs are most important sanitary priorities, that should be undertaken to control dangerous diseases such as gastric cancer that affected by different factors. More than 50% of gastric cancer diagnoses are made during the advanced stage. Currently, there is no systematic approach for early diagnosis of gastric cancer. to develop a fuzzy expert system that can identify gastric cancer risk levels in individuals. This system was implemented in MATLAB software, Mamdani inference technique applied to simulate reasoning of experts in the field, a total of 67 fuzzy rules extracted as a rule-base based on medical expert's opinion. 50 case scenarios were used to evaluate the system, the information of case reports is given to the system to find risk level of each case report then obtained results were compared with expert's diagnosis. Results revealed that sensitivity was 92.1% and the specificity was 83.1%. The results show that is possible to develop a system that can identify High risk individuals for gastric cancer. The system can lead to earlier diagnosis, this may facilitate early treatment and reduce gastric cancer mortality rate.

Development of a comprehensive software engineering environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartrum, Thomas C.; Lamont, Gary B.

1987-01-01

The generation of a set of tools for software lifecycle is a recurring theme in the software engineering literature. The development of such tools and their integration into a software development environment is a difficult task because of the magnitude (number of variables) and the complexity (combinatorics) of the software lifecycle process. An initial development of a global approach was initiated in 1982 as the Software Development Workbench (SDW). Continuing efforts focus on tool development, tool integration, human interfacing, data dictionaries, and testing algorithms. Current efforts are emphasizing natural language interfaces, expert system software development associates and distributed environments with Ada as the target language. The current implementation of the SDW is on a VAX-11/780. Other software development tools are being networked through engineering workstations.

Automated unit-level testing with heuristic rules

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carlisle, W. Homer; Chang, Kai-Hsiung; Cross, James H.; Keleher, William; Shackelford, Keith

1990-01-01

Software testing plays a significant role in the development of complex software systems. Current testing methods generally require significant effort to generate meaningful test cases. The QUEST/Ada system is a prototype system designed using CLIPS to experiment with expert system based test case generation. The prototype is designed to test for condition coverage, and attempts to generate test cases to cover all feasible branches contained in an Ada program. This paper reports on heuristics sued by the system. These heuristics vary according to the amount of knowledge obtained by preprocessing and execution of the boolean conditions in the program.

First Annual Workshop on Space Operations Automation and Robotics (SOAR 87)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Griffin, Sandy (Editor)

1987-01-01

Several topics relative to automation and robotics technology are discussed. Automation of checkout, ground support, and logistics; automated software development; man-machine interfaces; neural networks; systems engineering and distributed/parallel processing architectures; and artificial intelligence/expert systems are among the topics covered.

Are Earth System model software engineering practices fit for purpose? A case study.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Easterbrook, S. M.; Johns, T. C.

2009-04-01

We present some analysis and conclusions from a case study of the culture and practices of scientists at the Met Office and Hadley Centre working on the development of software for climate and Earth System models using the MetUM infrastructure. The study examined how scientists think about software correctness, prioritize their requirements in making changes, and develop a shared understanding of the resulting models. We conclude that highly customized techniques driven strongly by scientific research goals have evolved for verification and validation of such models. In a formal software engineering context these represents costly, but invaluable, software integration tests with considerable benefits. The software engineering practices seen also exhibit recognisable features of both agile and open source software development projects - self-organisation of teams consistent with a meritocracy rather than top-down organisation, extensive use of informal communication channels, and software developers who are generally also users and science domain experts. We draw some general conclusions on whether these practices work well, and what new software engineering challenges may lie ahead as Earth System models become ever more complex and petascale computing becomes the norm.

Automated Software Vulnerability Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sezer, Emre C.; Kil, Chongkyung; Ning, Peng

Despite decades of research, software continues to have vulnerabilities. Successful exploitations of these vulnerabilities by attackers cost millions of dollars to businesses and individuals. Unfortunately, most effective defensive measures, such as patching and intrusion prevention systems, require an intimate knowledge of the vulnerabilities. Many systems for detecting attacks have been proposed. However, the analysis of the exploited vulnerabilities is left to security experts and programmers. Both the human effortinvolved and the slow analysis process are unfavorable for timely defensive measure to be deployed. The problem is exacerbated by zero-day attacks.

Software for rapid prototyping in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

PubMed

Kappler, Michael A

2008-05-01

The automation of drug discovery methods continues to develop, especially techniques that process information, represent workflow and facilitate decision-making. The magnitude of data and the plethora of questions in pharmaceutical and biotechnology research give rise to the need for rapid prototyping software. This review describes the advantages and disadvantages of three solutions: Competitive Workflow, Taverna and Pipeline Pilot. Each of these systems processes large amounts of data, integrates diverse systems and assists novice programmers and human experts in critical decision-making steps.

The advanced software development workstation project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fridge, Ernest M., III; Pitman, Charles L.

1991-01-01

The Advanced Software Development Workstation (ASDW) task is researching and developing the technologies required to support Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) with the emphasis on those advanced methods, tools, and processes that will be of benefit to support all NASA programs. Immediate goals are to provide research and prototype tools that will increase productivity, in the near term, in projects such as the Software Support Environment (SSE), the Space Station Control Center (SSCC), and the Flight Analysis and Design System (FADS) which will be used to support the Space Shuttle and Space Station Freedom. Goals also include providing technology for development, evolution, maintenance, and operations. The technologies under research and development in the ASDW project are targeted to provide productivity enhancements during the software life cycle phase of enterprise and information system modeling, requirements generation and analysis, system design and coding, and system use and maintenance. On-line user's guides will assist users in operating the developed information system with knowledge base expert assistance.

Nontargeted multicomponent analytical screening of plastic food contact materials using fast interpretation of deliverables via expert structure-activity relationship software.

PubMed

Rothenbacher, Thorsten; Schwack, Wolfgang

2009-01-01

Plastic packaging materials may release compounds into packed foodstuffs. To identify potential migrants of toxicological concern, resins, and multilayer foils (mainly polyethylene) intended for the production of food contact materials were extracted and analyzed by GC/mass spectrometry. To identify even compounds of low concentrations, AMDIS software was used and data evaluation was safeguarded by the Kovats retention index (RI) system. In this way, 46 compounds were identified as possible migrants. The expert structure-activity relationship software DEREK for Windows was utilized to evaluate all identified substances in terms of carcinogenicity, genotoxicity, thyroid toxicity, and miscellaneous endpoints for humans. Additionally, a literature search for these compounds was performed with Sci-Finder, but relevant data were missing for 28 substances. Seven compounds with adverse toxicological effects were identified. In addition, the RIs of 24 commercial additive standards, measured with a GC capillary column of intermediate polarity, are given.

Presenting an evaluation model of the trauma registry software.

PubMed

Asadi, Farkhondeh; Paydar, Somayeh

2018-04-01

Trauma is a major cause of 10% death in the worldwide and is considered as a global concern. This problem has made healthcare policy makers and managers to adopt a basic strategy in this context. Trauma registry has an important and basic role in decreasing the mortality and the disabilities due to injuries resulted from trauma. Today, different software are designed for trauma registry. Evaluation of this software improves management, increases efficiency and effectiveness of these systems. Therefore, the aim of this study is to present an evaluation model for trauma registry software. The present study is an applied research. In this study, general and specific criteria of trauma registry software were identified by reviewing literature including books, articles, scientific documents, valid websites and related software in this domain. According to general and specific criteria and related software, a model for evaluating trauma registry software was proposed. Based on the proposed model, a checklist designed and its validity and reliability evaluated. Mentioned model by using of the Delphi technique presented to 12 experts and specialists. To analyze the results, an agreed coefficient of %75 was determined in order to apply changes. Finally, when the model was approved by the experts and professionals, the final version of the evaluation model for the trauma registry software was presented. For evaluating of criteria of trauma registry software, two groups were presented: 1- General criteria, 2- Specific criteria. General criteria of trauma registry software were classified into four main categories including: 1- usability, 2- security, 3- maintainability, and 4-interoperability. Specific criteria were divided into four main categories including: 1- data submission and entry, 2- reporting, 3- quality control, 4- decision and research support. The presented model in this research has introduced important general and specific criteria of trauma registry software and sub criteria related to each main criteria separately. This model was validated by experts in this field. Therefore, this model can be used as a comprehensive model and a standard evaluation tool for measuring efficiency and effectiveness and performance improvement of trauma registry software. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

NASA ground terminal communication equipment automated fault isolation expert systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tang, Y. K.; Wetzel, C. R.

1990-01-01

The prototype expert systems are described that diagnose the Distribution and Switching System I and II (DSS1 and DSS2), Statistical Multiplexers (SM), and Multiplexer and Demultiplexer systems (MDM) at the NASA Ground Terminal (NGT). A system level fault isolation expert system monitors the activities of a selected data stream, verifies that the fault exists in the NGT and identifies the faulty equipment. Equipment level fault isolation expert systems are invoked to isolate the fault to a Line Replaceable Unit (LRU) level. Input and sometimes output data stream activities for the equipment are available. The system level fault isolation expert system compares the equipment input and output status for a data stream and performs loopback tests (if necessary) to isolate the faulty equipment. The equipment level fault isolation system utilizes the process of elimination and/or the maintenance personnel's fault isolation experience stored in its knowledge base. The DSS1, DSS2 and SM fault isolation systems, using the knowledge of the current equipment configuration and the equipment circuitry issues a set of test connections according to the predefined rules. The faulty component or board can be identified by the expert system by analyzing the test results. The MDM fault isolation system correlates the failure symptoms with the faulty component based on maintenance personnel experience. The faulty component can be determined by knowing the failure symptoms. The DSS1, DSS2, SM, and MDM equipment simulators are implemented in PASCAL. The DSS1 fault isolation expert system was converted to C language from VP-Expert and integrated into the NGT automation software for offline switch diagnoses. Potentially, the NGT fault isolation algorithms can be used for the DSS1, SM, amd MDM located at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).

Perspectives on NASA flight software development - Apollo, Shuttle, Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garman, John R.

1990-01-01

Flight data systems' software development is chronicled for the period encompassing NASA's Apollo, Space Shuttle, and (ongoing) Space Station Freedom programs, with attention to the methodologies and 'development tools' employed in each case and their mutual relationships. A dominant concern in all three programs has been the accommodation of software change; it has also been noted that any such long-term program carries the additional challenge of identifying which elements of its software-related 'institutional memory' are most critical, in order to preclude their loss through the retirement, promotion, or transfer of its 'last expert'.

Exercise countermeasure protocol management expert system.

PubMed

Webster, L; Chen, J G; Flores, L; Tan, S

1993-04-01

Exercise will be used primarily to countermeasure against deconditioning on extended space flight. In this paper we describe the development and evaluation of an expert system for exercise countermeasure protocol management. Currently, the system includes two major subsystems: baseline prescription and prescription adjustment. The baseline prescription subsystem is designed to provide initial exercise prescriptions while prescription adjustment subsystem is designed to modify the initial prescription based on the exercised progress. The system runs under three different environments: PC, SUN workstation, and Symbolic machine. The inference engine, baseline prescription module, prescription adjustment module and explanation module are developed under the Symbolic environment by using the ART (Automated Reasoning Tool) software. The Sun environment handles database management features and interfaces with PC environment to obtain physical and physiological data from exercise units on-board during the flight. Eight subjects' data have been used to evaluate the system performance by comparing the prescription of nine experienced exercise physiologists and the one prescribed by the expert system. The results of the validation test indicated that the performance of the expert system was acceptable.

Exercise countermeasure protocol management expert system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Webster, L.; Chen, J. G.; Flores, L.; Tan, S.

1993-01-01

Exercise will be used primarily to countermeasure against deconditioning on extended space flight. In this paper we describe the development and evaluation of an expert system for exercise countermeasure protocol management. Currently, the system includes two major subsystems: baseline prescription and prescription adjustment. The baseline prescription subsystem is designed to provide initial exercise prescriptions while prescription adjustment subsystem is designed to modify the initial prescription based on the exercised progress. The system runs under three different environments: PC, SUN workstation, and Symbolic machine. The inference engine, baseline prescription module, prescription adjustment module and explanation module are developed under the Symbolic environment by using the ART (Automated Reasoning Tool) software. The Sun environment handles database management features and interfaces with PC environment to obtain physical and physiological data from exercise units on-board during the flight. Eight subjects' data have been used to evaluate the system performance by comparing the prescription of nine experienced exercise physiologists and the one prescribed by the expert system. The results of the validation test indicated that the performance of the expert system was acceptable.

Intelligent interfaces for expert systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Villarreal, James A.; Wang, Lui

1988-01-01

Vital to the success of an expert system is an interface to the user which performs intelligently. A generic intelligent interface is being developed for expert systems. This intelligent interface was developed around the in-house developed Expert System for the Flight Analysis System (ESFAS). The Flight Analysis System (FAS) is comprised of 84 configuration controlled FORTRAN subroutines that are used in the preflight analysis of the space shuttle. In order to use FAS proficiently, a person must be knowledgeable in the areas of flight mechanics, the procedures involved in deploying a certain payload, and an overall understanding of the FAS. ESFAS, still in its developmental stage, is taking into account much of this knowledge. The generic intelligent interface involves the integration of a speech recognizer and synthesizer, a preparser, and a natural language parser to ESFAS. The speech recognizer being used is capable of recognizing 1000 words of connected speech. The natural language parser is a commercial software package which uses caseframe instantiation in processing the streams of words from the speech recognizer or the keyboard. The systems configuration is described along with capabilities and drawbacks.

End-to-end observatory software modeling using domain specific languages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Filgueira, José M.; Bec, Matthieu; Liu, Ning; Peng, Chien; Soto, José

2014-07-01

The Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) is a 25-meter extremely large telescope that is being built by an international consortium of universities and research institutions. Its software and control system is being developed using a set of Domain Specific Languages (DSL) that supports a model driven development methodology integrated with an Agile management process. This approach promotes the use of standardized models that capture the component architecture of the system, that facilitate the construction of technical specifications in a uniform way, that facilitate communication between developers and domain experts and that provide a framework to ensure the successful integration of the software subsystems developed by the GMT partner institutions.

A simple system for detection of EEG artifacts in polysomnographic recordings.

PubMed

Durka, P J; Klekowicz, H; Blinowska, K J; Szelenberger, W; Niemcewicz, Sz

2003-04-01

We present an efficient parametric system for automatic detection of electroencephalogram (EEG) artifacts in polysomnographic recordings. For each of the selected types of artifacts, a relevant parameter was calculated for a given epoch. If any of these parameters exceeded a threshold, the epoch was marked as an artifact. Performance of the system, evaluated on 18 overnight polysomnographic recordings, revealed concordance with decisions of human experts close to the interexpert agreement and the repeatability of expert's decisions, assessed via a double-blind test. Complete software (Matlab source code) for the presented system is freely available from the Internet at http://brain.fuw.edu.pl/artifacts.

Evaluation of expert system application based on usability aspects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Munaiseche, C. P. C.; Liando, O. E. S.

2016-04-01

Usability usually defined as a point of human acceptance to a product or a system based on understands and right reaction to an interface. The performance of web application has been influence by the quality of the interface of that web to supporting information transfer process. Preferably, before the applications of expert systems were installed in the operational environment, these applications must be evaluated first by usability testing. This research aimed to measure the usability of the expert system application using tasks as interaction media. This study uses an expert system application to diagnose skin disease in human using questionnaire method which utilize the tasks as interaction media in measuring the usability. Certain tasks were executed by the participants in observing usability value of the application. The usability aspects observed were learnability, efficiency, memorability, errors, and satisfaction. Each questionnaire question represent aspects of usability. The results present the usability value for each aspect and the total average merit for all the five-usability aspect was 4.28, this indicated that the tested expert system application is in the range excellent for the usability level, so the application can be implemented as the operated system by user. The main contribution of the study is the research became the first step in using task model in the usability evaluation for the expert system application software.

A software-based tool for video motion tracking in the surgical skills assessment landscape.

PubMed

Ganni, Sandeep; Botden, Sanne M B I; Chmarra, Magdalena; Goossens, Richard H M; Jakimowicz, Jack J

2018-01-16

The use of motion tracking has been proved to provide an objective assessment in surgical skills training. Current systems, however, require the use of additional equipment or specialised laparoscopic instruments and cameras to extract the data. The aim of this study was to determine the possibility of using a software-based solution to extract the data. 6 expert and 23 novice participants performed a basic laparoscopic cholecystectomy procedure in the operating room. The recorded videos were analysed using Kinovea 0.8.15 and the following parameters calculated the path length, average instrument movement and number of sudden or extreme movements. The analysed data showed that experts had significantly shorter path length (median 127 cm vs. 187 cm, p = 0.01), smaller average movements (median 0.40 cm vs. 0.32 cm, p = 0.002) and fewer sudden movements (median 14.00 vs. 21.61, p = 0.001) than their novice counterparts. The use of software-based video motion tracking of laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a simple and viable method enabling objective assessment of surgical performance. It provides clear discrimination between expert and novice performance.

An expert system for chemical speciation of individual particles using low-Z particle electron probe X-ray microanalysis data.

PubMed

Ro, Chul-Un; Kim, HyeKyeong; Van Grieken, René

2004-03-01

An electron probe X-ray microanalysis (EPMA) technique, using an energy-dispersive X-ray detector with an ultrathin window, designated a low-Z particle EPMA, has been developed. The low-Z particle EPMA allows the quantitative determination of concentrations of low-Z elements, such as C, N, and O, as well as chemical elements that can be analyzed by conventional energy-dispersive EPMA, in individual particles. Since a data set is usually composed of data for several thousands of particles in order to make environmentally meaningful observations of real atmospheric aerosol samples, the development of a method that fully extracts chemical information contained in the low-Z particle EPMA data is important. An expert system that can rapidly and reliably perform chemical speciation from the low-Z particle EPMA data is presented. This expert system tries to mimic the logic used by experts and is implemented by applying macroprogramming available in MS Excel software. Its feasibility is confirmed by applying the expert system to data for various types of standard particles and a real atmospheric aerosol sample. By applying the expert system, the time necessary for chemical speciation becomes shortened very much and detailed information on particle data can be saved and extracted later if more information is needed for further analysis.

PC graphics generation and management tool for real-time applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Truong, Long V.

1992-01-01

A graphics tool was designed and developed for easy generation and management of personal computer graphics. It also provides methods and 'run-time' software for many common artificial intelligence (AI) or expert system (ES) applications.

Expert system for adhesive selection of composite material joints

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Allen, R.B.; Vanderveldt, H.H.

The development of composite joining is still in its infancy and much is yet to be learned. Consequently, this field is developing rapidly and new advances occur with great regularity. The need for up-to-date information and expertise in engineering and planning of composite materials, especially in critical applications, is acute. The American Joining Institute`s (AJI) development of JOINEXCELL (an off-line intelligent planner for joining composite materials) is an intelligent engineering/planning software system that incorporates the knowledge of several experts which can be expanded as these developments occur. Phase I effort of JOINEXCELL produced an expert system for adhesive selection, JOINADSELECT,more » for composite material joints. The expert system successfully selects from over 26 different adhesive families for 44 separate material types and hundreds of application situations. Through a series of design questions the expert system selects the proper adhesive for each particular design. Performing this {open_quotes}off-line{close_quotes} engineering planning by computer allows the decision to be made with full knowledge of the latest information about materials and joining procedures. JOINADSELECT can greatly expedite the joining design process, thus yielding cost savings.« less

PI in the sky: The astronaut science advisor on SLS-2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hazelton, Lyman R.; Groleau, Nicolas; Frainier, Richard J.; Compton, Michael M.; Colombano, Silvano P.; Szolovits, Peter

1994-01-01

The Astronaut Science Advisor (ASA, also known as Principal-Investigator-in-a-Box) is an advanced engineering effort to apply expert systems technology to experiment monitoring and control. Its goal is to increase the scientific value of information returned from experiments on manned space missions. The first in-space test of the system will be in conjunction with Professor Larry Young's (MIT) vestibulo-ocular 'Rotating Dome' experiment on the Spacelab Life Sciences 2 mission (STS-58) in the Fall of 1993. In a cost-saving effort, off-the-shelf equipment was employed wherever possible. Several modifications were necessary in order to make the system flight-worthy. The software consists of three interlocking modules. A real-time data acquisition system digitizes and stores all experiment data and then characterizes the signals in symbolic form; a rule-based expert system uses the symbolic signal characteristics to make decisions concerning the experiment; and a highly graphic user interface requiring a minimum of user intervention presents information to the astronaut operator. Much has been learned about the design of software and user interfaces for interactive computing in space. In addition, we gained a great deal of knowledge about building relatively inexpensive hardware and software for use in space. New technologies are being assessed to make the system a much more powerful ally in future scientific research in space and on the ground.

CORMIX2: AN EXPERT SYSTEM FOR HYDRODYNAMIC MIXING ZONE ANALYSIS OF CONVENTIONAL AND TOXIC MULTIPORT DIFFUSER DISCHARGES

EPA Science Inventory

CORMIX is a series of software systems for the analysis, prediction, and design of aqueous toxic or conventional pollutant discharges into watercourses, with emphasis on the geometry and dilution characteristics of the initial mixing zone. ubsystem CORMIX1 deals with submerged si...

78 FR 18974 - Increasing Market and Planning Efficiency Through Improved Software; Notice of Technical...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-28

... bring together experts from diverse backgrounds and experiences including electric system operators... transmission switching; AC optimal power flow modeling; and use of active and dynamic transmission ratings. In... variability of the system, including forecast error? [cir] How can outage probability be captured in...

Planning and Resource Management in an Intelligent Automated Power Management System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morris, Robert A.

1991-01-01

Power system management is a process of guiding a power system towards the objective of continuous supply of electrical power to a set of loads. Spacecraft power system management requires planning and scheduling, since electrical power is a scarce resource in space. The automation of power system management for future spacecraft has been recognized as an important R&D goal. Several automation technologies have emerged including the use of expert systems for automating human problem solving capabilities such as rule based expert system for fault diagnosis and load scheduling. It is questionable whether current generation expert system technology is applicable for power system management in space. The objective of the ADEPTS (ADvanced Electrical Power management Techniques for Space systems) is to study new techniques for power management automation. These techniques involve integrating current expert system technology with that of parallel and distributed computing, as well as a distributed, object-oriented approach to software design. The focus of the current study is the integration of new procedures for automatically planning and scheduling loads with procedures for performing fault diagnosis and control. The objective is the concurrent execution of both sets of tasks on separate transputer processors, thus adding parallelism to the overall management process.

Independent Verification and Validation of Complex User Interfaces: A Human Factors Approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whitmore, Mihriban; Berman, Andrea; Chmielewski, Cynthia

1996-01-01

The Usability Testing and Analysis Facility (UTAF) at the NASA Johnson Space Center has identified and evaluated a potential automated software interface inspection tool capable of assessing the degree to which space-related critical and high-risk software system user interfaces meet objective human factors standards across each NASA program and project. Testing consisted of two distinct phases. Phase 1 compared analysis times and similarity of results for the automated tool and for human-computer interface (HCI) experts. In Phase 2, HCI experts critiqued the prototype tool's user interface. Based on this evaluation, it appears that a more fully developed version of the tool will be a promising complement to a human factors-oriented independent verification and validation (IV&V) process.

Operator Performance Support System (OPSS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Conklin, Marlen Z.

1993-01-01

In the complex and fast reaction world of military operations, present technologies, combined with tactical situations, have flooded the operator with assorted information that he is expected to process instantly. As technologies progress, this flow of data and information have both guided and overwhelmed the operator. However, the technologies that have confounded many operators today can be used to assist him -- thus the Operator Performance Support Team. In this paper we propose an operator support station that incorporates the elements of Video and Image Databases, productivity Software, Interactive Computer Based Training, Hypertext/Hypermedia Databases, Expert Programs, and Human Factors Engineering. The Operator Performance Support System will provide the operator with an integrating on-line information/knowledge system that will guide expert or novice to correct systems operations. Although the OPSS is being developed for the Navy, the performance of the workforce in today's competitive industry is of major concern. The concepts presented in this paper which address ASW systems software design issues are also directly applicable to industry. the OPSS will propose practical applications in how to more closely align the relationships between technical knowledge and equipment operator performance.

EHR Improvement Using Incident Reports.

PubMed

Teame, Tesfay; Stålhane, Tor; Nytrø, Øystein

2017-01-01

This paper discusses reactive improvement of clinical software using methods for incident analysis. We used the "Five Whys" method because we had only descriptive data and depended on a domain expert for the analysis. The analysis showed that there are two major root causes for EHR software failure, and that they are related to human and organizational errors. A main identified improvement is allocating more resources to system maintenance and user training.

From expert-derived user needs to user-perceived ease of use and usefulness: a two-phase mixed-methods evaluation framework.

PubMed

Boland, Mary Regina; Rusanov, Alexander; So, Yat; Lopez-Jimenez, Carlos; Busacca, Linda; Steinman, Richard C; Bakken, Suzanne; Bigger, J Thomas; Weng, Chunhua

2014-12-01

Underspecified user needs and frequent lack of a gold standard reference are typical barriers to technology evaluation. To address this problem, this paper presents a two-phase evaluation framework involving usability experts (phase 1) and end-users (phase 2). In phase 1, a cross-system functionality alignment between expert-derived user needs and system functions was performed to inform the choice of "the best available" comparison system to enable a cognitive walkthrough in phase 1 and a comparative effectiveness evaluation in phase 2. During phase 2, five quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods are mixed to assess usability: time-motion analysis, software log, questionnaires - System Usability Scale and the Unified Theory of Acceptance of Use of Technology, think-aloud protocols, and unstructured interviews. Each method contributes data for a unique measure (e.g., time motion analysis contributes task-completion-time; software log contributes action transition frequency). The measures are triangulated to yield complementary insights regarding user-perceived ease-of-use, functionality integration, anxiety during use, and workflow impact. To illustrate its use, we applied this framework in a formative evaluation of a software called Integrated Model for Patient Care and Clinical Trials (IMPACT). We conclude that this mixed-methods evaluation framework enables an integrated assessment of user needs satisfaction and user-perceived usefulness and usability of a novel design. This evaluation framework effectively bridges the gap between co-evolving user needs and technology designs during iterative prototyping and is particularly useful when it is difficult for users to articulate their needs for technology support due to the lack of a baseline. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An agent architecture for an integrated forest ecosystem management decision support system

Treesearch

Donald Nute; Walter D. Potter; Mayukh Dass; Astrid Glende; Frederick Maier; Hajime Uchiyama; Jin Wang; Mark Twery; Peter Knopp; Scott Thomasma; H. Michael Rauscher

2003-01-01

A wide variety of software tools are available to support decision in the management of forest ecosystems. These tools include databases, growth and yield models, wildlife models, silvicultural expert systems, financial models, geographical informations systems, and visualization tools. Typically, each of these tools has its own complex interface and data format. To...

C-Language Integrated Production System, Version 5.1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Riley, Gary; Donnell, Brian; Ly, Huyen-Anh VU; Culbert, Chris; Savely, Robert T.; Mccoy, Daniel J.; Giarratano, Joseph

1992-01-01

CLIPS 5.1 provides cohesive software tool for handling wide variety of knowledge with support for three different programming paradigms: rule-based, object-oriented, and procedural. Rule-based programming provides representation of knowledge by use of heuristics. Object-oriented programming enables modeling of complex systems as modular components. Procedural programming enables CLIPS to represent knowledge in ways similar to those allowed in such languages as C, Pascal, Ada, and LISP. Working with CLIPS 5.1, one can develop expert-system software by use of rule-based programming only, object-oriented programming only, procedural programming only, or combinations of the three.

Hearing the Signal in the Noise: A Software-Based Content Analysis of Patterns in Responses by Experts and Students to a New Venture Investment Proposal

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hostager, Todd J.; Voiovich, Jason; Hughes, Raymond K.

2013-01-01

The authors apply a software-based content analysis method to uncover differences in responses by expert entrepreneurs and undergraduate entrepreneur majors to a new venture investment proposal. Data analyzed via the Leximancer software package yielded conceptual maps highlighting key differences in the nature of these responses. Study methods and…

Knowledge-based reusable software synthesis system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Donaldson, Cammie

1989-01-01

The Eli system, a knowledge-based reusable software synthesis system, is being developed for NASA Langley under a Phase 2 SBIR contract. Named after Eli Whitney, the inventor of interchangeable parts, Eli assists engineers of large-scale software systems in reusing components while they are composing their software specifications or designs. Eli will identify reuse potential, search for components, select component variants, and synthesize components into the developer's specifications. The Eli project began as a Phase 1 SBIR to define a reusable software synthesis methodology that integrates reusabilityinto the top-down development process and to develop an approach for an expert system to promote and accomplish reuse. The objectives of the Eli Phase 2 work are to integrate advanced technologies to automate the development of reusable components within the context of large system developments, to integrate with user development methodologies without significant changes in method or learning of special languages, and to make reuse the easiest operation to perform. Eli will try to address a number of reuse problems including developing software with reusable components, managing reusable components, identifying reusable components, and transitioning reuse technology. Eli is both a library facility for classifying, storing, and retrieving reusable components and a design environment that emphasizes, encourages, and supports reuse.

Blowout Monitor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS), a NASA-developed software shell for developing expert systems, has been embedded in a PC-based expert system for training oil rig personnel in monitoring oil drilling. Oil drilling rigs if not properly maintained for possible blowouts pose hazards to human life, property and the environment may be destroyed. CLIPS is designed to permit the delivery of artificial intelligence on computer. A collection of rules is set up and, as facts become known, these rules are applied. In the Well Site Advisor, CLIPS provides the capability to accurately process, predict and interpret well data in a real time mode. CLIPS was provided to INTEQ by COSMIC.

A Neuroimaging Web Services Interface as a Cyber Physical System for Medical Imaging and Data Management in Brain Research: Design Study

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Background Structural and functional brain images are essential imaging modalities for medical experts to study brain anatomy. These images are typically visually inspected by experts. To analyze images without any bias, they must be first converted to numeric values. Many software packages are available to process the images, but they are complex and difficult to use. The software packages are also hardware intensive. The results obtained after processing vary depending on the native operating system used and its associated software libraries; data processed in one system cannot typically be combined with data on another system. Objective The aim of this study was to fulfill the neuroimaging community’s need for a common platform to store, process, explore, and visualize their neuroimaging data and results using Neuroimaging Web Services Interface: a series of processing pipelines designed as a cyber physical system for neuroimaging and clinical data in brain research. Methods Neuroimaging Web Services Interface accepts magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, diffusion tensor imaging, and functional magnetic resonance imaging. These images are processed using existing and custom software packages. The output is then stored as image files, tabulated files, and MySQL tables. The system, made up of a series of interconnected servers, is password-protected and is securely accessible through a Web interface and allows (1) visualization of results and (2) downloading of tabulated data. Results All results were obtained using our processing servers in order to maintain data validity and consistency. The design is responsive and scalable. The processing pipeline started from a FreeSurfer reconstruction of Structural magnetic resonance imaging images. The FreeSurfer and regional standardized uptake value ratio calculations were validated using Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative input images, and the results were posted at the Laboratory of Neuro Imaging data archive. Notable leading researchers in the field of Alzheimer’s Disease and epilepsy have used the interface to access and process the data and visualize the results. Tabulated results with unique visualization mechanisms help guide more informed diagnosis and expert rating, providing a truly unique multimodal imaging platform that combines magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, diffusion tensor imaging, and resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging. A quality control component was reinforced through expert visual rating involving at least 2 experts. Conclusions To our knowledge, there is no validated Web-based system offering all the services that Neuroimaging Web Services Interface offers. The intent of Neuroimaging Web Services Interface is to create a tool for clinicians and researchers with keen interest on multimodal neuroimaging. More importantly, Neuroimaging Web Services Interface significantly augments the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative data, especially since our data contain a large cohort of Hispanic normal controls and Alzheimer’s Disease patients. The obtained results could be scrutinized visually or through the tabulated forms, informing researchers on subtle changes that characterize the different stages of the disease. PMID:29699962

Model authoring system for fail safe analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sikora, Scott E.

1990-01-01

The Model Authoring System is a prototype software application for generating fault tree analyses and failure mode and effects analyses for circuit designs. Utilizing established artificial intelligence and expert system techniques, the circuits are modeled as a frame-based knowledge base in an expert system shell, which allows the use of object oriented programming and an inference engine. The behavior of the circuit is then captured through IF-THEN rules, which then are searched to generate either a graphical fault tree analysis or failure modes and effects analysis. Sophisticated authoring techniques allow the circuit to be easily modeled, permit its behavior to be quickly defined, and provide abstraction features to deal with complexity.

A scheduling and diagnostic system for scientific satellite GEOTAIL using expert system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nakatani, I; Hashimoto, M.; Mukai, T.; Obara, T.; Nishigori, N.

1994-01-01

The Intelligent Satellite Control Software (ISACS) for the geoMagnetic tail observation satellite named GEOTAIL (launched in July 1992) has been successfully developed. ISACS has made it possible by applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology including an expert system to autonomously generate a tracking schedule, which originally used to be conducted manually. Using ISACS, a satellite operator can generate a maximum four day period of stored command stream autonomously and can easily confirm its safety. The ISACS system has another function -- to diagnose satellite troubles and to suggest necessary remedies. The workload of satellite operators has drastically been reduced since ISACS has been introduced into the operations of GEOTAIL.

Intelligent Tools for Planning Knowledge base Development and Verification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chien, Steve A.

1996-01-01

A key obstacle hampering fielding of AI planning applications is the considerable expense of developing, verifying, updating, and maintaining the planning knowledge base (KB). Planning systems must be able to compare favorably in terms of software lifecycle costs to other means of automation such as scripts or rule-based expert systems.

Static and Completion Analysis for Planning Knowledge Base Development and Verification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chien, Steve A.

1996-01-01

A key obstacle hampering fielding of AI planning applications is the considerable expense of developing, verifying, updating, and maintaining the planning knowledge base (KB). Planning systems must be able to compare favorably in terms of software lifecycle costs to other means of automation such as scripts or rule-based expert systems.

CONFIG - Adapting qualitative modeling and discrete event simulation for design of fault management systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malin, Jane T.; Basham, Bryan D.

1989-01-01

CONFIG is a modeling and simulation tool prototype for analyzing the normal and faulty qualitative behaviors of engineered systems. Qualitative modeling and discrete-event simulation have been adapted and integrated, to support early development, during system design, of software and procedures for management of failures, especially in diagnostic expert systems. Qualitative component models are defined in terms of normal and faulty modes and processes, which are defined by invocation statements and effect statements with time delays. System models are constructed graphically by using instances of components and relations from object-oriented hierarchical model libraries. Extension and reuse of CONFIG models and analysis capabilities in hybrid rule- and model-based expert fault-management support systems are discussed.

Data management system advanced development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Douglas, Katherine; Humphries, Terry

1990-01-01

The Data Management System (DMS) Advanced Development task provides for the development of concepts, new tools, DMS services, and for the testing of the Space Station DMS hardware and software. It also provides for the development of techniques capable of determining the effects of system changes/enhancements, additions of new technology, and/or hardware and software growth on system performance. This paper will address the built-in characteristics which will support network monitoring requirements in the design of the evolving DMS network implementation, functional and performance requirements for a real-time, multiprogramming, multiprocessor operating system, and the possible use of advanced development techniques such as expert systems and artificial intelligence tools in the DMS design.

Modeling and Analysis of Space Based Transceivers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, Michael S.; Price, Jeremy C.; Reinhart, Richard; Liebetreu, John; Kacpura, Tom J.

2005-01-01

This paper presents the tool chain, methodology, and results of an on-going study being performed jointly by Space Communication Experts at NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC), General Dynamics C4 Systems (GD), and Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). The team is evaluating the applicability and tradeoffs concerning the use of Software Defined Radio (SDR) technologies for Space missions. The Space Telecommunications Radio Systems (STRS) project is developing an approach toward building SDR-based transceivers for space communications applications based on an accompanying software architecture that can be used to implement transceivers for NASA space missions. The study is assessing the overall cost and benefit of employing SDR technologies in general, and of developing a software architecture standard for its space SDR transceivers. The study is considering the cost and benefit of existing architectures, such as the Joint Tactical Radio Systems (JTRS) Software Communications Architecture (SCA), as well as potential new space-specific architectures.

ExpertEyes: open-source, high-definition eyetracking.

PubMed

Parada, Francisco J; Wyatte, Dean; Yu, Chen; Akavipat, Ruj; Emerick, Brandi; Busey, Thomas

2015-03-01

ExpertEyes is a low-cost, open-source package of hardware and software that is designed to provide portable high-definition eyetracking. The project involves several technological innovations, including portability, high-definition video recording, and multiplatform software support. It was designed for challenging recording environments, and all processing is done offline to allow for optimization of parameter estimation. The pupil and corneal reflection are estimated using a novel forward eye model that simultaneously fits both the pupil and the corneal reflection with full ellipses, addressing a common situation in which the corneal reflection sits at the edge of the pupil and therefore breaks the contour of the ellipse. The accuracy and precision of the system are comparable to or better than what is available in commercial eyetracking systems, with a typical accuracy of less than 0.4° and best accuracy below 0.3°, and with a typical precision (SD method) around 0.3° and best precision below 0.2°. Part of the success of the system comes from a high-resolution eye image. The high image quality results from uncasing common digital camcorders and recording directly to SD cards, which avoids the limitations of the analog NTSC format. The software is freely downloadable, and complete hardware plans are available, along with sources for custom parts.

Designing Computerized Provider Order Entry Software in Iran: The Nurses' and Physicians' Viewpoints.

PubMed

Khammarnia, Mohammad; Sharifian, Roxana; Zand, Farid; Keshtkaran, Ali; Barati, Omid

2016-09-01

This study aimed to identify the functional requirements of computerized provider order entry software and design this software in Iran. This study was conducted using review documentation, interview, and focus group discussions in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, as the medical pole in Iran, in 2013-2015. The study sample consisted of physicians (n = 12) and nurses (n = 2) in the largest hospital in the southern part of Iran and information technology experts (n = 5) in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Functional requirements of the computerized provider order entry system were examined in three phases. Finally, the functional requirements were distributed in four levels, and accordingly, the computerized provider order entry software was designed. The software had seven main dimensions: (1) data entry, (2) drug interaction management system, (3) warning system, (4) treatment services, (5) ability to write in software, (6) reporting from all sections of the software, and (7) technical capabilities of the software. The nurses and physicians emphasized quick access to the computerized provider order entry software, order prescription section, and applicability of the software. The software had some items that had not been mentioned in other studies. Ultimately, the software was designed by a company specializing in hospital information systems in Iran. This study was the first specific investigation of computerized provider order entry software design in Iran. Based on the results, it is suggested that this software be implemented in hospitals.

ICE System: Interruptible control expert system. M.S. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vezina, James M.

1990-01-01

The Interruptible Control Expert (ICE) System is based on an architecture designed to provide a strong foundation for real-time production rule expert systems. Three principles are adopted to guide the development of ICE. A practical delivery platform must be provided, no specialized hardware can be used to solve deficiencies in the software design. Knowledge of the environment and the rule-base is exploited to improve the performance of a delivered system. The third principle of ICE is to respond to the most critical event, at the expense of the more trivial tasks. Minimal time is spent on classifying the potential importance of environmental events with the majority of the time used for finding the responses. A feature of the system, derived from all three principles, is the lack of working memory. By using a priori information, a fixed amount of memory can be specified for the hardware platform. The absence of working memory removes the dangers of garbage collection during the continuous operation of the controller.

FaSTR DNA: a new expert system for forensic DNA analysis.

PubMed

Power, Timothy; McCabe, Brendan; Harbison, Sally Ann

2008-06-01

The automation of DNA profile analysis of reference and crime samples continues to gain pace driven in part by a realisation by the criminal justice system of the positive impact DNA technology can have in aiding in the solution of crime and the apprehension of suspects. Expert systems to automate the profile analysis component of the process are beginning to be developed. In this paper, we report the validation of a new expert system FaSTR DNA, an expert system suitable for the analysis of DNA profiles from single source reference samples and from crime samples. We compare the performance of FaSTR DNA with that of other equivalent systems, GeneMapper ID v3.2 (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA) and FSS-i(3) v4 (The Forensic Science Service((R)) DNA expert System Suite FSS-i(3), Forensic Science Service, Birmingham, UK) with GeneScan Analysis v3.7/Genotyper v3.7 software (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA, USA) with manual review. We have shown that FaSTR DNA provides an alternative solution to automating DNA profile analysis and is appropriate for implementation into forensic laboratories. The FaSTR DNA system was demonstrated to be comparable in performance to that of GeneMapper ID v3.2 and superior to that of FSS-i(3) v4 for the analysis of DNA profiles from crime samples.

The development of AR book for computer learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phadung, Muneeroh; Wani, Najela; Tongmnee, Nur-aiynee

2017-08-01

Educators need to provide the alternative educational tools to foster learning outcomes of students. By using AR technology to create exciting edutainment experiences, this paper presents how augmented reality (AR) can be applied in the education. This study aims to develop the AR book for tenth grade students (age 15-16) and evaluate its quality. The AR book was developed based on ADDIE framework processes to provide computer learning on software computer knowledge. The content was accorded with the current Thai education curriculum. The AR book had 10 pages in three topics (the first was "Introduction," the second was "System Software" and the third was "Application Software"). Each page contained markers that placed virtual objects (2D animation and video clip). The obtained data were analyzed in terms of average and standard deviation. The validity of multimedia design of the AR book was assessed by three experts in multimedia design. A five-point Likert scale was used and the values were X¯ =4 .84 , S.D. = 1.27 which referred to very high. Moreover, three content experts, who specialize in computer teaching, evaluated the AR book's validity. The values determined by the experts were X¯ =4 .69 , S.D. = 0.29 which referred to very high. Implications for future study and education are discussed.

Process and information integration via hypermedia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hammen, David G.; Labasse, Daniel L.; Myers, Robert M.

1990-01-01

Success stories for advanced automation prototypes abound in the literature but the deployments of practical large systems are few in number. There are several factors that militate against the maturation of such prototypes into products. Here, the integration of advanced automation software into large systems is discussed. Advanced automation systems tend to be specific applications that need to be integrated and aggregated into larger systems. Systems integration can be achieved by providing expert user-developers with verified tools to efficiently create small systems that interface to large systems through standard interfaces. The use of hypermedia as such a tool in the context of the ground control centers that support Shuttle and space station operations is explored. Hypermedia can be an integrating platform for data, conventional software, and advanced automation software, enabling data integration through the display of diverse types of information and through the creation of associative links between chunks of information. Further, hypermedia enables process integration through graphical invoking of system functions. Through analysis and examples, researchers illustrate how diverse information and processing paradigms can be integrated into a single software platform.

FIGENIX: Intelligent automation of genomic annotation: expertise integration in a new software platform

PubMed Central

Gouret, Philippe; Vitiello, Vérane; Balandraud, Nathalie; Gilles, André; Pontarotti, Pierre; Danchin, Etienne GJ

2005-01-01

Background Two of the main objectives of the genomic and post-genomic era are to structurally and functionally annotate genomes which consists of detecting genes' position and structure, and inferring their function (as well as of other features of genomes). Structural and functional annotation both require the complex chaining of numerous different software, algorithms and methods under the supervision of a biologist. The automation of these pipelines is necessary to manage huge amounts of data released by sequencing projects. Several pipelines already automate some of these complex chaining but still necessitate an important contribution of biologists for supervising and controlling the results at various steps. Results Here we propose an innovative automated platform, FIGENIX, which includes an expert system capable to substitute to human expertise at several key steps. FIGENIX currently automates complex pipelines of structural and functional annotation under the supervision of the expert system (which allows for example to make key decisions, check intermediate results or refine the dataset). The quality of the results produced by FIGENIX is comparable to those obtained by expert biologists with a drastic gain in terms of time costs and avoidance of errors due to the human manipulation of data. Conclusion The core engine and expert system of the FIGENIX platform currently handle complex annotation processes of broad interest for the genomic community. They could be easily adapted to new, or more specialized pipelines, such as for example the annotation of miRNAs, the classification of complex multigenic families, annotation of regulatory elements and other genomic features of interest. PMID:16083500

Expert diagnostics system as a part of analysis software for power mission operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harris, Jennifer A.; Bahrami, Khosrow A.

1993-01-01

The operation of interplanetary spacecraft at JPL has become an increasingly complex activity. This complexity is due to advanced spacecraft designs and ambitious mission objectives which lead to operations requirements that are more demanding than those of any previous mission. For this reason, several productivity enhancement measures are underway at JPL within mission operations, particularly in the spacecraft analysis area. These measures aimed at spacecraft analysis include: the development of a multi-mission, multi-subsystem operations environment; the introduction of automated tools into this environment; and the development of an expert diagnostics system. This paper discusses an effort to integrate the above mentioned productivity enhancement measures. A prototype was developed that integrates an expert diagnostics system into a multi-mission, multi-subsystem operations environment using the Galileo Power / Pyro Subsystem as a testbed. This prototype will be discussed in addition to background information associated with it.

Use of expert systems for the selection and the design of solar domestic hot water systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Panteliou, S.; Dentsoras, A.; Daskalopoulos, E.

1996-07-01

The aim of this article is the study of the application of expert systems to a mechanical engineering research domain with practical and commercial interest, such as design and manufacturing of Solar Domestic Hot Water (SDHW) Systems. The issues studied were the selection and the design of SDHW systems. The application of an expert system was explored. Frame and class formalism was used for knowledge representation together with forward and backward chaining techniques for drawing conclusions and utilizing the accumulated information present. The appropriate computer program was developed to yield the selection of SDHW systems using the software tool LEONARDOmore » 3.0 (1989), an integrated environment for the development of expert systems. The developed program was tested with data according to the Greek standard ELOT corresponding to the ISO/DIS 9459-2 and it performed successfully for 21 SDHW systems available on the Greek market. Apart from the possibility of selection of a SDHW system, the program also supports the facility for updating its knowledge based with new data so that it can be adapted to changes appearing on the market. The program proved to be functional and user friendly to a high degree. 8 refs., 9 figs.« less

Applications of advanced data analysis and expert system technologies in the ATLAS Trigger-DAQ Controls framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avolio, G.; Corso Radu, A.; Kazarov, A.; Lehmann Miotto, G.; Magnoni, L.

2012-12-01

The Trigger and Data Acquisition (TDAQ) system of the ATLAS experiment is a very complex distributed computing system, composed of more than 20000 applications running on more than 2000 computers. The TDAQ Controls system has to guarantee the smooth and synchronous operations of all the TDAQ components and has to provide the means to minimize the downtime of the system caused by runtime failures. During data taking runs, streams of information messages sent or published by running applications are the main sources of knowledge about correctness of running operations. The huge flow of operational monitoring data produced is constantly monitored by experts in order to detect problems or misbehaviours. Given the scale of the system and the rates of data to be analyzed, the automation of the system functionality in the areas of operational monitoring, system verification, error detection and recovery is a strong requirement. To accomplish its objective, the Controls system includes some high-level components which are based on advanced software technologies, namely the rule-based Expert System and the Complex Event Processing engines. The chosen techniques allow to formalize, store and reuse the knowledge of experts and thus to assist the shifters in the ATLAS control room during the data-taking activities.

Operations management system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brandli, A. E.; Eckelkamp, R. E.; Kelly, C. M.; Mccandless, W.; Rue, D. L.

1990-01-01

The objective of an operations management system is to provide an orderly and efficient method to operate and maintain aerospace vehicles. Concepts are described for an operations management system and the key technologies are highlighted which will be required if this capability is brought to fruition. Without this automation and decision aiding capability, the growing complexity of avionics will result in an unmanageable workload for the operator, ultimately threatening mission success or survivability of the aircraft or space system. The key technologies include expert system application to operational tasks such as replanning, equipment diagnostics and checkout, global system management, and advanced man machine interfaces. The economical development of operations management systems, which are largely software, will require advancements in other technological areas such as software engineering and computer hardware.

An expert system for simulating electric loads aboard Space Station Freedom

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kukich, George; Dolce, James L.

1990-01-01

Space Station Freedom will provide an infrastructure for space experimentation. This environment will feature regulated access to any resources required by an experiment. Automated systems are being developed to manage the electric power so that researchers can have the flexibility to modify their experiment plan for contingencies or for new opportunities. To define these flexible power management characteristics for Space Station Freedom, a simulation is required that captures the dynamic nature of space experimentation; namely, an investigator is allowed to restructure his experiment and to modify its execution. This changes the energy demands for the investigator's range of options. An expert system competent in the domain of cryogenic fluid management experimentation was developed. It will be used to help design and test automated power scheduling software for Freedom's electric power system. The expert system allows experiment planning and experiment simulation. The former evaluates experimental alternatives and offers advice on the details of the experiment's design. The latter provides a real-time simulation of the experiment replete with appropriate resource consumption.

The Transition to a Many-core World

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mattson, T. G.

2012-12-01

The need to increase performance within a fixed energy budget has pushed the computer industry to many core processors. This is grounded in the physics of computing and is not a trend that will just go away. It is hard to overestimate the profound impact of many-core processors on software developers. Virtually every facet of the software development process will need to change to adapt to these new processors. In this talk, we will look at many-core hardware and consider its evolution from a perspective grounded in the CPU. We will show that the number of cores will inevitably increase, but in addition, a quest to maximize performance per watt will push these cores to be heterogeneous. We will show that the inevitable result of these changes is a computing landscape where the distinction between the CPU and the GPU is blurred. We will then consider the much more pressing problem of software in a many core world. Writing software for heterogeneous many core processors is well beyond the ability of current programmers. One solution is to support a software development process where programmer teams are split into two distinct groups: a large group of domain-expert productivity programmers and much smaller team of computer-scientist efficiency programmers. The productivity programmers work in terms of high level frameworks to express the concurrency in their problems while avoiding any details for how that concurrency is exploited. The second group, the efficiency programmers, map applications expressed in terms of these frameworks onto the target many-core system. In other words, we can solve the many-core software problem by creating a software infrastructure that only requires a small subset of programmers to become master parallel programmers. This is different from the discredited dream of automatic parallelism. Note that productivity programmers still need to define the architecture of their software in a way that exposes the concurrency inherent in their problem. We submit that domain-expert programmers understand "what is concurrent". The parallel programming problem emerges from the complexity of "how that concurrency is utilized" on real hardware. The research described in this talk was carried out in collaboration with the ParLab at UC Berkeley. We use a design pattern language to define the high level frameworks exposed to domain-expert, productivity programmers. We then use tools from the SEJITS project (Selective embedded Just In time Specializers) to build the software transformation tool chains thst turn these framework-oriented designs into highly efficient code. The final ingredient is a software platform to serve as a target for these tools. One such platform is the OpenCL industry standard for programming heterogeneous systems. We will briefly describe OpenCL and show how it provides a vendor-neutral software target for current and future many core systems; both CPU-based, GPU-based, and heterogeneous combinations of the two.

Modernization of software quality assurance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bhaumik, Gokul

1988-01-01

The customers satisfaction depends not only on functional performance, it also depends on the quality characteristics of the software products. An examination of this quality aspect of software products will provide a clear, well defined framework for quality assurance functions, which improve the life-cycle activities of software development. Software developers must be aware of the following aspects which have been expressed by many quality experts: quality cannot be added on; the level of quality built into a program is a function of the quality attributes employed during the development process; and finally, quality must be managed. These concepts have guided our development of the following definition for a Software Quality Assurance function: Software Quality Assurance is a formal, planned approach of actions designed to evaluate the degree of an identifiable set of quality attributes present in all software systems and their products. This paper is an explanation of how this definition was developed and how it is used.

Challenges faced in implementation of a telehealth enabled chronic wound care system.

PubMed

Barrett, M; Larson, A; Carville, K; Ellis, I

2009-01-01

In the rural Midwest region of Western Australia (WA), wound care is a major burden on the healthcare system. Optimal wound care was found to be impeded by issues that included the involvement of multiple healthcare providers, incomplete and inconsistent documentation, and limited access to expert review. A telehealth solution was trailed in 2007. To describe the systemic barriers encountered in implementing a telehealth program in rural WA and to provide recommendations for future telehealth initiatives. This study trialled the use of a shared electronic wound imaging and reporting system in combination with an expert remote wound consultation service for the management of patients with chronic wounds in the Midwest of WA. The trial sites included rural hospital out-patient clinics, a private domiciliary nursing service, residential aged care facilities, general practices and a podiatry clinic. The implementation conformed to accepted best practice in introducing telehealth initiatives. During the trial 12 sites had the relevant software installed and were able to access a central server. Although a total of 41 patients with chronic wounds were enrolled, four sites did not enroll any patients and only two sites successfully incorporated the system into regular practice. Major obstacles were workforce issues and significant delays in installing the software at some sites. Only 47% of the healthcare providers trained to use the software at the beginning of the trial were still employed when the trial ended. Prolonged periods of vacant positions at one remote clinic and an aged care facility made it impossible for the remaining providers to allocate time for using the wound care software. The disease burden of the patient group, funding models and workforce shortages frustrated the successful adoption of an evidence based strategy that was known to improve health outcomes.

CREF: An Editing Facility for Managing Structured Text,

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-02-01

for Expert Systems," .)ystems and Software 34:212-224, 1984. [Knuth 831 I).A. Knuth, "The WEB System of Structured Documentation" (version 2...22 ".’- ?-- ’- . i’. . , ’" i ’" -’. . .-, -. .,’ , ... .. -. -. -i. ’. .’. -’ " -- -" . .. - .. . i ". , -’ -’.. ’- ’-, .- - ( Ncv cll 12j A. Nemell

Virtual building environments (VBE) - Applying information modeling to buildings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bazjanac, Vladimir

2004-06-21

A Virtual Building Environment (VBE) is a ''place'' where building industry project staffs can get help in creating Building Information Models (BIM) and in the use of virtual buildings. It consists of a group of industry software that is operated by industry experts who are also experts in the use of that software. The purpose of a VBE is to facilitate expert use of appropriate software applications in conjunction with each other to efficiently support multidisciplinary work. This paper defines BIM and virtual buildings, and describes VBE objectives, set-up and characteristics of operation. It informs about the VBE Initiative andmore » the benefits from a couple of early VBE projects.« less

Automated software development workstation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prouty, Dale A.; Klahr, Philip

1988-01-01

A workstation is being developed that provides a computational environment for all NASA engineers across application boundaries, which automates reuse of existing NASA software and designs, and efficiently and effectively allows new programs and/or designs to be developed, catalogued, and reused. The generic workstation is made domain specific by specialization of the user interface, capturing engineering design expertise for the domain, and by constructing/using a library of pertinent information. The incorporation of software reusability principles and expert system technology into this workstation provide the obvious benefits of increased productivity, improved software use and design reliability, and enhanced engineering quality by bringing engineering to higher levels of abstraction based on a well tested and classified library.

Integrated design optimization research and development in an industrial environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, V.; German, Marjorie D.; Lee, S.-J.

1989-04-01

An overview is given of a design optimization project that is in progress at the GE Research and Development Center for the past few years. The objective of this project is to develop a methodology and a software system for design automation and optimization of structural/mechanical components and systems. The effort focuses on research and development issues and also on optimization applications that can be related to real-life industrial design problems. The overall technical approach is based on integration of numerical optimization techniques, finite element methods, CAE and software engineering, and artificial intelligence/expert systems (AI/ES) concepts. The role of each of these engineering technologies in the development of a unified design methodology is illustrated. A software system DESIGN-OPT has been developed for both size and shape optimization of structural components subjected to static as well as dynamic loadings. By integrating this software with an automatic mesh generator, a geometric modeler and an attribute specification computer code, a software module SHAPE-OPT has been developed for shape optimization. Details of these software packages together with their applications to some 2- and 3-dimensional design problems are described.

Integrated design optimization research and development in an industrial environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kumar, V.; German, Marjorie D.; Lee, S.-J.

1989-01-01

An overview is given of a design optimization project that is in progress at the GE Research and Development Center for the past few years. The objective of this project is to develop a methodology and a software system for design automation and optimization of structural/mechanical components and systems. The effort focuses on research and development issues and also on optimization applications that can be related to real-life industrial design problems. The overall technical approach is based on integration of numerical optimization techniques, finite element methods, CAE and software engineering, and artificial intelligence/expert systems (AI/ES) concepts. The role of each of these engineering technologies in the development of a unified design methodology is illustrated. A software system DESIGN-OPT has been developed for both size and shape optimization of structural components subjected to static as well as dynamic loadings. By integrating this software with an automatic mesh generator, a geometric modeler and an attribute specification computer code, a software module SHAPE-OPT has been developed for shape optimization. Details of these software packages together with their applications to some 2- and 3-dimensional design problems are described.

Automated Induction Of Rule-Based Neural Networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smyth, Padhraic J.; Goodman, Rodney M.

1994-01-01

Prototype expert systems implemented in software and are functionally equivalent to neural networks set up automatically and placed into operation within minutes following information-theoretic approach to automated acquisition of knowledge from large example data bases. Approach based largely on use of ITRULE computer program.

A Starter's Guide to Artificial Intelligence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McConnell, Barry A.; McConnell, Nancy J.

1988-01-01

Discussion of the history and development of artificial intelligence (AI) highlights a bibliography of introductory books on various aspects of AI, including AI programing; problem solving; automated reasoning; game playing; natural language; expert systems; machine learning; robotics and vision; critics of AI; and representative software. (LRW)

Using C to build a satellite scheduling expert system: Examples from the Explorer platform planning system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mclean, David R.; Tuchman, Alan; Potter, William J.

1991-01-01

Recently, many expert systems were developed in a LISP environment and then ported to the real world C environment before the final system is delivered. This situation may require that the entire system be completely rewritten in C and may actually result in a system which is put together as quickly as possible with little regard for maintainability and further evolution. With the introduction of high performance UNIX and X-windows based workstations, a great deal of the advantages of developing a first system in the LISP environment have become questionable. A C-based AI development effort is described which is based on a software tools approach with emphasis on reusability and maintainability of code. The discussion starts with simple examples of how list processing can easily be implemented in C and then proceeds to the implementations of frames and objects which use dynamic memory allocation. The implementation of procedures which use depth first search, constraint propagation, context switching and a blackboard-like simulation environment are described. Techniques for managing the complexity of C-based AI software are noted, especially the object-oriented techniques of data encapsulation and incremental development. Finally, all these concepts are put together by describing the components of planning software called the Planning And Resource Reasoning (PARR) shell. This shell was successfully utilized for scheduling services of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System for the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite since May 1987 and will be used for operations scheduling of the Explorer Platform in November 1991.

Adaptive neural network/expert system that learns fault diagnosis for different structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simon, Solomon H.

1992-08-01

Corporations need better real-time monitoring and control systems to improve productivity by watching quality and increasing production flexibility. The innovative technology to achieve this goal is evolving in the form artificial intelligence and neural networks applied to sensor processing, fusion, and interpretation. By using these advanced Al techniques, we can leverage existing systems and add value to conventional techniques. Neural networks and knowledge-based expert systems can be combined into intelligent sensor systems which provide real-time monitoring, control, evaluation, and fault diagnosis for production systems. Neural network-based intelligent sensor systems are more reliable because they can provide continuous, non-destructive monitoring and inspection. Use of neural networks can result in sensor fusion and the ability to model highly, non-linear systems. Improved models can provide a foundation for more accurate performance parameters and predictions. We discuss a research software/hardware prototype which integrates neural networks, expert systems, and sensor technologies and which can adapt across a variety of structures to perform fault diagnosis. The flexibility and adaptability of the prototype in learning two structures is presented. Potential applications are discussed.

Formalization of software requirements for information systems using fuzzy logic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yegorov, Y. S.; Milov, V. R.; Kvasov, A. S.; Sorokoumova, S. N.; Suvorova, O. V.

2018-05-01

The paper considers an approach to the design of information systems based on flexible software development methodologies. The possibility of improving the management of the life cycle of information systems by assessing the functional relationship between requirements and business objectives is described. An approach is proposed to establish the relationship between the degree of achievement of business objectives and the fulfillment of requirements for the projected information system. It describes solutions that allow one to formalize the process of formation of functional and non-functional requirements with the help of fuzzy logic apparatus. The form of the objective function is formed on the basis of expert knowledge and is specified via learning from very small data set.

Research on Safety Monitoring System of Tailings Dam Based on Internet of Things

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ligang; Yang, Xiaocong; He, Manchao

2018-03-01

The paper designed and implemented the safety monitoring system of tailings dam based on Internet of things, completed the hardware and software design of sensor nodes, routing nodes and coordinator node by using ZigBee wireless sensor chip CC2630 and 3G/4G data transmission module, developed the software platform integrated with geographic information system. The paper achieved real-time monitoring and data collection of tailings dam dam deformation, seepage line, water level and rainfall for all-weather, the stability of tailings dam based on the Internet of things monitoring is analyzed, and realized intelligent and scientific management of tailings dam under the guidance of the remote expert system.

CLIPS: A tool for the development and delivery of expert systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Riley, Gary

1991-01-01

The C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) is a forward chaining rule-based language developed by the Software Technology Branch at the Johnson Space Center. CLIPS provides a complete environment for the construction of rule-based expert systems. CLIPS was designed specifically to provide high probability, low cost, and easy integration with external systems. Other key features of CLIPS include a powerful rule syntax, an interactive development environment, high performance, extensibility, a verification/validation tool, extensive documentation, and source code availability. The current release of CLIPS, version 4.3, is being used by over 2,500 users throughout the public and private community including: all NASA sites and branches of the military, numerous Federal bureaus, government contractors, 140 universities, and many companies.

Adding intelligent services to an object oriented system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Robideaux, Bret R.; Metzler, Theodore A.

1994-01-01

As today's software becomes increasingly complex, the need grows for intelligence of one sort or another to becomes part of the application, often an intelligence that does not readily fit the paradigm of one's software development. There are many methods of developing software, but at this time, the most promising is the object oriented (OO) method. This method involves an analysis to abstract the problem into separate 'objects' that are unique in the data that describe them and the behavior that they exhibit, and eventually to convert this analysis into computer code using a programming language that was designed (or retrofitted) for OO implementation. This paper discusses the creation of three different applications that are analyzed, designed, and programmed using the Shlaer/Mellor method of OO development and C++ as the programming language. All three, however, require the use of an expert system to provide an intelligence that C++ (or any other 'traditional' language) is not directly suited to supply. The flexibility of CLIPS permitted us to make modifications to it that allow seamless integration with any of our applications that require an expert system. We illustrate this integration with the following applications: (1) an after action review (AAR) station that assists a reviewer in watching a simulated tank battle and developing an AAR to critique the performance of the participants in the battle; (2) an embedded training system and over-the-shoulder coach for howitzer crewmen; and (3) a system to identify various chemical compounds from their infrared absorption spectra.

Pathways to lean software development: An analysis of effective methods of change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanson, Richard D.

This qualitative Delphi study explored the challenges that exist in delivering software on time, within budget, and with the original scope identified. The literature review identified many attempts over the past several decades to reform the methods used to develop software. These attempts found that the classical waterfall method, which is firmly entrenched in American business today was to blame for this difficulty (Chatterjee, 2010). Each of these proponents of new methods sought to remove waste, lighten out the process, and implement lean principles in software development. Through this study, the experts evaluated the barriers to effective development principles and defined leadership qualities necessary to overcome these barriers. The barriers identified were issues of resistance to change, risk and reward issues, and management buy-in. Thirty experts in software development from several Fortune 500 companies across the United States explored each of these issues in detail. The conclusion reached by these experts was that visionary leadership is necessary to overcome these challenges.

Development of an expert system for the simulation model for casting metal substructure of a metal-ceramic crown design.

PubMed

Matin, Ivan; Hadzistevic, Miodrag; Vukelic, Djordje; Potran, Michal; Brajlih, Tomaz

2017-07-01

Nowadays, the integrated CAD/CAE systems are favored solutions for the design of simulation models for casting metal substructures of metal-ceramic crowns. The worldwide authors have used different approaches to solve the problems using an expert system. Despite substantial research progress in the design of experts systems for the simulation model design and manufacturing have insufficiently considered the specifics of casting in dentistry, especially the need for further CAD, RE, CAE for the estimation of casting parameters and the control of the casting machine. The novel expert system performs the following: CAD modeling of the simulation model for casting, fast modeling of gate design, CAD eligibility and cast ability check of the model, estimation and running of the program code for the casting machine, as well as manufacturing time reduction of the metal substructure. The authors propose an integration method using common data model approach, blackboard architecture, rule-based reasoning and iterative redesign method. Arithmetic mean roughness values was determinated with constant Gauss low-pass filter (cut-off length of 2.5mm) according to ISO 4287 using Mahr MARSURF PS1. Dimensional deviation between the designed model and manufactured cast was determined using the coordinate measuring machine Zeiss Contura G2 and GOM Inspect software. The ES allows for obtaining the castings derived roughness grade number N7. The dimensional deviation between the simulation model of the metal substructure and the manufactured cast is 0.018mm. The arithmetic mean roughness values measured on the casting substructure are from 1.935µm to 2.778µm. The realized developed expert system with the integrated database is fully applicable for the observed hardware and software. Values of the arithmetic mean roughness and dimensional deviation indicate that casting substructures are surface quality, which is more than enough and useful for direct porcelain veneering. The manufacture of the substructure shows that the proposed ES allows the improvement of the design process while reducing the manufacturing time. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Benchmark Intelligent Agent Systems for Distributed Battle Tracking

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-06-20

services in the military and other domains, each entity in the benchmark system exposes a standard set of Web services. Jess ( Java Expert Shell...System) is a rule engine for the Java platform and is an interpreter for the Jess rule language. It is used here to implement policies that maintain...battle tracking system (DBTS), maintaining distributed situation awareness. The Java Agent DEvelopment (JADE) framework is a software framework

A knowledge authoring tool for clinical decision support.

PubMed

Dunsmuir, Dustin; Daniels, Jeremy; Brouse, Christopher; Ford, Simon; Ansermino, J Mark

2008-06-01

Anesthesiologists in the operating room are unable to constantly monitor all data generated by physiological monitors. They are further distracted by clinical and educational tasks. An expert system would ideally provide assistance to the anesthesiologist in this data-rich environment. Clinical monitoring expert systems have not been widely adopted, as traditional methods of knowledge encoding require both expert medical and programming skills, making knowledge acquisition difficult. A software application was developed for use as a knowledge authoring tool for physiological monitoring. This application enables clinicians to create knowledge rules without the need of a knowledge engineer or programmer. These rules are designed to provide clinical diagnosis, explanations and treatment advice for optimal patient care to the clinician in real time. By intelligently combining data from physiological monitors and demographical data sources the expert system can use these rules to assist in monitoring the patient. The knowledge authoring process is simplified by limiting connective relationships between rules. The application is designed to allow open collaboration between communities of clinicians to build a library of rules for clinical use. This design provides clinicians with a system for parameter surveillance and expert advice with a transparent pathway of reasoning. A usability evaluation demonstrated that anesthesiologists can rapidly develop useful rules for use in a predefined clinical scenario.

Evaluation of an expert system for fault detection, isolation, and recovery in the manned maneuvering unit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rushby, John; Crow, Judith

1990-01-01

The authors explore issues in the specification, verification, and validation of artificial intelligence (AI) based software, using a prototype fault detection, isolation and recovery (FDIR) system for the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU). They use this system as a vehicle for exploring issues in the semantics of C-Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS)-style rule-based languages, the verification of properties relating to safety and reliability, and the static and dynamic analysis of knowledge based systems. This analysis reveals errors and shortcomings in the MMU FDIR system and raises a number of issues concerning software engineering in CLIPs. The authors came to realize that the MMU FDIR system does not conform to conventional definitions of AI software, despite the fact that it was intended and indeed presented as an AI system. The authors discuss this apparent disparity and related questions such as the role of AI techniques in space and aircraft operations and the suitability of CLIPS for critical applications.

A Software Tool for Integrated Optical Design Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, Jim; Troy, Ed; DePlachett, Charles; Montgomery, Edward (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Design of large precision optical systems requires multi-disciplinary analysis, modeling, and design. Thermal, structural and optical characteristics of the hardware must be accurately understood in order to design a system capable of accomplishing the performance requirements. The interactions between each of the disciplines become stronger as systems are designed lighter weight for space applications. This coupling dictates a concurrent engineering design approach. In the past, integrated modeling tools have been developed that attempt to integrate all of the complex analysis within the framework of a single model. This often results in modeling simplifications and it requires engineering specialist to learn new applications. The software described in this presentation addresses the concurrent engineering task using a different approach. The software tool, Integrated Optical Design Analysis (IODA), uses data fusion technology to enable a cross discipline team of engineering experts to concurrently design an optical system using their standard validated engineering design tools.

A Neuroimaging Web Services Interface as a Cyber Physical System for Medical Imaging and Data Management in Brain Research: Design Study.

PubMed

Lizarraga, Gabriel; Li, Chunfei; Cabrerizo, Mercedes; Barker, Warren; Loewenstein, David A; Duara, Ranjan; Adjouadi, Malek

2018-04-26

Structural and functional brain images are essential imaging modalities for medical experts to study brain anatomy. These images are typically visually inspected by experts. To analyze images without any bias, they must be first converted to numeric values. Many software packages are available to process the images, but they are complex and difficult to use. The software packages are also hardware intensive. The results obtained after processing vary depending on the native operating system used and its associated software libraries; data processed in one system cannot typically be combined with data on another system. The aim of this study was to fulfill the neuroimaging community’s need for a common platform to store, process, explore, and visualize their neuroimaging data and results using Neuroimaging Web Services Interface: a series of processing pipelines designed as a cyber physical system for neuroimaging and clinical data in brain research. Neuroimaging Web Services Interface accepts magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, diffusion tensor imaging, and functional magnetic resonance imaging. These images are processed using existing and custom software packages. The output is then stored as image files, tabulated files, and MySQL tables. The system, made up of a series of interconnected servers, is password-protected and is securely accessible through a Web interface and allows (1) visualization of results and (2) downloading of tabulated data. All results were obtained using our processing servers in order to maintain data validity and consistency. The design is responsive and scalable. The processing pipeline started from a FreeSurfer reconstruction of Structural magnetic resonance imaging images. The FreeSurfer and regional standardized uptake value ratio calculations were validated using Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative input images, and the results were posted at the Laboratory of Neuro Imaging data archive. Notable leading researchers in the field of Alzheimer’s Disease and epilepsy have used the interface to access and process the data and visualize the results. Tabulated results with unique visualization mechanisms help guide more informed diagnosis and expert rating, providing a truly unique multimodal imaging platform that combines magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, diffusion tensor imaging, and resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging. A quality control component was reinforced through expert visual rating involving at least 2 experts. To our knowledge, there is no validated Web-based system offering all the services that Neuroimaging Web Services Interface offers. The intent of Neuroimaging Web Services Interface is to create a tool for clinicians and researchers with keen interest on multimodal neuroimaging. More importantly, Neuroimaging Web Services Interface significantly augments the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative data, especially since our data contain a large cohort of Hispanic normal controls and Alzheimer’s Disease patients. The obtained results could be scrutinized visually or through the tabulated forms, informing researchers on subtle changes that characterize the different stages of the disease. ©Gabriel Lizarraga, Chunfei Li, Mercedes Cabrerizo, Warren Barker, David A Loewenstein, Ranjan Duara, Malek Adjouadi. Originally published in JMIR Medical Informatics (http://medinform.jmir.org), 26.04.2018.

DataHub knowledge based assistance for science visualization and analysis using large distributed databases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Handley, Thomas H., Jr.; Collins, Donald J.; Doyle, Richard J.; Jacobson, Allan S.

1991-01-01

Viewgraphs on DataHub knowledge based assistance for science visualization and analysis using large distributed databases. Topics covered include: DataHub functional architecture; data representation; logical access methods; preliminary software architecture; LinkWinds; data knowledge issues; expert systems; and data management.

XMM-Newton Remote Interface to Science Analysis Software: First Public Version

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ibarra, A.; Gabriel, C.

2011-07-01

We present the first public beta release of the XMM-Newton Remote Interface to Science Analysis (RISA) software, available through the official XMM-Newton web pages. In a nutshell, RISA is a web based application that encapsulates the XMM-Newton data analysis software. The client identifies observations and creates XMM-Newton workflows. The server processes the client request, creates job templates and sends the jobs to a computer. RISA has been designed to help, at the same time, non-expert and professional XMM-Newton users. Thanks to the predefined threads, non-expert users can easily produce light curves and spectra. And on the other hand, expert user can use the full parameter interface to tune their own analysis. In both cases, the VO compliant client/server design frees the users from having to install any specific software to analyze XMM-Newton data.

A Spatial Analysis and Modeling System (SAMS) for environment management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stetina, Fran; Hill, John; Chan, Paul; Jaske, Robert; Rochon, Gilbert

1993-01-01

This is a proposal to develop a uniform global environmental data gathering and distribution system to support the calibration and validation of remotely sensed data. SAMS is based on an enhanced version of FEMA's Integrated Emergency Management Information Systems and the Department of Defense's Air land Battlefield Environment Software Systems. This system consists of state-of-the-art graphics and visualization techniques, simulation models, database management and expert systems for conducting environmental and disaster preparedness studies. This software package will be integrated into various Landsat and UNEP-GRID stations which are planned to become direct readout stations during the EOS (Earth Observing System) timeframe. This system would be implemented as a pilot program to support the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). This will be a joint NASA-FEMA-University-Industry project.

A Spatial Analysis and Modeling System (SAMS) for environment management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vermillion, Charles H.; Stetina, Fran; Hill, John; Chan, Paul; Jaske, Robert; Rochon, Gilbert

1992-01-01

This is a proposal to develop a uniform global environmental data gathering and distribution system to support the calibration and validation of remotely sensed data. SAMS is based on an enhanced version of FE MA's Integrated Emergency Management Information Systems and the Department of Defense's Air Land Battlefield Environment Software Systems. This system consists of state-of-the-art graphics and visualization techniques, simulation models, database management and expert systems for conducting environmental and disaster preparedness studies. This software package will be integrated into various Landsat and UNEP-GRID stations which are planned to become direct readout stations during the EOS timeframe. This system would be implemented as a pilot program to support the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). This will be a joint NASA-FEMA-University-Industry project.

Inter- and intrarater reliability of the Chicago Classification in pediatric high-resolution esophageal manometry recordings.

PubMed

Singendonk, M M J; Smits, M J; Heijting, I E; van Wijk, M P; Nurko, S; Rosen, R; Weijenborg, P W; Abu-Assi, R; Hoekman, D R; Kuizenga-Wessel, S; Seiboth, G; Benninga, M A; Omari, T I; Kritas, S

2015-02-01

The Chicago Classification (CC) facilitates interpretation of high-resolution manometry (HRM) recordings. Application of this adult based algorithm to the pediatric population is unknown. We therefore assessed intra and interrater reliability of software-based CC diagnosis in a pediatric cohort. Thirty pediatric solid state HRM recordings (13M; mean age 12.1 ± 5.1 years) assessing 10 liquid swallows per patient were analyzed twice by 11 raters (six experts, five non-experts). Software-placed anatomical landmarks required manual adjustment or removal. Integrated relaxation pressure (IRP4s), distal contractile integral (DCI), contractile front velocity (CFV), distal latency (DL) and break size (BS), and an overall CC diagnosis were software-generated. In addition, raters provided their subjective CC diagnosis. Reliability was calculated with Cohen's and Fleiss' kappa (κ) and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Intra- and interrater reliability of software-generated CC diagnosis after manual adjustment of landmarks was substantial (mean κ = 0.69 and 0.77 respectively) and moderate-substantial for subjective CC diagnosis (mean κ = 0.70 and 0.58 respectively). Reliability of both software-generated and subjective diagnosis of normal motility was high (κ = 0.81 and κ = 0.79). Intra- and interrater reliability were excellent for IRP4s, DCI, and BS. Experts had higher interrater reliability than non-experts for DL (ICC = 0.65 vs ICC = 0.36 respectively) and the software-generated diagnosis diffuse esophageal spasm (DES, κ = 0.64 vs κ = 0.30). Among experts, the reliability for the subjective diagnosis of achalasia and esophageal gastric junction outflow obstruction was moderate-substantial (κ = 0.45-0.82). Inter- and intrarater reliability of software-based CC diagnosis of pediatric HRM recordings was high overall. However, experience was a factor influencing the diagnosis of some motility disorders, particularly DES and achalasia. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Expert System Control of Plant Growth in an Enclosed Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

May, George; Lanoue, Mark; Bathel, Matthew; Ryan, Robert E.

2008-01-01

The Expert System is an enclosed, controlled environment for growing plants, which incorporates a computerized, knowledge-based software program that is designed to capture the knowledge, experience, and problem-solving skills of one or more human experts in a particular discipline. The Expert System is trained to analyze crop/plant status, to monitor the condition of the plants and the environment, and to adjust operational parameters to optimize the plant-growth process. This system is intended to provide a way to remotely control plant growth with little or no human intervention. More specifically, the term control implies an autonomous method for detecting plant states such as health (biomass) or stress and then for recommending and implementing cultivation and/or remediation to optimize plant growth and to minimize consumption of energy and nutrients. Because of difficulties associated with delivering energy and nutrients remotely, a key feature of this Expert System is its ability to minimize this effort and to achieve optimum growth while taking into account the diverse range of environmental considerations that exist in an enclosed environment. The plant-growth environment for the Expert System could be made from a variety of structures, including a greenhouse, an underground cavern, or another enclosed chamber. Imaging equipment positioned within or around the chamber provides spatially distributed crop/plant-growth information. Sensors mounted in the chamber provide data and information pertaining to environmental conditions that could affect plant development. Lamps in the growth environment structure supply illumination, and other additional equipment in the chamber supplies essential nutrients and chemicals.

Parasitology tutoring system: a hypermedia computer-based application.

PubMed

Theodoropoulos, G; Loumos, V

1994-02-14

The teaching of parasitology is a basic course in all life sciences curricula, and up to now no computer-assisted tutoring system has been developed for this purpose. By using Knowledge Pro, an object-oriented software development tool, a hypermedia tutoring system for teaching parasitology to college students was developed. Generally, a tutoring system contains a domain expert, a student model, a pedagogical expert and the user interface. In this project, particular emphasis was given to the user interface design and the expert knowledge representation. The system allows access to the educational material through hypermedia and indexing at the pace of the student. The hypermedia access is facilitated through key words defined as hypertext and objects in pictures defined as hyper-areas. The indexing access is based on a list of parameters that refers to various characteristics of the parasites, e.g. taxonomy, host, organ, etc. In addition, this indexing access can be used for testing the student's level of understanding. The advantages of this system are its user-friendliness, graphical interface and ability to incorporate new educational material in the area of parasitology.

Development of the Spacecraft Materials Selector Expert System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pippin, H. G.

2000-01-01

A specific knowledge base to evaluate the on-orbit performance of selected materials on spacecraft is being developed under contract to the NASA SEE program. An artificial intelligence software package, the Boeing Expert System Tool (BEST), contains an inference engine used to operate knowledge bases constructed to selectively recall and distribute information about materials performance in space applications. This same system is used to make estimates of the environmental exposures expected for a given space flight. The performance capabilities of the Spacecraft Materials Selector (SMS) knowledge base are described in this paper. A case history for a planned flight experiment on ISS is shown as an example of the use of the SMS, and capabilities and limitations of the knowledge base are discussed.

Structure of the knowledge base for an expert labeling system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rajaram, N. S.

1981-01-01

One of the principal objectives of the NASA AgRISTARS program is the inventory of global crop resources using remotely sensed data gathered by Land Satellites (LANDSAT). A central problem in any such crop inventory procedure is the interpretation of LANDSAT images and identification of parts of each image which are covered by a particular crop of interest. This task of labeling is largely a manual one done by trained human analysts and consequently presents obstacles to the development of totally automated crop inventory systems. However, development in knowledge engineering as well as widespread availability of inexpensive hardware and software for artificial intelligence work offers possibilities for developing expert systems for labeling of crops. Such a knowledge based approach to labeling is presented.

An integrated knowledge system for wind tunnel testing - Project Engineers' Intelligent Assistant

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lo, Ching F.; Shi, George Z.; Hoyt, W. A.; Steinle, Frank W., Jr.

1993-01-01

The Project Engineers' Intelligent Assistant (PEIA) is an integrated knowledge system developed using artificial intelligence technology, including hypertext, expert systems, and dynamic user interfaces. This system integrates documents, engineering codes, databases, and knowledge from domain experts into an enriched hypermedia environment and was designed to assist project engineers in planning and conducting wind tunnel tests. PEIA is a modular system which consists of an intelligent user-interface, seven modules and an integrated tool facility. Hypermedia technology is discussed and the seven PEIA modules are described. System maintenance and updating is very easy due to the modular structure and the integrated tool facility provides user access to commercial software shells for documentation, reporting, or database updating. PEIA is expected to provide project engineers with technical information, increase efficiency and productivity, and provide a realistic tool for personnel training.

Maintaining an expert system for the Hubble Space Telescope ground support

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lindenmayer, Kelly; Vick, Shon; Rosenthal, Don

1987-01-01

The transformation portion of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Proposal Entry Processor System converts astronomer-oriented description of a scientific observing program into a detailed description of the parameters needed for planning and scheduling. The transformation system is one of a very few rulebased expert systems that has ever entered an operational phase. The day to day operations of the system and its rulebase are no longer the responsibility of the original developer. As a result, software engineering properties of the rulebased approach become more important. Maintenance issues associated with the coupling of rules within a rulebased system are discussed and a method is offered for partitioning a rulebase so that the amount of knowledge needed to modify the rulebase is minimized. This method is also used to develop a measure of the coupling strength of the rulebase.

Personalized Learning Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

Analysis and Simulation Inc. products, IEPLANNER and TPLAN, make use of C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS), a NASA-developed expert system shell which originated at Johnson Space Center. Both products are interactive computer-based systems. They can be run independently or together as one complete system. Utilized as an Individual Education Plan tool, a user of IEPLANNER and TPLAN can define a goals list, while identifying a host of student demands in motor skills, socials skills, life skills, even legal and leisure needs in the user's area. This computerized, expert tutor and advisor allows assessment of the status of the student and the degree to which his/her needs are being met. NASA Small Business Innovation Research contracts have also supported the company Human Memory Extension technology and the creation of a World Wide Web 3D browser.

Automated Simulation For Analysis And Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cantwell, E.; Shenk, Tim; Robinson, Peter; Upadhye, R.

1992-01-01

Design Assistant Workstation (DAWN) software being developed to facilitate simulation of qualitative and quantitative aspects of behavior of life-support system in spacecraft, chemical-processing plant, heating and cooling system of large building, or any of variety of systems including interacting process streams and processes. Used to analyze alternative design scenarios or specific designs of such systems. Expert system will automate part of design analysis: reason independently by simulating design scenarios and return to designer with overall evaluations and recommendations.

Automation of the space station core module power management and distribution system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weeks, David J.

1988-01-01

Under the Advanced Development Program for Space Station, Marshall Space Flight Center has been developing advanced automation applications for the Power Management and Distribution (PMAD) system inside the Space Station modules for the past three years. The Space Station Module Power Management and Distribution System (SSM/PMAD) test bed features three artificial intelligence (AI) systems coupled with conventional automation software functioning in an autonomous or closed-loop fashion. The AI systems in the test bed include a baseline scheduler/dynamic rescheduler (LES), a load shedding management system (LPLMS), and a fault recovery and management expert system (FRAMES). This test bed will be part of the NASA Systems Autonomy Demonstration for 1990 featuring cooperating expert systems in various Space Station subsystem test beds. It is concluded that advanced automation technology involving AI approaches is sufficiently mature to begin applying the technology to current and planned spacecraft applications including the Space Station.

CytoSpectre: a tool for spectral analysis of oriented structures on cellular and subcellular levels.

PubMed

Kartasalo, Kimmo; Pölönen, Risto-Pekka; Ojala, Marisa; Rasku, Jyrki; Lekkala, Jukka; Aalto-Setälä, Katriina; Kallio, Pasi

2015-10-26

Orientation and the degree of isotropy are important in many biological systems such as the sarcomeres of cardiomyocytes and other fibrillar structures of the cytoskeleton. Image based analysis of such structures is often limited to qualitative evaluation by human experts, hampering the throughput, repeatability and reliability of the analyses. Software tools are not readily available for this purpose and the existing methods typically rely at least partly on manual operation. We developed CytoSpectre, an automated tool based on spectral analysis, allowing the quantification of orientation and also size distributions of structures in microscopy images. CytoSpectre utilizes the Fourier transform to estimate the power spectrum of an image and based on the spectrum, computes parameter values describing, among others, the mean orientation, isotropy and size of target structures. The analysis can be further tuned to focus on targets of particular size at cellular or subcellular scales. The software can be operated via a graphical user interface without any programming expertise. We analyzed the performance of CytoSpectre by extensive simulations using artificial images, by benchmarking against FibrilTool and by comparisons with manual measurements performed for real images by a panel of human experts. The software was found to be tolerant against noise and blurring and superior to FibrilTool when analyzing realistic targets with degraded image quality. The analysis of real images indicated general good agreement between computational and manual results while also revealing notable expert-to-expert variation. Moreover, the experiment showed that CytoSpectre can handle images obtained of different cell types using different microscopy techniques. Finally, we studied the effect of mechanical stretching on cardiomyocytes to demonstrate the software in an actual experiment and observed changes in cellular orientation in response to stretching. CytoSpectre, a versatile, easy-to-use software tool for spectral analysis of microscopy images was developed. The tool is compatible with most 2D images and can be used to analyze targets at different scales. We expect the tool to be useful in diverse applications dealing with structures whose orientation and size distributions are of interest. While designed for the biological field, the software could also be useful in non-biological applications.

An intelligent training system for space shuttle flight controllers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Loftin, R. Bowen; Wang, Lui; Baffes, Paul; Hua, Grace

1988-01-01

An autonomous intelligent training system which integrates expert system technology with training/teaching methodologies is described. The system was designed to train Mission Control Center (MCC) Flight Dynamics Officers (FDOs) to deploy a certain type of satellite from the Space Shuttle. The Payload-assist module Deploys/Intelligent Computer-Aided Training (PD/ICAT) system consists of five components: a user interface, a domain expert, a training session manager, a trainee model, and a training scenario generator. The interface provides the trainee with information of the characteristics of the current training session and with on-line help. The domain expert (DeplEx for Deploy Expert) contains the rules and procedural knowledge needed by the FDO to carry out the satellite deploy. The DeplEx also contains mal-rules which permit the identification and diagnosis of common errors made by the trainee. The training session manager (TSM) examines the actions of the trainee and compares them with the actions of DeplEx in order to determine appropriate responses. A trainee model is developed for each individual using the system. The model includes a history of the trainee's interactions with the training system and provides evaluative data on the trainee's current skill level. A training scenario generator (TSG) designs appropriate training exercises for each trainee based on the trainee model and the training goals. All of the expert system components of PD/ICAT communicate via a common blackboard. The PD/ICAT is currently being tested. Ultimately, this project will serve as a vehicle for developing a general architecture for intelligent training systems together with a software environment for creating such systems.

An intelligent training system for space shuttle flight controllers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Loftin, R. Bowen; Wang, Lui; Baffles, Paul; Hua, Grace

1988-01-01

An autonomous intelligent training system which integrates expert system technology with training/teaching methodologies is described. The system was designed to train Mission Control Center (MCC) Flight Dynamics Officers (FDOs) to deploy a certain type of satellite from the Space Shuttle. The Payload-assist module Deploys/Intelligent Computer-Aided Training (PD/ICAT) system consists of five components: a user interface, a domain expert, a training session manager, a trainee model, and a training scenario generator. The interface provides the trainee with information of the characteristics of the current training session and with on-line help. The domain expert (Dep1Ex for Deploy Expert) contains the rules and procedural knowledge needed by the FDO to carry out the satellite deploy. The Dep1Ex also contains mal-rules which permit the identification and diagnosis of common errors made by the trainee. The training session manager (TSM) examines the actions of the trainee and compares them with the actions of Dep1Ex in order to determine appropriate responses. A trainee model is developed for each individual using the system. The model includes a history of the trainee's interactions with the training system and provides evaluative data on the trainee's current skill level. A training scenario generator (TSG) designs appropriate training exercises for each trainee based on the trainee model and the training goals. All of the expert system components of PD/ICAT communicate via a common blackboard. The PD/ICAT is currently being tested. Ultimately, this project will serve as a vehicle for developing a general architecture for intelligent training systems together with a software environment for creating such systems.

Knowledge-based system V and V in the Space Station Freedom program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kelley, Keith; Hamilton, David; Culbert, Chris

1992-01-01

Knowledge Based Systems (KBS's) are expected to be heavily used in the Space Station Freedom Program (SSFP). Although SSFP Verification and Validation (V&V) requirements are based on the latest state-of-the-practice in software engineering technology, they may be insufficient for Knowledge Based Systems (KBS's); it is widely stated that there are differences in both approach and execution between KBS V&V and conventional software V&V. In order to better understand this issue, we have surveyed and/or interviewed developers from sixty expert system projects in order to understand the differences and difficulties in KBS V&V. We have used this survey results to analyze the SSFP V&V requirements for conventional software in order to determine which specific requirements are inappropriate for KBS V&V and why they are inappropriate. Further work will result in a set of recommendations that can be used either as guidelines for applying conventional software V&V requirements to KBS's or as modifications to extend the existing SSFP conventional software V&V requirements to include KBS requirements. The results of this work are significant to many projects, in addition to SSFP, which will involve KBS's.

Health software: a new CEI Guide for software management in medical environment.

PubMed

Giacomozzi, Claudia; Martelli, Francesco

2016-01-01

The increasing spread of software components in the healthcare context renders explanatory guides relevant and mandatory to interpret laws and standards, and to support safe management of software products in healthcare. In 2012 a working group has been settled for the above purposes at Italian Electrotechnical Committee (CEI), made of experts from Italian National Institute of Health (ISS), representatives of industry, and representatives of the healthcare organizations. As a first outcome of the group activity, Guide CEI 62-237 was published in February 2015. The Guide incorporates an innovative approach based on the proper contextualization of software products, either medical devices or not, to the specific healthcare scenario, and addresses the risk management of IT systems. The Guide provides operators and manufacturers with an interpretative support with many detailed examples to facilitate the proper contextualization and management of health software, in compliance with related European and international regulations and standards.

Mediating the Cognitive Walkthrough with Patient Groups to achieve Personalized Health in Chronic Disease Self-Management System Evaluation.

PubMed

Georgsson, Mattias; Kushniruk, Andre

2016-01-01

The cognitive walkthrough (CW) is a task-based, expert inspection usability evaluation method involving benefits such as cost effectiveness and efficiency. A drawback of the method is that it doesn't involve the user perspective from real users but instead is based on experts' predictions about the usability of the system and how users interact. In this paper, we propose a way of involving the user in an expert evaluation method by modifying the CW with patient groups as mediators. This along with other modifications include a dual domain session facilitator, specific patient groups and three different phases: 1) a preparation phase where suitable tasks are developed by a panel of experts and patients, validated through the content validity index 2) a patient user evaluation phase including an individual and collaborative process part 3) an analysis and coding phase where all data is digitalized and synthesized making use of Qualitative Data Analysis Software (QDAS) to determine usability deficiencies. We predict that this way of evaluating will utilize the benefits of the expert methods, also providing a way of including the patient user of these self-management systems. Results from this prospective study should provide evidence of the usefulness of this method modification.

Effective Team Support: From Task and Cognitive Modeling to Software Agents for Time-Critical Complex Work Environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Remington, Roger W. (Technical Monitor); John, Bonnie E.; Sycara, Katia

2005-01-01

The purpose of this research contract was to perform multidisciplinary research between CMU psychologists, computer scientists and NASA researchers to design a next generation collaborative system to support a team of human experts and intelligent agents. To achieve robust performance enhancement of such a system, we had proposed to perform task and cognitive modeling to thoroughly understand the impact technology makes on the organization and on key individual personnel. Guided by cognitively-inspired requirements, we would then develop software agents that support the human team in decision making, information filtering, information distribution and integration to enhance team situational awareness. During the period covered by this final report, we made substantial progress in completing a system for empirical data collection, cognitive modeling, and the building of software agents to support a team's tasks, and in running experiments for the collection of baseline data.

A Content Markup Language for Data Services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noviello, C.; Acampa, P.; Mango Furnari, M.

Network content delivery and documents sharing is possible using a variety of technologies, such as distributed databases, service-oriented applications, and so forth. The development of such systems is a complex job, because document life cycle involves a strong cooperation between domain experts and software developers. Furthermore, the emerging software methodologies, such as the service-oriented architecture and knowledge organization (e.g., semantic web) did not really solve the problems faced in a real distributed and cooperating settlement. In this chapter the authors' efforts to design and deploy a distribute and cooperating content management system are described. The main features of the system are a user configurable document type definition and a management middleware layer. It allows CMS developers to orchestrate the composition of specialized software components around the structure of a document. In this chapter are also reported some of the experiences gained on deploying the developed framework in a cultural heritage dissemination settlement.

An Overview of the GIS Weasel

USGS Publications Warehouse

Viger, Roland J.

2008-01-01

This fact sheet provides a high-level description of the GIS Weasel, a software system designed to aid users in preparing spatial information as input to lumped and distributed parameter environmental simulation models (ESMs). The GIS Weasel provides geographic information system (GIS) tools to help create maps of geographic features relevant to the application of a user?s ESM and to generate parameters from those maps. The operation of the GIS Weasel does not require a user to be a GIS expert, only that a user has an understanding of the spatial information requirements of the model. The GIS Weasel software system provides a GIS-based graphical user interface (GUI), C programming language executables, and general utility scripts. The software will run on any computing platform where ArcInfo Workstation (version 8.1 or later) and the GRID extension are accessible. The user controls the GIS Weasel by interacting with menus, maps, and tables.

Advanced construction management for lunar base construction - Surface operations planner

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kehoe, Robert P.

1992-01-01

The study proposes a conceptual solution and lays the framework for developing a new, sophisticated and intelligent tool for a lunar base construction crew to use. This concept integrates expert systems for critical decision making, virtual reality for training, logistics and laydown optimization, automated productivity measurements, and an advanced scheduling tool to form a unique new planning tool. The concept features extensive use of computers and expert systems software to support the actual work, while allowing the crew to control the project from the lunar surface. Consideration is given to a logistics data base, laydown area management, flexible critical progress scheduler, video simulation of assembly tasks, and assembly information and tracking documentation.

Distributed Web-Based Expert System for Launch Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bardina, Jorge E.; Thirumalainambi, Rajkumar

2005-01-01

The simulation and modeling of launch operations is based on a representation of the organization of the operations suitable to experiment of the physical, procedural, software, hardware and psychological aspects of space flight operations. The virtual test bed consists of a weather expert system to advice on the effect of weather to the launch operations. It also simulates toxic gas dispersion model, and the risk impact on human health. Since all modeling and simulation is based on the internet, it could reduce the cost of operations of launch and range safety by conducting extensive research before a particular launch. Each model has an independent decision making module to derive the best decision for launch.

Using SFOC to fly the Magellan Venus mapping mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bucher, Allen W.; Leonard, Robert E., Jr.; Short, Owen G.

1993-01-01

Traditionally, spacecraft flight operations at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have been performed by teams of spacecraft experts utilizing ground software designed specifically for the current mission. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory set out to reduce the cost of spacecraft mission operations by designing ground data processing software that could be used by multiple spacecraft missions, either sequentially or concurrently. The Space Flight Operations Center (SFOC) System was developed to provide the ground data system capabilities needed to monitor several spacecraft simultaneously and provide enough flexibility to meet the specific needs of individual projects. The Magellan Spacecraft Team utilizes the SFOC hardware and software designed for engineering telemetry analysis, both real-time and non-real-time. The flexibility of the SFOC System has allowed the spacecraft team to integrate their own tools with SFOC tools to perform the tasks required to operate a spacecraft mission. This paper describes how the Magellan Spacecraft Team is utilizing the SFOC System in conjunction with their own software tools to perform the required tasks of spacecraft event monitoring as well as engineering data analysis and trending.

Expert system and process optimization techniques for real-time monitoring and control of plasma processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Jie; Qian, Zhaogang; Irani, Keki B.; Etemad, Hossein; Elta, Michael E.

1991-03-01

To meet the ever-increasing demand of the rapidly-growing semiconductor manufacturing industry it is critical to have a comprehensive methodology integrating techniques for process optimization real-time monitoring and adaptive process control. To this end we have accomplished an integrated knowledge-based approach combining latest expert system technology machine learning method and traditional statistical process control (SPC) techniques. This knowledge-based approach is advantageous in that it makes it possible for the task of process optimization and adaptive control to be performed consistently and predictably. Furthermore this approach can be used to construct high-level and qualitative description of processes and thus make the process behavior easy to monitor predict and control. Two software packages RIST (Rule Induction and Statistical Testing) and KARSM (Knowledge Acquisition from Response Surface Methodology) have been developed and incorporated with two commercially available packages G2 (real-time expert system) and ULTRAMAX (a tool for sequential process optimization).

Developing and Testing of a Software Prototype to Support Diagnostic Reasoning of Nursing Students.

PubMed

de Sousa, Vanessa Emille Carvalho; de Oliveira Lopes, Marcos Venícios; Keenan, Gail M; Lopez, Karen Dunn

2018-04-01

To design and test educational software to improve nursing students' diagnostic reasoning through NANDA-I-based clinical scenarios. A mixed method approach was used and included content validation by a panel of 13 experts and prototype testing by a sample of 56 students. Experts' suggestions included writing adjustments, new response options, and replacement of clinical information on the scenarios. Percentages of students' correct answers were 65.7%, 62.2%, and 60.5% for related factors, defining characteristics, and nursing diagnoses, respectively. Full development of this software shows strong potential for enhancing students' diagnostic reasoning. New graduates may be able to apply diagnostic reasoning more rapidly by exercising their diagnostic skills within this software. Desenvolver e testar um protótipo de software educativo para melhorar o raciocínio diagnóstico de estudantes de enfermagem. MÉTODOS: Uma abordagem mista foi utilizada e incluiu validação de conteúdo por 13 experts e testagem do protótipo por 56 estudantes. Sugestões dos experts incluíram ajustes na escrita, inclusão de novas opções de resposta e substituição de dados clínicos nos cenários. Os percentuais de respostas corretas dos estudantes foram 65,7%, 62,2% e 60,5% para fatores relacionados, características definidoras e diagnósticos de enfermagem respectivamente. CONCLUSÃO: O desenvolvimento deste software tem um forte potencial para melhorar o raciocínio diagnóstico de estudantes. IMPLICAÇÕES PARA A PRÁTICA EM ENFERMAGEM: Através deste software, enfermeiros poderão ser capazes de exercitar o raciocínio diagnóstico e aplicá-lo mais rapidamente. © 2016 NANDA International, Inc.

MANPRINT Methods Monograph: Aiding the Development of Training Constraints

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-06-01

the performance of the trained soldiers who op# rate , maintain, and support their hardware and software. The Arm:. must assume that all trained operator...combined into the same system. Although HARDMAN experts who must also deal with composite systems have been faced with the same challenge, no attempt has...yet been made to predict composite system training based on an additive rule which considers characteristics implied by each subsystem. Instead, HARDMAN

Evaluation of Automated Fracture Risk Assessment Based on the Canadian Association of Radiologists and Osteoporosis Canada Assessment Tool.

PubMed

Allin, Sonya; Bleakney, Robert; Zhang, Julie; Munce, Sarah; Cheung, Angela M; Jaglal, Susan

2016-01-01

Fracture risk assessments are not always clearly communicated on bone mineral density (BMD) reports; evidence suggests that structured reporting (SR) tools may improve report clarity. The aim of this study is to compare fracture risk assessments automatically assigned by SR software in accordance with Canadian Association of Radiologists and Osteoporosis Canada (CAROC) recommendations to assessments from experts on narrative BMD reports. Charts for 500 adult patients who recently received a BMD exam were sampled from across University of Toronto's Joint Department of Medical Imaging. BMD measures and clinical details were manually abstracted from charts and were used to create structured reports with assessments generated by a software implementation of CAROC recommendations. CAROC calculations were statistically compared to experts' original assessments using percentage agreement (PA) and Krippendorff's alpha. Canadian FRAX calculations were also compared to experts', where possible. A total of 25 (5.0%) reported assessments did not conform to categorizations recommended by Canadian guidelines. Across the remainder, the Krippendorff's alpha relating software assigned assessments to physicians was high at 0.918; PA was 94.3%. Lower agreement was associated with reports for patients with documented modifying factors (alpha = 0.860, PA = 90.2%). Similar patterns of agreement related expert assessments to FRAX calculations, although statistics of agreement were lower. Categories of disagreement were defined by (1) gray areas in current guidelines, (2) margins of assessment categorizations, (3) dictation/transcription errors, (4) patients on low doses of steroids, and (5) ambiguous documentation of modifying factors. Results suggest that SR software can produce fracture risk assessments that agree with experts on most routine, adult BMD exams. Results also highlight situations where experts tend to diverge from guidelines and illustrate the potential for SR software to (1) reduce variability in, (2) ameliorate errors in, and (3) improve clarity of routine adult BMD exam reports. Copyright © 2016 International Society for Clinical Densitometry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A coverage and slicing dependencies analysis for seeking software security defects.

PubMed

He, Hui; Zhang, Dongyan; Liu, Min; Zhang, Weizhe; Gao, Dongmin

2014-01-01

Software security defects have a serious impact on the software quality and reliability. It is a major hidden danger for the operation of a system that a software system has some security flaws. When the scale of the software increases, its vulnerability has becoming much more difficult to find out. Once these vulnerabilities are exploited, it may lead to great loss. In this situation, the concept of Software Assurance is carried out by some experts. And the automated fault localization technique is a part of the research of Software Assurance. Currently, automated fault localization method includes coverage based fault localization (CBFL) and program slicing. Both of the methods have their own location advantages and defects. In this paper, we have put forward a new method, named Reverse Data Dependence Analysis Model, which integrates the two methods by analyzing the program structure. On this basis, we finally proposed a new automated fault localization method. This method not only is automation lossless but also changes the basic location unit into single sentence, which makes the location effect more accurate. Through several experiments, we proved that our method is more effective. Furthermore, we analyzed the effectiveness among these existing methods and different faults.

An intelligent data acquisition system for fluid mechanics research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cantwell, E. R.; Zilliac, G.; Fukunishi, Y.

1989-01-01

This paper describes a novel data acquisition system for use with wind-tunnel probe-based measurements, which incorporates a degree of specific fluid dynamics knowledge into a simple expert system-like control program. The concept was developed with a rudimentary expert system coupled to a probe positioning mechanism operating in a small-scale research wind tunnel. The software consisted of two basic elements, a general-purpose data acquisition system and the rulebased control element to take and analyze data and supplying decisions as to where to measure, how many data points to take, and when to stop. The system was validated in an experiment involving a vortical flow field, showing that it was possible to increase the resolution of the experiment or, alternatively, reduce the total number of data points required, to achieve parity with the results of most conventional data acquisition approaches.

[Nursing physical examination of the full-term neonate: self-instructional software].

PubMed

Fernandes, Maria das Graças de Oliveira; Barbosa, Vera Lucia; Naganuma, Masuco

2006-01-01

The purpose of this research is to elaborate software about the physical examination of full-term newborns (TNB) for neonatal nursing teaching at undergraduate level. The software was developed according to the phases of planning, content development and evaluation. The construction of the modules was based on Gagné's modern learning theory and structured on the Keller Plan, in line with the systemic approach. The objectives were to elaborate and evaluate the contents of the self-instructional modules, to be used as a teaching strategy in the undergraduate course. After being structured, the material was reviewed and analyzed by 11 neonatal nursing experts, who rated the 42 exposed items as good or excellent.

Space Station Mission Planning System (MPS) development study. Volume 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klus, W. J.

1987-01-01

The process and existing software used for Spacelab payload mission planning were studied. A complete baseline definition of the Spacelab payload mission planning process was established, along with a definition of existing software capabilities for potential extrapolation to the Space Station. This information was used as a basis for defining system requirements to support Space Station mission planning. The Space Station mission planning concept was reviewed for the purpose of identifying areas where artificial intelligence concepts might offer substantially improved capability. Three specific artificial intelligence concepts were to be investigated for applicability: natural language interfaces; expert systems; and automatic programming. The advantages and disadvantages of interfacing an artificial intelligence language with existing FORTRAN programs or of converting totally to a new programming language were identified.

Development Of Knowledge Systems For Trouble Shooting Complex Production Machinery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanford, Richard L.; Novak, Thomas; Meigs, James R.

1987-05-01

This paper discusses the use of knowledge base system software for microcomputers to aid repairmen in diagnosing electrical failures in complex mining machinery. The knowledge base is constructed to allow the user to input initial symptoms of the failed machine, and the most probable cause of failure is traced through the knowledge base, with the software requesting additional information such as voltage or resistance measurements as needed. Although the case study presented is for an underground mining machine, results have application to any industry using complex machinery. Two commercial expert-system development tools (M1 TM and Insight 2+TM) and an Al language (Turbo PrologTM) are discussed with emphasis on ease of application and suitability for this study.

Improving the efficiency of a user-driven learning system with reconfigurable hardware. Application to DNA splicing.

PubMed

Lemoine, E; Merceron, D; Sallantin, J; Nguifo, E M

1999-01-01

This paper describes a new approach to problem solving by splitting up problem component parts between software and hardware. Our main idea arises from the combination of two previously published works. The first one proposed a conceptual environment of concept modelling in which the machine and the human expert interact. The second one reported an algorithm based on reconfigurable hardware system which outperforms any kind of previously published genetic data base scanning hardware or algorithms. Here we show how efficient the interaction between the machine and the expert is when the concept modelling is based on reconfigurable hardware system. Their cooperation is thus achieved with an real time interaction speed. The designed system has been partially applied to the recognition of primate splice junctions sites in genetic sequences.

The Expert Mathematician. Revised. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

What Works Clearinghouse, 2006

2006-01-01

"The Expert Mathematician" is designed to help middle school students develop the thinking processes for mathematical applications and communication. A three-year program of instruction, "The Expert Mathematician" uses a software and consumable print materials package with 196 lessons that teach the "Logo" programming…

Implementing Software Safety in the NASA Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wetherholt, Martha S.; Radley, Charles F.

1994-01-01

Until recently, NASA did not consider allowing computers total control of flight systems. Human operators, via hardware, have constituted the ultimate safety control. In an attempt to reduce costs, NASA has come to rely more and more heavily on computers and software to control space missions. (For example. software is now planned to control most of the operational functions of the International Space Station.) Thus the need for systematic software safety programs has become crucial for mission success. Concurrent engineering principles dictate that safety should be designed into software up front, not tested into the software after the fact. 'Cost of Quality' studies have statistics and metrics to prove the value of building quality and safety into the development cycle. Unfortunately, most software engineers are not familiar with designing for safety, and most safety engineers are not software experts. Software written to specifications which have not been safety analyzed is a major source of computer related accidents. Safer software is achieved step by step throughout the system and software life cycle. It is a process that includes requirements definition, hazard analyses, formal software inspections, safety analyses, testing, and maintenance. The greatest emphasis is placed on clearly and completely defining system and software requirements, including safety and reliability requirements. Unfortunately, development and review of requirements are the weakest link in the process. While some of the more academic methods, e.g. mathematical models, may help bring about safer software, this paper proposes the use of currently approved software methodologies, and sound software and assurance practices to show how, to a large degree, safety can be designed into software from the start. NASA's approach today is to first conduct a preliminary system hazard analysis (PHA) during the concept and planning phase of a project. This determines the overall hazard potential of the system to be built. Shortly thereafter, as the system requirements are being defined, the second iteration of hazard analyses takes place, the systems hazard analysis (SHA). During the systems requirements phase, decisions are made as to what functions of the system will be the responsibility of software. This is the most critical time to affect the safety of the software. From this point, software safety analyses as well as software engineering practices are the main focus for assuring safe software. While many of the steps proposed in this paper seem like just sound engineering practices, they are the best technical and most cost effective means to assure safe software within a safe system.

Applications of artificial intelligence to space station: General purpose intelligent sensor interface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mckee, James W.

1988-01-01

This final report describes the accomplishments of the General Purpose Intelligent Sensor Interface task of the Applications of Artificial Intelligence to Space Station grant for the period from October 1, 1987 through September 30, 1988. Portions of the First Biannual Report not revised will not be included but only referenced. The goal is to develop an intelligent sensor system that will simplify the design and development of expert systems using sensors of the physical phenomena as a source of data. This research will concentrate on the integration of image processing sensors and voice processing sensors with a computer designed for expert system development. The result of this research will be the design and documentation of a system in which the user will not need to be an expert in such areas as image processing algorithms, local area networks, image processor hardware selection or interfacing, television camera selection, voice recognition hardware selection, or analog signal processing. The user will be able to access data from video or voice sensors through standard LISP statements without any need to know about the sensor hardware or software.

RCTS: A flexible environment for sensor integration and control of robot systems; the distributed processing approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allard, R.; Mack, B.; Bayoumi, M. M.

1989-01-01

Most robot systems lack a suitable hardware and software environment for the efficient research of new control and sensing schemes. Typically, engineers and researchers need to be experts in control, sensing, programming, communication and robotics in order to implement, integrate and test new ideas in a robot system. In order to reduce this time, the Robot Controller Test Station (RCTS) has been developed. It uses a modular hardware and software architecture allowing easy physical and functional reconfiguration of a robot. This is accomplished by emphasizing four major design goals: flexibility, portability, ease of use, and ease of modification. An enhanced distributed processing version of RCTS is described. It features an expanded and more flexible communication system design. Distributed processing results in the availability of more local computing power and retains the low cost of microprocessors. A large number of possible communication, control and sensing schemes can therefore be easily introduced and tested, using the same basic software structure.

Automating the parallel processing of fluid and structural dynamics calculations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arpasi, Dale J.; Cole, Gary L.

1987-01-01

The NASA Lewis Research Center is actively involved in the development of expert system technology to assist users in applying parallel processing to computational fluid and structural dynamic analysis. The goal of this effort is to eliminate the necessity for the physical scientist to become a computer scientist in order to effectively use the computer as a research tool. Programming and operating software utilities have previously been developed to solve systems of ordinary nonlinear differential equations on parallel scalar processors. Current efforts are aimed at extending these capabilities to systems of partial differential equations, that describe the complex behavior of fluids and structures within aerospace propulsion systems. This paper presents some important considerations in the redesign, in particular, the need for algorithms and software utilities that can automatically identify data flow patterns in the application program and partition and allocate calculations to the parallel processors. A library-oriented multiprocessing concept for integrating the hardware and software functions is described.

[Use of Adobe Photoshop software in medical criminology].

PubMed

Nikitin, S A; Demidov, I V

2000-01-01

Describes the method of comparative analysis of various objects in practical medical criminology and making of high-quality photographs with the use of Adobe Photoshop software. Options of the software needed for expert evaluations are enumerated.

Applications of artificial intelligence to space station and automated software techniques: High level robot command language

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mckee, James W.

1989-01-01

The objective is to develop a system that will allow a person not necessarily skilled in the art of programming robots to quickly and naturally create the necessary data and commands to enable a robot to perform a desired task. The system will use a menu driven graphical user interface. This interface will allow the user to input data to select objects to be moved. There will be an imbedded expert system to process the knowledge about objects and the robot to determine how they are to be moved. There will be automatic path planning to avoid obstacles in the work space and to create a near optimum path. The system will contain the software to generate the required robot instructions.

Data Management Working Group report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Filardo, Edward J.; Smith, David B.

1986-01-01

The current flight qualification program lags technology insertion by 6 to 10 years. The objective is to develop an integrated software engineering and development environment assisted by an expert system technology. An operating system needs to be developed which is portable to the on-board computers of the year 2000. The use of ADA verses a High-Order Language; fault tolerance; fiber optics networks; communication protocols; and security are also examined and outlined.

A medical software system for volumetric analysis of cerebral pathologies in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data.

PubMed

Egger, Jan; Kappus, Christoph; Freisleben, Bernd; Nimsky, Christopher

2012-08-01

In this contribution, a medical software system for volumetric analysis of different cerebral pathologies in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data is presented. The software system is based on a semi-automatic segmentation algorithm and helps to overcome the time-consuming process of volume determination during monitoring of a patient. After imaging, the parameter settings-including a seed point-are set up in the system and an automatic segmentation is performed by a novel graph-based approach. Manually reviewing the result leads to reseeding, adding seed points or an automatic surface mesh generation. The mesh is saved for monitoring the patient and for comparisons with follow-up scans. Based on the mesh, the system performs a voxelization and volume calculation, which leads to diagnosis and therefore further treatment decisions. The overall system has been tested with different cerebral pathologies-glioblastoma multiforme, pituitary adenomas and cerebral aneurysms- and evaluated against manual expert segmentations using the Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC). Additionally, intra-physician segmentations have been performed to provide a quality measure for the presented system.

An evaluation of selected (Q)SARs/expert systems for predicting skin sensitisation potential.

PubMed

Fitzpatrick, J M; Roberts, D W; Patlewicz, G

2018-06-01

Predictive testing to characterise substances for their skin sensitisation potential has historically been based on animal models such as the Local Lymph Node Assay (LLNA) and the Guinea Pig Maximisation Test (GPMT). In recent years, EU regulations, have provided a strong incentive to develop non-animal alternatives, such as expert systems software. Here we selected three different types of expert systems: VEGA (statistical), Derek Nexus (knowledge-based) and TIMES-SS (hybrid), and evaluated their performance using two large sets of animal data: one set of 1249 substances from eChemportal and a second set of 515 substances from NICEATM. A model was considered successful at predicting skin sensitisation potential if it had at least the same balanced accuracy as the LLNA and the GPMT had in predicting the other outcomes, which ranged from 79% to 86%. We found that the highest balanced accuracy of any of the expert systems evaluated was 65% when making global predictions. For substances within the domain of TIMES-SS, however, balanced accuracies for the two datasets were found to be 79% and 82%. In those cases where a chemical was within the TIMES-SS domain, the TIMES-SS skin sensitisation hazard prediction had the same confidence as the result from LLNA or GPMT.

[The future of telepathology. An Internet "distributed system" with "open standards"].

PubMed

Brauchli, K; Helfrich, M; Christen, H; Jundt, G; Haroske, G; Mihatsch, M; Oberli, H; Oberholzer, M

2002-05-01

With the availability of Internet, the interest in the possibilities of telepathology has increased considerably. In the foreground is thereby the need of the non-expert to bring in the opinions of experts on morphological findings by means of a fast and simple procedure. The new telepathology system iPath is in compliance with these needs. The system is based on small, but when possible independently working modules. This concept allows a simple adaptation of the system to the individual environment of the user (e.g. for different cameras, frame-grabbers, microscope steering tables etc.) and for individual needs. iPath has been in use for 6 months with various working groups. In telepathology a distinction is made between "passive" and "active" consultations but for both forms a non-expert brings in the opinion of an expert. In an active consultation both are in direct connection with each other (orally or via a chat-function), this is however not the case with a passive consultation. An active consultation can include the interactive discussion of the expert with the non-expert on images in an image database or the direct interpretation of images from a microscope by the expert. Four software modules are available for a free and as fast as possible application: (1) the module "Microscope control", (2) the module "Connector" (insertion of images directly from the microscope without a motorized microscope), (3) the module "Client-application" via the web-browser and (4) the module "Server" with a database. The server is placed in the internet and not behind a firewall. The server permanently receives information from the periphery and returns the information to the periphery on request. The only thing which the expert, the non-expert and the microscope have to know is how contact can made with the server.

Living Color Frame System: PC graphics tool for data visualization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Truong, Long V.

1993-01-01

Living Color Frame System (LCFS) is a personal computer software tool for generating real-time graphics applications. It is highly applicable for a wide range of data visualization in virtual environment applications. Engineers often use computer graphics to enhance the interpretation of data under observation. These graphics become more complicated when 'run time' animations are required, such as found in many typical modern artificial intelligence and expert systems. Living Color Frame System solves many of these real-time graphics problems.

A Low-Cost Audio Prescription Labeling System Using RFID for Thai Visually-Impaired People.

PubMed

Lertwiriyaprapa, Titipong; Fakkheow, Pirapong

2015-01-01

This research aims to develop a low-cost audio prescription labeling (APL) system for visually-impaired people by using the RFID system. The developed APL system includes the APL machine and APL software. The APL machine is for visually-impaired people while APL software allows caregivers to record all important information into the APL machine. The main objective of the development of the APL machine is to reduce costs and size by designing all of the electronic devices to fit into one print circuit board. Also, it is designed so that it is easy to use and can become an electronic aid for daily living. The developed APL software is based on Java and MySQL, both of which can operate on various operating platforms and are easy to develop as commercial software. The developed APL system was first evaluated by 5 experts. The APL system was also evaluated by 50 actual visually-impaired people (30 elders and 20 blind individuals) and 20 caregivers, pharmacists and nurses. After using the APL system, evaluations were carried out, and it can be concluded from the evaluation results that this proposed APL system can be effectively used for helping visually-impaired people in terms of self-medication.

Application of Data Provenance in Healthcare Analytics Software: Information Visualisation of User Activities

PubMed Central

Xu, Shen; Rogers, Toby; Fairweather, Elliot; Glenn, Anthony; Curran, James; Curcin, Vasa

2018-01-01

Data provenance is a technique that describes the history of digital objects. In health data settings, it can be used to deliver auditability and transparency, and to achieve trust in a software system. However, implementing data provenance in analytics software at an enterprise level presents a different set of challenges from the research environments where data provenance was originally devised. In this paper, the challenges of reporting provenance information to the user is presented. Provenance captured from analytics software can be large and complex and visualizing a series of tasks over a long period can be overwhelming even for a domain expert, requiring visual aggregation mechanisms that fit with complex human cognitive activities involved in the process. This research studied how provenance-based reporting can be integrated into a health data analytics software, using the example of Atmolytics visual reporting tool. PMID:29888084

Knowledge Acquisition, Validation, and Maintenance in a Planning System for Automated Image Processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chien, Steve A.

1996-01-01

A key obstacle hampering fielding of AI planning applications is the considerable expense of developing, verifying, updating, and maintainting the planning knowledge base (KB). Planning systems must be able to compare favorably in terms of software lifecycle costs to other means of automation such as scripts or rule-based expert systems. This paper describes a planning application of automated imaging processing and our overall approach to knowledge acquisition for this application.

Demonstrating artificial intelligence for space systems - Integration and project management issues

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hack, Edmund C.; Difilippo, Denise M.

1990-01-01

As part of its Systems Autonomy Demonstration Project (SADP), NASA has recently demonstrated the Thermal Expert System (TEXSYS). Advanced real-time expert system and human interface technology was successfully developed and integrated with conventional controllers of prototype space hardware to provide intelligent fault detection, isolation, and recovery capability. Many specialized skills were required, and responsibility for the various phases of the project therefore spanned multiple NASA centers, internal departments and contractor organizations. The test environment required communication among many types of hardware and software as well as between many people. The integration, testing, and configuration management tools and methodologies which were applied to the TEXSYS project to assure its safe and successful completion are detailed. The project demonstrated that artificial intelligence technology, including model-based reasoning, is capable of the monitoring and control of a large, complex system in real time.

Research on complex 3D tree modeling based on L-system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gang, Chen; Bin, Chen; Yuming, Liu; Hui, Li

2018-03-01

L-system as a fractal iterative system could simulate complex geometric patterns. Based on the field observation data of trees and knowledge of forestry experts, this paper extracted modeling constraint rules and obtained an L-system rules set. Using the self-developed L-system modeling software the L-system rule set was parsed to generate complex tree 3d models.The results showed that the geometrical modeling method based on l-system could be used to describe the morphological structure of complex trees and generate 3D tree models.

Usability study of clinical exome analysis software: top lessons learned and recommendations.

PubMed

Shyr, Casper; Kushniruk, Andre; Wasserman, Wyeth W

2014-10-01

New DNA sequencing technologies have revolutionized the search for genetic disruptions. Targeted sequencing of all protein coding regions of the genome, called exome analysis, is actively used in research-oriented genetics clinics, with the transition to exomes as a standard procedure underway. This transition is challenging; identification of potentially causal mutation(s) amongst ∼10(6) variants requires specialized computation in combination with expert assessment. This study analyzes the usability of user interfaces for clinical exome analysis software. There are two study objectives: (1) To ascertain the key features of successful user interfaces for clinical exome analysis software based on the perspective of expert clinical geneticists, (2) To assess user-system interactions in order to reveal strengths and weaknesses of existing software, inform future design, and accelerate the clinical uptake of exome analysis. Surveys, interviews, and cognitive task analysis were performed for the assessment of two next-generation exome sequence analysis software packages. The subjects included ten clinical geneticists who interacted with the software packages using the "think aloud" method. Subjects' interactions with the software were recorded in their clinical office within an urban research and teaching hospital. All major user interface events (from the user interactions with the packages) were time-stamped and annotated with coding categories to identify usability issues in order to characterize desired features and deficiencies in the user experience. We detected 193 usability issues, the majority of which concern interface layout and navigation, and the resolution of reports. Our study highlights gaps in specific software features typical within exome analysis. The clinicians perform best when the flow of the system is structured into well-defined yet customizable layers for incorporation within the clinical workflow. The results highlight opportunities to dramatically accelerate clinician analysis and interpretation of patient genomic data. We present the first application of usability methods to evaluate software interfaces in the context of exome analysis. Our results highlight how the study of user responses can lead to identification of usability issues and challenges and reveal software reengineering opportunities for improving clinical next-generation sequencing analysis. While the evaluation focused on two distinctive software tools, the results are general and should inform active and future software development for genome analysis software. As large-scale genome analysis becomes increasingly common in healthcare, it is critical that efficient and effective software interfaces are provided to accelerate clinical adoption of the technology. Implications for improved design of such applications are discussed. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Prepare for Impact

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waters, John K.

2010-01-01

Open source software is poised to make a profound impact on K-12 education. For years industry experts have been predicting the widespread adoption of open source tools by K-12 school districts. They're about to be proved right. The impact may not yet have been profound, but it's fair to say that some open source systems and non-proprietary…

Developing Applications of Artificial Intelligence Technology To Provide Consultative Support in the Use of Research Methodology by Practitioners.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vitale, Michael R.; Romance, Nancy

Adopting perspectives based on applications of artificial intelligence proven in industry, this paper discusses methodological strategies and issues that underlie the development of such software environments. The general concept of an expert system is discussed in the context of its relevance to the problem of increasing the accessibility of…

Applying Dynamic Fuzzy Petri Net to Web Learning System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Juei-Nan; Huang, Yueh-Min; Chu, William

2005-01-01

This investigation presents a DFPN (Dynamic Fuzzy Petri Net) model to increase the flexibility of the tutoring agent's behaviour and thus provide a learning content structure for a lecture course. The tutoring agent is a software assistant for a single user, who may be an expert in an e-Learning course. Based on each learner's behaviour, the…

Computer-Assisted, Counselor-Delivered Smoking Cessation Counseling for Community College Students: Intervention Approach and Sample Characteristics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prokhorov, Alexander V.; Fouladi, Rachel T.; de Moor, Carl; Warneke, Carla L.; Luca, Mario; Jones, Mary Mullin; Rosenblum, Carol; Emmons, Karen M.; Hudmon, Karen Suchanek; Yost, Tracey E.; Gritz, Ellen R.

2007-01-01

This report presents the experimental approach and baseline findings from "Look at Your Health," an ongoing study to develop and evaluate a computer-assisted, counselor-delivered smoking cessation program for community college students. It describes the expert system software program used for data collection and for provision of tailored feedback,…

Ease of adoption of clinical natural language processing software: An evaluation of five systems.

PubMed

Zheng, Kai; Vydiswaran, V G Vinod; Liu, Yang; Wang, Yue; Stubbs, Amber; Uzuner, Özlem; Gururaj, Anupama E; Bayer, Samuel; Aberdeen, John; Rumshisky, Anna; Pakhomov, Serguei; Liu, Hongfang; Xu, Hua

2015-12-01

In recognition of potential barriers that may inhibit the widespread adoption of biomedical software, the 2014 i2b2 Challenge introduced a special track, Track 3 - Software Usability Assessment, in order to develop a better understanding of the adoption issues that might be associated with the state-of-the-art clinical NLP systems. This paper reports the ease of adoption assessment methods we developed for this track, and the results of evaluating five clinical NLP system submissions. A team of human evaluators performed a series of scripted adoptability test tasks with each of the participating systems. The evaluation team consisted of four "expert evaluators" with training in computer science, and eight "end user evaluators" with mixed backgrounds in medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and health informatics. We assessed how easy it is to adopt the submitted systems along the following three dimensions: communication effectiveness (i.e., how effective a system is in communicating its designed objectives to intended audience), effort required to install, and effort required to use. We used a formal software usability testing tool, TURF, to record the evaluators' interactions with the systems and 'think-aloud' data revealing their thought processes when installing and using the systems and when resolving unexpected issues. Overall, the ease of adoption ratings that the five systems received are unsatisfactory. Installation of some of the systems proved to be rather difficult, and some systems failed to adequately communicate their designed objectives to intended adopters. Further, the average ratings provided by the end user evaluators on ease of use and ease of interpreting output are -0.35 and -0.53, respectively, indicating that this group of users generally deemed the systems extremely difficult to work with. While the ratings provided by the expert evaluators are higher, 0.6 and 0.45, respectively, these ratings are still low indicating that they also experienced considerable struggles. The results of the Track 3 evaluation show that the adoptability of the five participating clinical NLP systems has a great margin for improvement. Remedy strategies suggested by the evaluators included (1) more detailed and operation system specific use instructions; (2) provision of more pertinent onscreen feedback for easier diagnosis of problems; (3) including screen walk-throughs in use instructions so users know what to expect and what might have gone wrong; (4) avoiding jargon and acronyms in materials intended for end users; and (5) packaging prerequisites required within software distributions so that prospective adopters of the software do not have to obtain each of the third-party components on their own. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Helping Students make the transition from novice learner of ground-water concepts to expert using the Plume Busters software

USGS Publications Warehouse

Macfarlane, P.A.; Bohling, G.; Thompson, K.W.; Townsend, M.

2006-01-01

Environmental and earth science students are novice learners and lack the experience needed to rise to the level of expert. To address this problem we have developed the prototype Plume Busters?? software as a capstone educational experience, in which students take on the role of an environmental consultant. Following a pipeline spill, the environmental consultant is hired by the pipeline owner to locate the resulting plume created by spill and remediate the contaminated aquifer at minimum monetary and time cost. The contamination must be removed from the aquifer before it reaches the river and eventually a downstream public water supply. The software consists of an interactive Java application and accompanying HTML linked pages. The application simulates movement of a plume from a pipeline break throug h a shallow alluvial aquifer towards the river. The accompanying web pages establish the simulated contamination scenario and provide students with background material on ground-water flow and transport principles. To make the role-play more realistic, the student must consider cost and time when making decisions about siting observation wells and wells for the pump-and-treat remediation system.

Development Of Ultrasonic Testing Based On Delphi Program As A Learning Media In The Welding Material Study Of Detection And Welding Disables In The Environment Of Vocational Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dwi Cahyono, Bagus; Ainur, Chandra

2018-04-01

The development of science and technology has a direct impact on the preparation of qualified workers, including the preparation of vocational high school graduates. Law Number 20 the Year 2003 on National Education System explains that the purpose of vocational education is to prepare learners to be ready to work in certain fields. One of the learning materials in Vocational High School is welding and detecting welding defects. Introduction of welding and detecting welding defects, one way that can be done is by ultrasonic testing will be very difficult if only capitalize the book only. Therefore this study aims to adopt ultrasonic testing in a computer system. This system is called Delphi Program-based Ultrasonic Testing Expert System. This system is used to determine the classification and type of welding defects of the welded defect indicator knew. In addition to the system, there is a brief explanation of the notion of ultrasonic testing, calibration procedures and inspection procedures ultrasonic testing. In this system, ultrasonic input data testing that shows defects entered into the computer manually. This system is built using Delphi 7 software and Into Set Up Compiler as an installer. The method used in this research is Research and Development (R & D), with the following stages: (1) preliminary research; (2) manufacture of software design; (3) materials collection; (4) early product development; (5) validation of instructional media experts; (6) product analysis and revision; (8) media trials in learning; And (9) result of end product of instructional media. The result of the research shows that: (1) the result of feasibility test according to ultrasonic material testing expert that the system is feasible to be used as instructional media in welding material subject and welding defect detection in vocational education environment, because it contains an explanation about detection method of welding defect using method Ultrasonic testing in detail; (2) feasibility test results according to media experts, that this system has a very attractive visual, user friendly, compatible with windows and Linux and media size that is not too large; And (3) result of test by using data of indication of welding defect in PT PAL Surabaya, obtained classification data of welding defect in accordance with calculation of welding defect classification.

Effective Team Support: From Modeling to Software Agents

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Remington, Roger W. (Technical Monitor); John, Bonnie; Sycara, Katia

2003-01-01

The purpose of this research contract was to perform multidisciplinary research between CMU psychologists, computer scientists and engineers and NASA researchers to design a next generation collaborative system to support a team of human experts and intelligent agents. To achieve robust performance enhancement of such a system, we had proposed to perform task and cognitive modeling to thoroughly understand the impact technology makes on the organization and on key individual personnel. Guided by cognitively-inspired requirements, we would then develop software agents that support the human team in decision making, information filtering, information distribution and integration to enhance team situational awareness. During the period covered by this final report, we made substantial progress in modeling infrastructure and task infrastructure. Work is continuing under a different contract to complete empirical data collection, cognitive modeling, and the building of software agents to support the teams task.

Software Size Estimation Using Expert Estimation: A Fuzzy Logic Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stevenson, Glenn A.

2012-01-01

For decades software managers have been using formal methodologies such as the Constructive Cost Model and Function Points to estimate the effort of software projects during the early stages of project development. While some research shows these methodologies to be effective, many software managers feel that they are overly complicated to use and…

Agile IT: Thinking in User-Centric Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Margaria, Tiziana; Steffen, Bernhard

We advocate a new teaching direction for modern CS curricula: extreme model-driven development (XMDD), a new development paradigm designed to continuously involve the customer/application expert throughout the whole systems' life cycle. Based on the `One-Thing Approach', which works by successively enriching and refining one single artifact, system development becomes in essence a user-centric orchestration of intuitive service functionality. XMDD differs radically from classical software development, which, in our opinion is no longer adequate for the bulk of application programming - in particular when it comes to heterogeneous, cross organizational systems which must adapt to rapidly changing market requirements. Thus there is a need for new curricula addressing this model-driven, lightweight, and cooperative development paradigm that puts the user process in the center of the development and the application expert in control of the process evolution.

Rule groupings in expert systems using nearest neighbour decision rules, and convex hulls

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anastasiadis, Stergios

1991-01-01

Expert System shells are lacking in many areas of software engineering. Large rule based systems are not semantically comprehensible, difficult to debug, and impossible to modify or validate. Partitioning a set of rules found in CLIPS (C Language Integrated Production System) into groups of rules which reflect the underlying semantic subdomains of the problem, will address adequately the concerns stated above. Techniques are introduced to structure a CLIPS rule base into groups of rules that inherently have common semantic information. The concepts involved are imported from the field of A.I., Pattern Recognition, and Statistical Inference. Techniques focus on the areas of feature selection, classification, and a criteria of how 'good' the classification technique is, based on Bayesian Decision Theory. A variety of distance metrics are discussed for measuring the 'closeness' of CLIPS rules and various Nearest Neighbor classification algorithms are described based on the above metric.

Sensor Suitcase Tablet Software

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

The Retrocommissioning Sensor Suitcase is targeted for use in small commercial buildings of less than 50,000 square feet of floor space that regularly receive basic services such as maintenance and repair, but don't have in-house energy management staff or buildings experts. The Suitcase is designed to be easy-to-use by building maintenance staff, or other professionals such as telecom and alarm technicians. The software in the hand-held is designed to guide the staff to input the building and system information, deploy the sensors in proper location, configure the sensor hardware, and start the data collection.

Using C to build a satellite scheduling expert system: Examples from the Explorer Platform planning system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mclean, David R.; Tuchman, Alan; Potter, William J.

1991-01-01

A C-based artificial intelligence (AI) development effort which is based on a software tools approach is discussed with emphasis on reusability and maintainability of code. The discussion starts with simple examples of how list processing can easily be implemented in C and then proceeds to the implementations of frames and objects which use dynamic memory allocation. The implementation of procedures which use depth first search, constraint propagation, context switching, and blackboard-like simulation environment are described. Techniques for managing the complexity of C-based AI software are noted, especially the object-oriented techniques of data encapsulation and incremental development. Finally, all these concepts are put together by describing the components of planning software called the Planning And Resource Reasoning (PARR) Shell. This shell was successfully utilized for scheduling services of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System for the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite since May of 1987 and will be used for operations scheduling of the Explorer Platform in Nov. of 1991.

Software Assists in Responding to Anomalous Conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

James, Mark; Kronbert, F.; Weiner, A.; Morgan, T.; Stroozas, B.; Girouard, F.; Hopkins, A.; Wong, L.; Kneubuhl, J.; Malina, R.

2004-01-01

Fault Induced Document Retrieval Officer (FIDO) is a computer program that reduces the need for a large and costly team of engineers and/or technicians to monitor the state of a spacecraft and associated ground systems and respond to anomalies. FIDO includes artificial-intelligence components that imitate the reasoning of human experts with reference to a knowledge base of rules that represent failure modes and to a database of engineering documentation. These components act together to give an unskilled operator instantaneous expert assistance and access to information that can enable resolution of most anomalies, without the need for highly paid experts. FIDO provides a system state summary (a configurable engineering summary) and documentation for diagnosis of a potentially failing component that might have caused a given error message or anomaly. FIDO also enables high-level browsing of documentation by use of an interface indexed to the particular error message. The collection of available documents includes information on operations and associated procedures, engineering problem reports, documentation of components, and engineering drawings. FIDO also affords a capability for combining information on the state of ground systems with detailed, hierarchically-organized, hypertext- enabled documentation.

An Architecture, System Engineering, and Acquisition Approach for Space System Software Resiliency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phillips, Dewanne Marie

Software intensive space systems can harbor defects and vulnerabilities that may enable external adversaries or malicious insiders to disrupt or disable system functions, risking mission compromise or loss. Mitigating this risk demands a sustained focus on the security and resiliency of the system architecture including software, hardware, and other components. Robust software engineering practices contribute to the foundation of a resilient system so that the system "can take a hit to a critical component and recover in a known, bounded, and generally acceptable period of time". Software resiliency must be a priority and addressed early in the life cycle development to contribute a secure and dependable space system. Those who develop, implement, and operate software intensive space systems must determine the factors and systems engineering practices to address when investing in software resiliency. This dissertation offers methodical approaches for improving space system resiliency through software architecture design, system engineering, increased software security, thereby reducing the risk of latent software defects and vulnerabilities. By providing greater attention to the early life cycle phases of development, we can alter the engineering process to help detect, eliminate, and avoid vulnerabilities before space systems are delivered. To achieve this objective, this dissertation will identify knowledge, techniques, and tools that engineers and managers can utilize to help them recognize how vulnerabilities are produced and discovered so that they can learn to circumvent them in future efforts. We conducted a systematic review of existing architectural practices, standards, security and coding practices, various threats, defects, and vulnerabilities that impact space systems from hundreds of relevant publications and interviews of subject matter experts. We expanded on the system-level body of knowledge for resiliency and identified a new software architecture framework and acquisition methodology to improve the resiliency of space systems from a software perspective with an emphasis on the early phases of the systems engineering life cycle. This methodology involves seven steps: 1) Define technical resiliency requirements, 1a) Identify standards/policy for software resiliency, 2) Develop a request for proposal (RFP)/statement of work (SOW) for resilient space systems software, 3) Define software resiliency goals for space systems, 4) Establish software resiliency quality attributes, 5) Perform architectural tradeoffs and identify risks, 6) Conduct architecture assessments as part of the procurement process, and 7) Ascertain space system software architecture resiliency metrics. Data illustrates that software vulnerabilities can lead to opportunities for malicious cyber activities, which could degrade the space mission capability for the user community. Reducing the number of vulnerabilities by improving architecture and software system engineering practices can contribute to making space systems more resilient. Since cyber-attacks are enabled by shortfalls in software, robust software engineering practices and an architectural design are foundational to resiliency, which is a quality that allows the system to "take a hit to a critical component and recover in a known, bounded, and generally acceptable period of time". To achieve software resiliency for space systems, acquirers and suppliers must identify relevant factors and systems engineering practices to apply across the lifecycle, in software requirements analysis, architecture development, design, implementation, verification and validation, and maintenance phases.

Confirmatory Factor Analysis Alternative: Free, Accessible CBID Software.

PubMed

Bott, Marjorie; Karanevich, Alex G; Garrard, Lili; Price, Larry R; Mudaranthakam, Dinesh Pal; Gajewski, Byron

2018-02-01

New software that performs Classical and Bayesian Instrument Development (CBID) is reported that seamlessly integrates expert (content validity) and participant data (construct validity) to produce entire reliability estimates with smaller sample requirements. The free CBID software can be accessed through a website and used by clinical investigators in new instrument development. Demonstrations are presented of the three approaches using the CBID software: (a) traditional confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), (b) Bayesian CFA using flat uninformative prior, and (c) Bayesian CFA using content expert data (informative prior). Outcomes of usability testing demonstrate the need to make the user-friendly, free CBID software available to interdisciplinary researchers. CBID has the potential to be a new and expeditious method for instrument development, adding to our current measurement toolbox. This allows for the development of new instruments for measuring determinants of health in smaller diverse populations or populations of rare diseases.

Application of Boiler Op for combustion optimization at PEPCO

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Maines, P.; Williams, S.; Levy, E.

1997-09-01

Title IV requires the reduction of NOx at all stations within the PEPCO system. To assist PEPCO plant personnel in achieving low heat rates while meeting NOx targets, Lehigh University`s Energy Research Center and PEPCO developed a new combustion optimization software package called Boiler Op. The Boiler Op code contains an expert system, neural networks and an optimization algorithm. The expert system guides the plant engineer through a series of parametric boiler tests, required for the development of a comprehensive boiler database. The data are then analyzed by the neural networks and optimization algorithm to provide results on the boilermore » control settings which result in the best possible heat rate at a target NOx level or produce minimum NOx. Boiler Op has been used at both Potomac River and Morgantown Stations to help PEPCO engineers optimize combustion. With the use of Boiler Op, Morgantown Station operates under low NOx restrictions and continues to achieve record heat rate values, similar to pre-retrofit conditions. Potomac River Station achieves the regulatory NOx limit through the use of Boiler Op recommended control settings and without NOx burners. Importantly, any software like Boiler Op cannot be used alone. Its application must be in concert with human intelligence to ensure unit safety, reliability and accurate data collection.« less

Development of a software tool to support chemical and biological terrorism intelligence analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hunt, Allen R.; Foreman, William

1997-01-01

AKELA has developed a software tool which uses a systems analytic approach to model the critical processes which support the acquisition of biological and chemical weapons by terrorist organizations. This tool has four major components. The first is a procedural expert system which describes the weapon acquisition process. It shows the relationship between the stages a group goes through to acquire and use a weapon, and the activities in each stage required to be successful. It applies to both state sponsored and small group acquisition. An important part of this expert system is an analysis of the acquisition process which is embodied in a list of observables of weapon acquisition activity. These observables are cues for intelligence collection The second component is a detailed glossary of technical terms which helps analysts with a non- technical background understand the potential relevance of collected information. The third component is a linking capability which shows where technical terms apply to the parts of the acquisition process. The final component is a simple, intuitive user interface which shows a picture of the entire process at a glance and lets the user move quickly to get more detailed information. This paper explains e each of these five model components.

An investigation into drug-related problems identifiable by commercial medication review software.

PubMed

Curtain, Colin; Bindoff, Ivan; Westbury, Juanita; Peterson, Gregory

2013-01-01

Accredited pharmacists conduct home medicines reviews (HMRs) to detect and resolve potential drug-related problems (DRPs). A commercial expert system, Medscope Review Mentor (MRM), has been developed to assist pharmacists in the detection and resolution of potential DRPs. This study compares types of DRPs identified with the commercial system which uses multiple classification ripple down rules (MCRDR) with the findings of pharmacists. HMR data from 570 reviews collected from accredited pharmacists was entered into MRM and the DRPs were identified. A list of themes describing the main concept of each DRP identified by MRM was developed to allow comparison with pharmacists. Theme types, frequencies, similarity and dissimilarity were explored. The expert system was capable of detecting a wide range of potential DRPs: 2854 themes; compared to pharmacists: 1680 themes. The system identified the same problems as pharmacists in many patient cases. Ninety of 119 types of themes identifiable by pharmacists were also identifiable by software. MRM could identify the same problems in the same patients as pharmacists for 389 problems, resulting in a low overlap of similarity with an averaged Jaccard Index of 0.09. MRM found significantly more potential DRPs than pharmacists. MRM identified a wide scope of DRPs approaching the range of DRPs that were identified by pharmacists. Differences may be associated with system consistency and perhaps human oversight or human selective prioritisation. DRPs identified by the system were still considered relevant even though the system identified a larger number of problems.

A novel AIDS/HIV intelligent medical consulting system based on expert systems.

PubMed

Ebrahimi, Alireza Pour; Toloui Ashlaghi, Abbas; Mahdavy Rad, Maryam

2013-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to propose a novel intelligent model for AIDS/HIV data based on expert system and using it for developing an intelligent medical consulting system for AIDS/HIV. In this descriptive research, 752 frequently asked questions (FAQs) about AIDS/HIV are gathered from numerous websites about this disease. To perform the data mining and extracting the intelligent model, the 6 stages of Crisp method has been completed for FAQs. The 6 stages include: Business understanding, data understanding, data preparation, modelling, evaluation and deployment. C5.0 Tree classification algorithm is used for modelling. Also, rational unified process (RUP) is used to develop the web-based medical consulting software. Stages of RUP are as follows: Inception, elaboration, construction and transition. The intelligent developed model has been used in the infrastructure of the software and based on client's inquiry and keywords related FAQs are displayed to the client, according to the rank. FAQs' ranks are gradually determined considering clients reading it. Based on displayed FAQs, test and entertainment links are also displayed. The accuracy of the AIDS/HIV intelligent web-based medical consulting system is estimated to be 78.76%. AIDS/HIV medical consulting systems have been developed using intelligent infrastructure. Being equipped with an intelligent model, providing consulting services on systematic textual data and providing side services based on client's activities causes the implemented system to be unique. The research has been approved by Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education for being practical.

The post-evaluation of green residential building in Ningxia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Yunna; Wang, Zhen

2017-06-01

Green residential buildings are concerned by more and more people. However, the development of green residential buildings has been limited due to the single-standard requirements and lack of the multi-objective performance. At same time, the evaluation criteria system of green residential building is not comprehensive enough. So first of all, using SPSS software, residents questionnaire surveys are figured and found that the judge of experts and residents about the green elements is inconsistent, so the owners’ satisfaction is included in the post-evaluation criterial systems of green residential building from five aspects-the preliminary work of construction, construction process, economic, social benefits and owners satisfaction in Ningxia area, combined with expert interviews. Secondly, in the post-evaluation, it is difficult for many experts judgment matrix to meet the requirement of consistency, in this paper using MATLAB program, judgment matrix consistency is adjusted. And the weights of the criteria and sub-criteria and experts weights using group AHP method are determined. Finally, the grey clustering method is used to establish the post-evaluation model and the real case of Sai-shang project is carried out. It shows that the result obtained by using the improved criteria system and method in this paper is in a high degree of agreement with the actual result.

Assurance Policy Evaluation - Spacecraft and Strategic Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-09-17

electromechanical (EEE) parts, software, design and workmanship, work instructions, manufacturing and tooling, cleanrooms, electrostatic discharge ...T9001B.  An external group, called the Evaluation and Assessment Team, made up of product assurance subject matter experts from NSWC Corona performs...NSWC, Corona and SSP Technical Branch(es). The FTPE, performed every 3 years, is an objective evaluation of facility performance to assure proper

Complex Investigations of Sapphire Crystals Production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malyukov, S. P.; Klunnikova, Yu V.

The problem of optimum conditions choice for processing sapphire substrates was solved with optimization methods and with combination of analytical simulation methods, experiment and expert system technology. The experimental results and software give rather full information on features of real structure of the sapphire crystal substrates and can be effectively used for optimization of technology of the substrate preparation for electronic devices.

Results of a Survey Software Development Project Management in the U.S. Aerospace Industry. Volume III. Major Problems.

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-12-18

simplifies the staffing of a project and assures the experience is ’ recyclable ’." "Staff or members are considered ’universal experts’. During estimation...impact of changes upon the original system." "Project reviews are typically exercises in trivia ." [Keider, 1974] ____ ,,, , _ 55 "First, [lesson

Applied Nuclear Accountability Systems: A Case Study in the System Architecture and Development of NuMAC

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Campbell, Andrea Beth

2004-07-01

This is a case study of the NuMAC nuclear accountability system developed at a private fuel fabrication facility. This paper investigates nuclear material accountability and safeguards by researching expert knowledge applied in the system design and development. Presented is a system developed to detect and deter the theft of weapons grade nuclear material. Examined is the system architecture that includes: issues for the design and development of the system; stakeholder issues; how the system was built and evolved; software design, database design, and development tool considerations; security and computing ethics. (author)

Next Generation Models for Storage and Representation of Microbial Biological Annotation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Quest, Daniel J; Land, Miriam L; Brettin, Thomas S

2010-01-01

Background Traditional genome annotation systems were developed in a very different computing era, one where the World Wide Web was just emerging. Consequently, these systems are built as centralized black boxes focused on generating high quality annotation submissions to GenBank/EMBL supported by expert manual curation. The exponential growth of sequence data drives a growing need for increasingly higher quality and automatically generated annotation. Typical annotation pipelines utilize traditional database technologies, clustered computing resources, Perl, C, and UNIX file systems to process raw sequence data, identify genes, and predict and categorize gene function. These technologies tightly couple the annotation software systemmore » to hardware and third party software (e.g. relational database systems and schemas). This makes annotation systems hard to reproduce, inflexible to modification over time, difficult to assess, difficult to partition across multiple geographic sites, and difficult to understand for those who are not domain experts. These systems are not readily open to scrutiny and therefore not scientifically tractable. The advent of Semantic Web standards such as Resource Description Framework (RDF) and OWL Web Ontology Language (OWL) enables us to construct systems that address these challenges in a new comprehensive way. Results Here, we develop a framework for linking traditional data to OWL-based ontologies in genome annotation. We show how data standards can decouple hardware and third party software tools from annotation pipelines, thereby making annotation pipelines easier to reproduce and assess. An illustrative example shows how TURTLE (Terse RDF Triple Language) can be used as a human readable, but also semantically-aware, equivalent to GenBank/EMBL files. Conclusions The power of this approach lies in its ability to assemble annotation data from multiple databases across multiple locations into a representation that is understandable to researchers. In this way, all researchers, experimental and computational, will more easily understand the informatics processes constructing genome annotation and ultimately be able to help improve the systems that produce them.« less

Dual-Use Space Technology Transfer Conference and Exhibition. Volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krishen, Kumar (Compiler)

1994-01-01

This document contains papers presented at the Dual-Use Space Technology Transfer Conference and Exhibition held at the Johnson Space Center February 1-3, 1994. Possible technology transfers covered during the conference were in the areas of information access; innovative microwave and optical applications; materials and structures; marketing and barriers; intelligent systems; human factors and habitation; communications and data systems; business process and technology transfer; software engineering; biotechnology and advanced bioinstrumentation; communications signal processing and analysis; new ways of doing business; medical care; applications derived from control center data systems; human performance evaluation; technology transfer methods; mathematics, modeling, and simulation; propulsion; software analysis and decision tools systems/processes in human support technology; networks, control centers, and distributed systems; power; rapid development perception and vision technologies; integrated vehicle health management; automation technologies; advanced avionics; ans robotics technologies. More than 77 papers, 20 presentations, and 20 exhibits covering various disciplines were presented b experts from NASA, universities, and industry.

Marketing practitioner’s tacit knowledge acquisition using Repertory Grid Technique (RTG)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azmi, Afdhal; Adriman, Ramzi

2018-05-01

The tacit knowledge of Marketing practitioner’s experts is excellent resources and priceless. It takes into account their experiential, skill, ideas, belief systems, insight and speculation into management decision-making. This expertise is an individual intuitive judgment and personal shortcuts to complete the work efficiently. Tacit knowledge of Marketing practitioner’s experts is one of best problem solutions in marketing strategy, environmental analysis, product management and partner’s relationship. This paper proposes the acquisition method of tacit knowledge from Marketing practitioner’s using Repertory Grid Technique (RGT). The RGT is a software application for tacit acquisition knowledge to provide a systematic approach to capture and acquire the constructs from an individual. The result shows the understanding of RGT could make TKE and MPE get a good result in capturing and acquiring tacit knowledge of Marketing practitioner’s experts.

Webulous and the Webulous Google Add-On--a web service and application for ontology building from templates.

PubMed

Jupp, Simon; Burdett, Tony; Welter, Danielle; Sarntivijai, Sirarat; Parkinson, Helen; Malone, James

2016-01-01

Authoring bio-ontologies is a task that has traditionally been undertaken by skilled experts trained in understanding complex languages such as the Web Ontology Language (OWL), in tools designed for such experts. As requests for new terms are made, the need for expert ontologists represents a bottleneck in the development process. Furthermore, the ability to rigorously enforce ontology design patterns in large, collaboratively developed ontologies is difficult with existing ontology authoring software. We present Webulous, an application suite for supporting ontology creation by design patterns. Webulous provides infrastructure to specify templates for populating ontology design patterns that get transformed into OWL assertions in a target ontology. Webulous provides programmatic access to the template server and a client application has been developed for Google Sheets that allows templates to be loaded, populated and resubmitted to the Webulous server for processing. The development and delivery of ontologies to the community requires software support that goes beyond the ontology editor. Building ontologies by design patterns and providing simple mechanisms for the addition of new content helps reduce the overall cost and effort required to develop an ontology. The Webulous system provides support for this process and is used as part of the development of several ontologies at the European Bioinformatics Institute.

An evaluation of a computer based education program for the diagnosis and management of dementia in primary care. An international study of the transcultural adaptations necessary for European dissemination.

PubMed

Degryse, J; De Lepeleire, J; Southgate, L; Vernooij-Dassen, M; Gay, B; Heyrman, J

2009-05-01

The aim of this study is to make an inventory of the changes that are needed to make an interactive computer based training program (ICBT) with a specific educational content, acceptable to professional communities with different linguistic,cultural and health care backgrounds in different European countries. Existing educational software, written in two languages was reviewed by GPs and primary care professionals in three different countries. Reviewers worked through the program using a structured critical reading grid. A 'simple' translation of the program is not sufficient. Minor changes are needed to take account of linguistic differences and medical semantics. Major changes are needed in respect of the existing clinical guidelines in every country related to differences in the existing health care systems. ICTB programs cannot easily be used in different countries and cultures. The development of a structured educational program needs collaboration between educationalists, domain experts, information technology advisers and software engineers. Simple validation of the content by local expert groups will not guarantee the program's exportability. It is essential to involve different national expert groups at every phase of the development process in order to disseminate it in other countries.

Spatial information technologies for remote sensing today and tomorrow; Proceedings of the Ninth Pecora Symposium, Sioux Falls, SD, October 2-4, 1984

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1984-01-01

Topics discussed at the symposium include hardware, geographic information system (GIS) implementation, processing remotely sensed data, spatial data structures, and NASA programs in remote sensing information systems. Attention is also given GIS applications, advanced techniques, artificial intelligence, graphics, spatial navigation, and classification. Papers are included on the design of computer software for geographic image processing, concepts for a global resource information system, algorithm development for spatial operators, and an application of expert systems technology to remotely sensed image analysis.

Guidelines and rules for automated assembly by robots in space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Srivastava, Sadanand

1992-01-01

The development of an expert system for a 'Mechanical Design System' is discussed. Two different implementation approaches are described. One is coded in C, and the other is realized by a software package - 'Exsys.' The first method has the advantage of greater flexibility and quicker responses, while the latter one is easier to develop. This report discusses the feasible ways to establish a real mechanical intelligent design system applying artificial intelligence techniques so that the products designed by this system could best meet the requirements for space assembly.

Software For Monitoring A Computer Network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Young H.

1992-01-01

SNMAT is rule-based expert-system computer program designed to assist personnel in monitoring status of computer network and identifying defective computers, workstations, and other components of network. Also assists in training network operators. Network for SNMAT located at Space Flight Operations Center (SFOC) at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Intended to serve as data-reduction system providing windows, menus, and graphs, enabling users to focus on relevant information. SNMAT expected to be adaptable to other computer networks; for example in management of repair, maintenance, and security, or in administration of planning systems, billing systems, or archives.

Generic domain models in software engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maiden, Neil

1992-01-01

This paper outlines three research directions related to domain-specific software development: (1) reuse of generic models for domain-specific software development; (2) empirical evidence to determine these generic models, namely elicitation of mental knowledge schema possessed by expert software developers; and (3) exploitation of generic domain models to assist modelling of specific applications. It focuses on knowledge acquisition for domain-specific software development, with emphasis on tool support for the most important phases of software development.

Knowledge Engineering as a Component of the Curriculum for Medical Cybernetists.

PubMed

Karas, Sergey; Konev, Arthur

2017-01-01

According to a new state educational standard, students who have chosen medical cybernetics as their major must develop a knowledge engineering competency. Previously, in the course "Clinical cybernetics" while practicing project-based learning students were designing automated workstations for medical personnel using client-server technology. The purpose of the article is to give insight into the project of a new educational module "Knowledge engineering". Students will acquire expert knowledge by holding interviews and conducting surveys, and then they will formalize it. After that, students will form declarative expert knowledge in a network model and analyze the knowledge graph. Expert decision making methods will be applied in software on the basis of a production model of knowledge. Project implementation will result not only in the development of analytical competencies among students, but also creation of a practically useful expert system based on student models to support medical decisions. Nowadays, this module is being tested in the educational process.

Adaptive cyber-attack modeling system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonsalves, Paul G.; Dougherty, Edward T.

2006-05-01

The pervasiveness of software and networked information systems is evident across a broad spectrum of business and government sectors. Such reliance provides an ample opportunity not only for the nefarious exploits of lone wolf computer hackers, but for more systematic software attacks from organized entities. Much effort and focus has been placed on preventing and ameliorating network and OS attacks, a concomitant emphasis is required to address protection of mission critical software. Typical software protection technique and methodology evaluation and verification and validation (V&V) involves the use of a team of subject matter experts (SMEs) to mimic potential attackers or hackers. This manpower intensive, time-consuming, and potentially cost-prohibitive approach is not amenable to performing the necessary multiple non-subjective analyses required to support quantifying software protection levels. To facilitate the evaluation and V&V of software protection solutions, we have designed and developed a prototype adaptive cyber attack modeling system. Our approach integrates an off-line mechanism for rapid construction of Bayesian belief network (BN) attack models with an on-line model instantiation, adaptation and knowledge acquisition scheme. Off-line model construction is supported via a knowledge elicitation approach for identifying key domain requirements and a process for translating these requirements into a library of BN-based cyber-attack models. On-line attack modeling and knowledge acquisition is supported via BN evidence propagation and model parameter learning.

Scaling Task Management in Space and Time: Reducing User Overhead in Ubiquitous-Computing Environments

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-03-28

consequently users are torn between taking advantage of increasingly pervasive computing systems, and the price (in attention and skill) that they have to... advantage of the surrounding computing environments; and (c) that it is usable by non-experts. Second, from a software architect’s perspective, we...take full advantage of the computing systems accessible to them, much as they take advantage of the furniture in each physical space. In the example

Developing the Next Generation of Science Data System Engineers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moses, John F.; Behnke, Jeanne; Durachka, Christopher D.

2016-01-01

At Goddard, engineers and scientists with a range of experience in science data systems are needed to employ new technologies and develop advances in capabilities for supporting new Earth and Space science research. Engineers with extensive experience in science data, software engineering and computer-information architectures are needed to lead and perform these activities. The increasing types and complexity of instrument data and emerging computer technologies coupled with the current shortage of computer engineers with backgrounds in science has led the need to develop a career path for science data systems engineers and architects.The current career path, in which undergraduate students studying various disciplines such as Computer Engineering or Physical Scientist, generally begins with serving on a development team in any of the disciplines where they can work in depth on existing Goddard data systems or serve with a specific NASA science team. There they begin to understand the data, infuse technologies, and begin to know the architectures of science data systems. From here the typical career involves peermentoring, on-the-job training or graduate level studies in analytics, computational science and applied science and mathematics. At the most senior level, engineers become subject matter experts and system architect experts, leading discipline-specific data centers and large software development projects. They are recognized as a subject matter expert in a science domain, they have project management expertise, lead standards efforts and lead international projects. A long career development remains necessary not only because of the breadth of knowledge required across physical sciences and engineering disciplines, but also because of the diversity of instrument data being developed today both by NASA and international partner agencies and because multidiscipline science and practitioner communities expect to have access to all types of observational data.This paper describes an approach to defining career-path guidance for college-bound high school and undergraduate engineering students, junior and senior engineers from various disciplines.

Developing the Next Generation of Science Data System Engineers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moses, J. F.; Durachka, C. D.; Behnke, J.

2015-12-01

At Goddard, engineers and scientists with a range of experience in science data systems are needed to employ new technologies and develop advances in capabilities for supporting new Earth and Space science research. Engineers with extensive experience in science data, software engineering and computer-information architectures are needed to lead and perform these activities. The increasing types and complexity of instrument data and emerging computer technologies coupled with the current shortage of computer engineers with backgrounds in science has led the need to develop a career path for science data systems engineers and architects. The current career path, in which undergraduate students studying various disciplines such as Computer Engineering or Physical Scientist, generally begins with serving on a development team in any of the disciplines where they can work in depth on existing Goddard data systems or serve with a specific NASA science team. There they begin to understand the data, infuse technologies, and begin to know the architectures of science data systems. From here the typical career involves peer mentoring, on-the-job training or graduate level studies in analytics, computational science and applied science and mathematics. At the most senior level, engineers become subject matter experts and system architect experts, leading discipline-specific data centers and large software development projects. They are recognized as a subject matter expert in a science domain, they have project management expertise, lead standards efforts and lead international projects. A long career development remains necessary not only because of the breath of knowledge required across physical sciences and engineering disciplines, but also because of the diversity of instrument data being developed today both by NASA and international partner agencies and because multi-discipline science and practitioner communities expect to have access to all types of observational data. This paper describes an approach to defining career-path guidance for college-bound high school and undergraduate engineering students, junior and senior engineers from various disciplines.

Parallel software for lattice N = 4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schaich, David; DeGrand, Thomas

2015-05-01

We present new parallel software, SUSY LATTICE, for lattice studies of four-dimensional N = 4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory with gauge group SU(N). The lattice action is constructed to exactly preserve a single supersymmetry charge at non-zero lattice spacing, up to additional potential terms included to stabilize numerical simulations. The software evolved from the MILC code for lattice QCD, and retains a similar large-scale framework despite the different target theory. Many routines are adapted from an existing serial code (Catterall and Joseph, 2012), which SUSY LATTICE supersedes. This paper provides an overview of the new parallel software, summarizing the lattice system, describing the applications that are currently provided and explaining their basic workflow for non-experts in lattice gauge theory. We discuss the parallel performance of the code, and highlight some notable aspects of the documentation for those interested in contributing to its future development.

New software for computer-assisted dental-data matching in Disaster Victim Identification and long-term missing persons investigations: "DAVID Web".

PubMed

Clement, J G; Winship, V; Ceddia, J; Al-Amad, S; Morales, A; Hill, A J

2006-05-15

In 1997 an internally supported but unfunded pilot project at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (VIFM) Australia led to the development of a computer system which closely mimicked Interpol paperwork for the storage, later retrieval and tentative matching of the many AM and PM dental records that are often needed for rapid Disaster Victim Identification. The program was called "DAVID" (Disaster And Victim IDentification). It combined the skills of the VIFM Information Technology systems manager (VW), an experienced odontologist (JGC) and an expert database designer (JC); all current authors on this paper. Students did much of the writing of software to prescription from Monash University. The student group involved won an Australian Information Industry Award in recognition of the contribution the new software could have made to the DVI process. Unfortunately, the potential of the software was never realized because paradoxically the federal nature of Australia frequently thwarts uniformity of systems across the entire country. As a consequence, the final development of DAVID never took place. Given the recent problems encountered post-tsunami by the odontologists who were obliged to use the Plass Data system (Plass Data Software, Holbaek, Denmark) and with the impending risks imposed upon Victoria by the decision to host the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne during March 2006, funding was sought and obtained from the state government to update counter disaster preparedness at the VIFM. Some of these funds have been made available to upgrade and complete the DAVID project. In the wake of discussions between leading expert odontologists from around the world held in Geneva during July 2003 at the invitation of the International Committee of the Red Cross significant alterations to the initial design parameters of DAVID were proposed. This was part of broader discussions directed towards developing instruments which could be used by the ICRC's "The Missing" project that seeks to identify the victims of civil unrest and other atrocities. The most significant of these recommendations was that the next version of DAVID should be web-based allowing it to be used anywhere in the world and on any computer platform. The original intention that the software should be made available as freeware was strongly reiterated and endorsed. During 2005 these recommendations have been realized. This paper will describe the design parameters of the new software "DAVID web" and compare its features and performance with alternative packages.

Accuracy of computerized automatic identification of cephalometric landmarks by a designed software.

PubMed

Shahidi, Sh; Shahidi, S; Oshagh, M; Gozin, F; Salehi, P; Danaei, S M

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to design software for localization of cephalometric landmarks and to evaluate its accuracy in finding landmarks. 40 digital cephalometric radiographs were randomly selected. 16 landmarks which were important in most cephalometric analyses were chosen to be identified. Three expert orthodontists manually identified landmarks twice. The mean of two measurements of each landmark was defined as the baseline landmark. The computer was then able to compare the automatic system's estimate of a landmark with the baseline landmark. The software was designed using Delphi and Matlab programming languages. The techniques were template matching, edge enhancement and some accessory techniques. The total mean error between manually identified and automatically identified landmarks was 2.59 mm. 12.5% of landmarks had mean errors less than 1 mm. 43.75% of landmarks had mean errors less than 2 mm. The mean errors of all landmarks except the anterior nasal spine were less than 4 mm. This software had significant accuracy for localization of cephalometric landmarks and could be used in future applications. It seems that the accuracy obtained with the software which was developed in this study is better than previous automated systems that have used model-based and knowledge-based approaches.

Demonstration of a Safety Analysis on a Complex System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leveson, Nancy; Alfaro, Liliana; Alvarado, Christine; Brown, Molly; Hunt, Earl B.; Jaffe, Matt; Joslyn, Susan; Pinnell, Denise; Reese, Jon; Samarziya, Jeffrey;

Learning Content and Software Evaluation and Personalisation Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kurilovas, Eugenijus; Serikoviene, Silvija

2010-01-01

The paper aims to analyse several scientific approaches how to evaluate, implement or choose learning content and software suitable for personalised users/learners needs. Learning objects metadata customisation method as well as the Method of multiple criteria evaluation and optimisation of learning software represented by the experts' additive…

Section 4. The GIS Weasel User's Manual

USGS Publications Warehouse

Viger, Roland J.; Leavesley, George H.

2007-01-01

INTRODUCTION The GIS Weasel was designed to aid in the preparation of spatial information for input to lumped and distributed parameter hydrologic or other environmental models. The GIS Weasel provides geographic information system (GIS) tools to help create maps of geographic features relevant to a user's model and to generate parameters from those maps. The operation of the GIS Weasel does not require the user to be a GIS expert, only that the user have an understanding of the spatial information requirements of the environmental simulation model being used. The GIS Weasel software system uses a GIS-based graphical user interface (GUI), the C programming language, and external scripting languages. The software will run on any computing platform where ArcInfo Workstation (version 8.0.2 or later) and the GRID extension are accessible. The user controls the processing of the GIS Weasel by interacting with menus, maps, and tables. The purpose of this document is to describe the operation of the software. This document is not intended to describe the usage of this software in support of any particular environmental simulation model. Such guides are published separately.

Dypas: A dynamic payload scheduler for shuttle missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Stephen

1988-01-01

Decision and analysis systems have had broad and very practical application areas in the human decision making process. These software systems range from the help sections in simple accounting packages, to the more complex computer configuration programs. Dypas is a decision and analysis system that aids prelaunch shutlle scheduling, and has added functionality to aid the rescheduling done in flight. Dypas is written in Common Lisp on a Symbolics Lisp machine. Dypas differs from other scheduling programs in that it can draw its knowledge from different rule bases and apply them to different rule interpretation schemes. The system has been coded with Flavors, an object oriented extension to Common Lisp on the Symbolics hardware. This allows implementation of objects (experiments) to better match the problem definition, and allows a more coherent solution space to be developed. Dypas was originally developed to test a programmer's aptitude toward Common Lisp and the Symbolics software environment. Since then the system has grown into a large software effort with several programmers and researchers thrown into the effort. Dypas is currently using two expert systems and three inferencing procedures to generate a many object schedule. The paper will review the abilities of Dypas and comment on its functionality.

Code query by example

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaucouleur, Sebastien

2011-02-01

We introduce code query by example for customisation of evolvable software products in general and of enterprise resource planning systems (ERPs) in particular. The concept is based on an initial empirical study on practices around ERP systems. We motivate our design choices based on those empirical results, and we show how the proposed solution helps with respect to the infamous upgrade problem: the conflict between the need for customisation and the need for upgrade of ERP systems. We further show how code query by example can be used as a form of lightweight static analysis, to detect automatically potential defects in large software products. Code query by example as a form of lightweight static analysis is particularly interesting in the context of ERP systems: it is often the case that programmers working in this field are not computer science specialists but more of domain experts. Hence, they require a simple language to express custom rules.

Pointo - a Low Cost Solution to Point Cloud Processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Houshiar, H.; Winkler, S.

2017-11-01

With advance in technology access to data especially 3D point cloud data becomes more and more an everyday task. 3D point clouds are usually captured with very expensive tools such as 3D laser scanners or very time consuming methods such as photogrammetry. Most of the available softwares for 3D point cloud processing are designed for experts and specialists in this field and are usually very large software packages containing variety of methods and tools. This results in softwares that are usually very expensive to acquire and also very difficult to use. Difficulty of use is caused by complicated user interfaces that is required to accommodate a large list of features. The aim of these complex softwares is to provide a powerful tool for a specific group of specialist. However they are not necessary required by the majority of the up coming average users of point clouds. In addition to complexity and high costs of these softwares they generally rely on expensive and modern hardware and only compatible with one specific operating system. Many point cloud customers are not point cloud processing experts or willing to spend the high acquisition costs of these expensive softwares and hardwares. In this paper we introduce a solution for low cost point cloud processing. Our approach is designed to accommodate the needs of the average point cloud user. To reduce the cost and complexity of software our approach focuses on one functionality at a time in contrast with most available softwares and tools that aim to solve as many problems as possible at the same time. Our simple and user oriented design improve the user experience and empower us to optimize our methods for creation of an efficient software. In this paper we introduce Pointo family as a series of connected softwares to provide easy to use tools with simple design for different point cloud processing requirements. PointoVIEWER and PointoCAD are introduced as the first components of the Pointo family to provide a fast and efficient visualization with the ability to add annotation and documentation to the point clouds.

Assisting Design Given Multiple Performance Criteria

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-08-01

with uninstantiated operators is created then each operator’s implementation is selected. g - Keywords: computer-aided design, artificial...IEEE Trans- actions on Software Engineering, SE-7(1), 1981. [BG86] Forrest D. Brewer and Daniel D. Gajski . An expert-system paradigm for de- sign. In...Teukolsky, api William T. Vet- terling. Numerical Recipes. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, 1987. [RFS83] G . G . Rassweiler, M. D

WIRM: An Open Source Toolkit for Building Biomedical Web Applications

PubMed Central

Jakobovits, Rex M.; Rosse, Cornelius; Brinkley, James F.

2002-01-01

This article describes an innovative software toolkit that allows the creation of web applications that facilitate the acquisition, integration, and dissemination of multimedia biomedical data over the web, thereby reducing the cost of knowledge sharing. There is a lack of high-level web application development tools suitable for use by researchers, clinicians, and educators who are not skilled programmers. Our Web Interfacing Repository Manager (WIRM) is a software toolkit that reduces the complexity of building custom biomedical web applications. WIRM’s visual modeling tools enable domain experts to describe the structure of their knowledge, from which WIRM automatically generates full-featured, customizable content management systems. PMID:12386108

Engine structures analysis software: Component Specific Modeling (COSMO)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McKnight, R. L.; Maffeo, R. J.; Schwartz, S.

1994-08-01

A component specific modeling software program has been developed for propulsion systems. This expert program is capable of formulating the component geometry as finite element meshes for structural analysis which, in the future, can be spun off as NURB geometry for manufacturing. COSMO currently has geometry recipes for combustors, turbine blades, vanes, and disks. Component geometry recipes for nozzles, inlets, frames, shafts, and ducts are being added. COSMO uses component recipes that work through neutral files with the Technology Benefit Estimator (T/BEST) program which provides the necessary base parameters and loadings. This report contains the users manual for combustors, turbine blades, vanes, and disks.

Software for Data Analysis with Graphical Models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buntine, Wray L.; Roy, H. Scott

1994-01-01

Probabilistic graphical models are being used widely in artificial intelligence and statistics, for instance, in diagnosis and expert systems, as a framework for representing and reasoning with probabilities and independencies. They come with corresponding algorithms for performing statistical inference. This offers a unifying framework for prototyping and/or generating data analysis algorithms from graphical specifications. This paper illustrates the framework with an example and then presents some basic techniques for the task: problem decomposition and the calculation of exact Bayes factors. Other tools already developed, such as automatic differentiation, Gibbs sampling, and use of the EM algorithm, make this a broad basis for the generation of data analysis software.

Engine Structures Analysis Software: Component Specific Modeling (COSMO)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcknight, R. L.; Maffeo, R. J.; Schwartz, S.

1994-01-01

A component specific modeling software program has been developed for propulsion systems. This expert program is capable of formulating the component geometry as finite element meshes for structural analysis which, in the future, can be spun off as NURB geometry for manufacturing. COSMO currently has geometry recipes for combustors, turbine blades, vanes, and disks. Component geometry recipes for nozzles, inlets, frames, shafts, and ducts are being added. COSMO uses component recipes that work through neutral files with the Technology Benefit Estimator (T/BEST) program which provides the necessary base parameters and loadings. This report contains the users manual for combustors, turbine blades, vanes, and disks.

Automated Quantification of the Landing Error Scoring System With a Markerless Motion-Capture System.

PubMed

Mauntel, Timothy C; Padua, Darin A; Stanley, Laura E; Frank, Barnett S; DiStefano, Lindsay J; Peck, Karen Y; Cameron, Kenneth L; Marshall, Stephen W

2017-11-01

  The Landing Error Scoring System (LESS) can be used to identify individuals with an elevated risk of lower extremity injury. The limitation of the LESS is that raters identify movement errors from video replay, which is time-consuming and, therefore, may limit its use by clinicians. A markerless motion-capture system may be capable of automating LESS scoring, thereby removing this obstacle.   To determine the reliability of an automated markerless motion-capture system for scoring the LESS.   Cross-sectional study.   United States Military Academy.   A total of 57 healthy, physically active individuals (47 men, 10 women; age = 18.6 ± 0.6 years, height = 174.5 ± 6.7 cm, mass = 75.9 ± 9.2 kg).   Participants completed 3 jump-landing trials that were recorded by standard video cameras and a depth camera. Their movement quality was evaluated by expert LESS raters (standard video recording) using the LESS rubric and by software that automates LESS scoring (depth-camera data). We recorded an error for a LESS item if it was present on at least 2 of 3 jump-landing trials. We calculated κ statistics, prevalence- and bias-adjusted κ (PABAK) statistics, and percentage agreement for each LESS item. Interrater reliability was evaluated between the 2 expert rater scores and between a consensus expert score and the markerless motion-capture system score.   We observed reliability between the 2 expert LESS raters (average κ = 0.45 ± 0.35, average PABAK = 0.67 ± 0.34; percentage agreement = 0.83 ± 0.17). The markerless motion-capture system had similar reliability with consensus expert scores (average κ = 0.48 ± 0.40, average PABAK = 0.71 ± 0.27; percentage agreement = 0.85 ± 0.14). However, reliability was poor for 5 LESS items in both LESS score comparisons.   A markerless motion-capture system had the same level of reliability as expert LESS raters, suggesting that an automated system can accurately assess movement. Therefore, clinicians can use the markerless motion-capture system to reliably score the LESS without being limited by the time requirements of manual LESS scoring.

A data analysis expert system for large established distributed databases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gnacek, Anne-Marie; An, Y. Kim; Ryan, J. Patrick

1987-01-01

A design for a natural language database interface system, called the Deductively Augmented NASA Management Decision support System (DANMDS), is presented. The DANMDS system components have been chosen on the basis of the following considerations: maximal employment of the existing NASA IBM-PC computers and supporting software; local structuring and storing of external data via the entity-relationship model; a natural easy-to-use error-free database query language; user ability to alter query language vocabulary and data analysis heuristic; and significant artificial intelligence data analysis heuristic techniques that allow the system to become progressively and automatically more useful.

Developing Data System Engineers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Behnke, J.; Byrnes, J. B.; Kobler, B.

2011-12-01

In the early days of general computer systems for science data processing, staff members working on NASA's data systems would most often be hired as mathematicians. Computer engineering was very often filled by those with electrical engineering degrees. Today, the Goddard Space Flight Center has special position descriptions for data scientists or as they are more commonly called: data systems engineers. These staff members are required to have very diverse skills, hence the need for a generalized position description. There is always a need for data systems engineers to develop, maintain and operate the complex data systems for Earth and space science missions. Today's data systems engineers however are not just mathematicians, they are computer programmers, GIS experts, software engineers, visualization experts, etc... They represent many different degree fields. To put together distributed systems like the NASA Earth Observing Data and Information System (EOSDIS), staff are required from many different fields. Sometimes, the skilled professional is not available and must be developed in-house. This paper will address the various skills and jobs for data systems engineers at NASA. Further it explores how to develop staff to become data scientists.

Rule-Based Flight Software Cost Estimation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stukes, Sherry A.; Spagnuolo, John N. Jr.

2015-01-01

This paper discusses the fundamental process for the computation of Flight Software (FSW) cost estimates. This process has been incorporated in a rule-based expert system [1] that can be used for Independent Cost Estimates (ICEs), Proposals, and for the validation of Cost Analysis Data Requirements (CADRe) submissions. A high-level directed graph (referred to here as a decision graph) illustrates the steps taken in the production of these estimated costs and serves as a basis of design for the expert system described in this paper. Detailed discussions are subsequently given elaborating upon the methodology, tools, charts, and caveats related to the various nodes of the graph. We present general principles for the estimation of FSW using SEER-SEM as an illustration of these principles when appropriate. Since Source Lines of Code (SLOC) is a major cost driver, a discussion of various SLOC data sources for the preparation of the estimates is given together with an explanation of how contractor SLOC estimates compare with the SLOC estimates used by JPL. Obtaining consistency in code counting will be presented as well as factors used in reconciling SLOC estimates from different code counters. When sufficient data is obtained, a mapping into the JPL Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) from the SEER-SEM output is illustrated. For across the board FSW estimates, as was done for the NASA Discovery Mission proposal estimates performed at JPL, a comparative high-level summary sheet for all missions with the SLOC, data description, brief mission description and the most relevant SEER-SEM parameter values is given to illustrate an encapsulation of the used and calculated data involved in the estimates. The rule-based expert system described provides the user with inputs useful or sufficient to run generic cost estimation programs. This system's incarnation is achieved via the C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) and will be addressed at the end of this paper.

Combining real-time monitoring and knowledge-based analysis in MARVEL

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schwuttke, Ursula M.; Quan, A. G.; Angelino, R.; Veregge, J. R.

1993-01-01

Real-time artificial intelligence is gaining increasing attention for applications in which conventional software methods are unable to meet technology needs. One such application area is the monitoring and analysis of complex systems. MARVEL, a distributed monitoring and analysis tool with multiple expert systems, was developed and successfully applied to the automation of interplanetary spacecraft operations at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. MARVEL implementation and verification approaches, the MARVEL architecture, and the specific benefits that were realized by using MARVEL in operations are described.

CrossTalk. The Journal of Defense Software Engineering. Volume 25, Number 5. Sep/Oct 2012

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-10-01

the threat actors it faces (be they nation states, empowered small agents or cyber-criminals), but also to have an actuarial view of the likelihood...systems thinking, which is full of technical jargon and mathematics . He wanted non-expert educators to be able to teach the concepts to K-12 students...able to conjecture mathematically that decreasing the exposure time window will improve the resilience of a SCIT-based system. To adapt SCIT we

Environmental Containment Property Estimation Using QSARs in an Expert System

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-01-15

2 megabytes of memory (RAM), with 1000 kBytes of memory allocated for HyperCard. PEP overview The PEP system currently consists of four HyperCard...BCF Universel I ’ mI Figure 6. TSA module card from PEP The TSA module is also designed to accept files generated by other hardware/software... allocated to 1500 MB. * Installation of PEP PEP is typically shipped on one 3.5 inch 1.44 Megabyte floppy disk. To install PEP: 1. Insert the PEP disk into

On the acquisition and representation of procedural knowledge

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Saito, T.; Ortiz, C.; Loftin, R. B.

1992-01-01

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.

Automating Risk Analysis of Software Design Models

PubMed Central

Ruiz, Guifré; Heymann, Elisa; César, Eduardo; Miller, Barton P.

2014-01-01

The growth of the internet and networked systems has exposed software to an increased amount of security threats. One of the responses from software developers to these threats is the introduction of security activities in the software development lifecycle. This paper describes an approach to reduce the need for costly human expertise to perform risk analysis in software, which is common in secure development methodologies, by automating threat modeling. Reducing the dependency on security experts aims at reducing the cost of secure development by allowing non-security-aware developers to apply secure development with little to no additional cost, making secure development more accessible. To automate threat modeling two data structures are introduced, identification trees and mitigation trees, to identify threats in software designs and advise mitigation techniques, while taking into account specification requirements and cost concerns. These are the components of our model for automated threat modeling, AutSEC. We validated AutSEC by implementing it in a tool based on data flow diagrams, from the Microsoft security development methodology, and applying it to VOMS, a grid middleware component, to evaluate our model's performance. PMID:25136688

Automating risk analysis of software design models.

PubMed

Frydman, Maxime; Ruiz, Guifré; Heymann, Elisa; César, Eduardo; Miller, Barton P

2014-01-01

The growth of the internet and networked systems has exposed software to an increased amount of security threats. One of the responses from software developers to these threats is the introduction of security activities in the software development lifecycle. This paper describes an approach to reduce the need for costly human expertise to perform risk analysis in software, which is common in secure development methodologies, by automating threat modeling. Reducing the dependency on security experts aims at reducing the cost of secure development by allowing non-security-aware developers to apply secure development with little to no additional cost, making secure development more accessible. To automate threat modeling two data structures are introduced, identification trees and mitigation trees, to identify threats in software designs and advise mitigation techniques, while taking into account specification requirements and cost concerns. These are the components of our model for automated threat modeling, AutSEC. We validated AutSEC by implementing it in a tool based on data flow diagrams, from the Microsoft security development methodology, and applying it to VOMS, a grid middleware component, to evaluate our model's performance.

Understanding Expertise-Based Training Effects on the Software Evaluation Process of Mathematics Education Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Incikabi, Lutfi; Sancar Tokmak, Hatice

2012-01-01

This case study examined the educational software evaluation processes of pre-service teachers who attended either expertise-based training (XBT) or traditional training in conjunction with a Software-Evaluation checklist. Forty-three mathematics teacher candidates and three experts participated in the study. All participants evaluated educational…

Using Dissimilarity Metrics to Identify Interesting Designs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Feather, Martin; Kiper, James

2006-01-01

A computer program helps to blend the power of automated-search software, which is able to generate large numbers of design solutions, with the insight of expert designers, who are able to identify preferred designs but do not have time to examine all the solutions. From among the many automated solutions to a given design problem, the program selects a smaller number of solutions that are worthy of scrutiny by the experts in the sense that they are sufficiently dissimilar from each other. The program makes the selection in an interactive process that involves a sequence of data-mining steps interspersed with visual displays of results of these steps to the experts. At crucial points between steps, the experts provide directives to guide the process. The program uses heuristic search techniques to identify nearly optimal design solutions and uses dissimilarity metrics defined by the experts to characterize the degree to which solutions are interestingly different. The search, data-mining, and visualization features of the program were derived from previously developed risk-management software used to support a risk-centric design methodology

Rapid prototyping 3D virtual world interfaces within a virtual factory environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kosta, Charles Paul; Krolak, Patrick D.

1993-01-01

On-going work into user requirements analysis using CLIPS (NASA/JSC) expert systems as an intelligent event simulator has led to research into three-dimensional (3D) interfaces. Previous work involved CLIPS and two-dimensional (2D) models. Integral to this work was the development of the University of Massachusetts Lowell parallel version of CLIPS, called PCLIPS. This allowed us to create both a Software Bus and a group problem-solving environment for expert systems development. By shifting the PCLIPS paradigm to use the VEOS messaging protocol we have merged VEOS (HlTL/Seattle) and CLIPS into a distributed virtual worlds prototyping environment (VCLIPS). VCLIPS uses the VEOS protocol layer to allow multiple experts to cooperate on a single problem. We have begun to look at the control of a virtual factory. In the virtual factory there are actors and objects as found in our Lincoln Logs Factory of the Future project. In this artificial reality architecture there are three VCLIPS entities in action. One entity is responsible for display and user events in the 3D virtual world. Another is responsible for either simulating the virtual factory or communicating with the real factory. The third is a user interface expert. The interface expert maps user input levels, within the current prototype, to control information for the factory. The interface to the virtual factory is based on a camera paradigm. The graphics subsystem generates camera views of the factory on standard X-Window displays. The camera allows for view control and object control. Control or the factory is accomplished by the user reaching into the camera views to perform object interactions. All communication between the separate CLIPS expert systems is done through VEOS.

[Artificial intelligence--the knowledge base applied to nephrology].

PubMed

Sancipriano, G P

2005-01-01

The idea that efficacy efficiency, and quality in medicine could not be reached without sorting the huge knowledge of medical and nursing science is very common. Engineers and computer scientists have developed medical software with great prospects for success, but currently these software applications are not so useful in clinical practice. The medical doctor and the trained nurse live the 'information age' in many daily activities, but the main benefits are not so widespread in working activities. Artificial intelligence and, particularly, export systems charm health staff because of their potential. The first part of this paper summarizes the characteristics of 'weak artificial intelligence' and of expert systems important in clinical practice. The second part discusses medical doctors' requirements and the current nephrologic knowledge bases available for artificial intelligence development.

A novel AIDS/HIV intelligent medical consulting system based on expert systems

PubMed Central

Ebrahimi, Alireza Pour; Toloui Ashlaghi, Abbas; Mahdavy Rad, Maryam

2013-01-01

Background: The purpose of this paper is to propose a novel intelligent model for AIDS/HIV data based on expert system and using it for developing an intelligent medical consulting system for AIDS/HIV. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive research, 752 frequently asked questions (FAQs) about AIDS/HIV are gathered from numerous websites about this disease. To perform the data mining and extracting the intelligent model, the 6 stages of Crisp method has been completed for FAQs. The 6 stages include: Business understanding, data understanding, data preparation, modelling, evaluation and deployment. C5.0 Tree classification algorithm is used for modelling. Also, rational unified process (RUP) is used to develop the web-based medical consulting software. Stages of RUP are as follows: Inception, elaboration, construction and transition. The intelligent developed model has been used in the infrastructure of the software and based on client's inquiry and keywords related FAQs are displayed to the client, according to the rank. FAQs’ ranks are gradually determined considering clients reading it. Based on displayed FAQs, test and entertainment links are also displayed. Result: The accuracy of the AIDS/HIV intelligent web-based medical consulting system is estimated to be 78.76%. Conclusion: AIDS/HIV medical consulting systems have been developed using intelligent infrastructure. Being equipped with an intelligent model, providing consulting services on systematic textual data and providing side services based on client's activities causes the implemented system to be unique. The research has been approved by Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education for being practical. PMID:24251290

Integration of task level planning and diagnosis for an intelligent robot

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gerstenfeld, Arthur

1988-01-01

The use of robots in the future must go beyond present applications and will depend on the ability of a robot to adapt to a changing environment and to deal with unexpected scenarios (i.e., picking up parts that are not exactly where they were expected to be). The objective of this research is to demonstrate the feasibility of incorporating high level planning into a robot enabling it to deal with anomalous situations in order to minimize the need for constant human instruction. The heuristics can be used by a robot to apply information about previous actions towards accomplishing future objectives more efficiently. The system uses a decision network that represents the plan for accomplishing a task. This enables the robot to modify its plan based on results of previous actions. The system serves as a method for minimizing the need for constant human instruction in telerobotics. This paper describes the integration of expert systems and simulation as a valuable tool that goes far beyond this project. Simulation can be expected to be used increasingly as both hardware and software improve. Similarly, the ability to merge an expert system with simulation means that we can add intelligence to the system. A malfunctioning space satellite is described. The expert system uses a series of heuristics in order to guide the robot to the proper location. This is part of task level planning. The final part of the paper suggests directions for future research. Having shown the feasibility of an expert system embedded in a simulation, the paper then discusses how the system can be integrated with the MSFC graphics system.

The Tetracorder user guide: version 4.4

USGS Publications Warehouse

Livo, Keith Eric; Clark, Roger N.

2014-01-01

Imaging spectroscopy mapping software assists in the identification and mapping of materials based on their chemical properties as expressed in spectral measurements of a planet including the solid or liquid surface or atmosphere. Such software can be used to analyze field, aircraft, or spacecraft data; remote sensing datasets; or laboratory spectra. Tetracorder is a set of software algorithms commanded through an expert system to identify materials based on their spectra (Clark and others, 2003). Tetracorder also can be used in traditional remote sensing analyses, because some of the algorithms are a version of a matched filter. Thus, depending on the instructions fed to the Tetracorder system, results can range from simple matched filter output, to spectral feature fitting, to full identification of surface materials (within the limits of the spectral signatures of materials over the spectral range and resolution of the imaging spectroscopy data). A basic understanding of spectroscopy by the user is required for developing an optimum mapping strategy and assessing the results.

Intelligent instrumentation applied in environment management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Magheti, Mihnea I.; Walsh, Patrick; Delassus, Patrick

2005-06-01

The use of information and communications technology in environment management and research has witnessed a renaissance in recent years. From optical sensor technology, expert systems, GIS and communications technologies to computer aided harvesting and yield prediction, these systems are increasable used for applications developing in the management sector of natural resources and biodiversity. This paper presents an environmental decision support system, used to monitor biodiversity and present a risk rating for the invasion of pests into the particular systems being examined. This system will utilise expert mobile technology coupled with artificial intelligence and predictive modelling, and will emphasize the potential for expansion into many areas of intelligent remote sensing and computer aided decision-making for environment management or certification. Monitoring and prediction in natural systems, harnessing the potential of computing and communication technologies is an emerging technology within the area of environmental management. This research will lead to the initiation of a hardware and software multi tier decision support system for environment management allowing an evaluation of areas for biodiversity or areas at risk from invasive species, based upon environmental factors/systems.

In silico tools for sharing data and knowledge on toxicity and metabolism: derek for windows, meteor, and vitic.

PubMed

Marchant, Carol A; Briggs, Katharine A; Long, Anthony

2008-01-01

ABSTRACT Lhasa Limited is a not-for-profit organization that exists to promote the sharing of data and knowledge in chemistry and the life sciences. It has developed the software tools Derek for Windows, Meteor, and Vitic to facilitate such sharing. Derek for Windows and Meteor are knowledge-based expert systems that predict the toxicity and metabolism of a chemical, respectively. Vitic is a chemically intelligent toxicity database. An overview of each software system is provided along with examples of the sharing of data and knowledge in the context of their development. These examples include illustrations of (1) the use of data entry and editing tools for the sharing of data and knowledge within organizations; (2) the use of proprietary data to develop nonconfidential knowledge that can be shared between organizations; (3) the use of shared expert knowledge to refine predictions; (4) the sharing of proprietary data between organizations through the formation of data-sharing groups; and (5) the use of proprietary data to validate predictions. Sharing of chemical toxicity and metabolism data and knowledge in this way offers a number of benefits including the possibilities of faster scientific progress and reductions in the use of animals in testing. Maximizing the accessibility of data also becomes increasingly crucial as in silico systems move toward the prediction of more complex phenomena for which limited data are available.

Behavioral personal digital assistants: The seventh generation of computing

PubMed Central

Stephens, Kenneth R.; Hutchison, William R.

1992-01-01

Skinner (1985) described two divergent approaches to developing computer systems that would behave with some approximation to intelligence. The first approach, which corresponds to the mainstream of artificial intelligence and expert systems, models intelligence as a set of production rules that incorporate knowledge and a set of heuristics for inference and symbol manipulation. The alternative is a system that models the behavioral repertoire as a network of associations between antecedent stimuli and operants, and adapts when supplied with reinforcement. The latter approach is consistent with developments in the field of “neural networks.” The authors describe how an existing adaptive network software system, based on behavior analysis and developed since 1983, can be extended to provide a new generation of software systems capable of acquiring verbal behavior. This effort will require the collaboration of the academic and commercial sectors of the behavioral community, but the end result will enable a generational change in computer systems and support for behavior analytic concepts. PMID:22477053

Operator function modeling: An approach to cognitive task analysis in supervisory control systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mitchell, Christine M.

1987-01-01

In a study of models of operators in complex, automated space systems, an operator function model (OFM) methodology was extended to represent cognitive as well as manual operator activities. Development continued on a software tool called OFMdraw, which facilitates construction of an OFM by permitting construction of a heterarchic network of nodes and arcs. Emphasis was placed on development of OFMspert, an expert system designed both to model human operation and to assist real human operators. The system uses a blackboard method of problem solving to make an on-line representation of operator intentions, called ACTIN (actions interpreter).

Scientific expertise and the Athlete Biological Passport: 3 years of experience.

PubMed

Schumacher, Yorck Olaf; d'Onofrio, Giuseppe

2012-06-01

Expert evaluation of biological data is a key component of the Athlete Biological Passport approach in the fight against doping. The evaluation consists of a longitudinal assessment of biological variables to determine the probability of the data being physiological on the basis of the athlete's on own previous values (performed by an automated software system using a Bayesian model) and a subjective evaluation of the results in view of possible causes (performed by experts). The role of the expert is therefore a key component in the process. Experts should be qualified to evaluate the data regarding possible explanations related to the influence of doping products and methods, analytical issues, and the influence of exercise or pathological conditions. The evaluation provides a scientific basis for the decision taken by a disciplinary panel. This evaluation should therefore encompass and balance all possible causes for a given blood profile and provide a likelihood for potential scenarios (pathology, normal variation, doping) that might have caused the pattern. It should comply with the standards for the evaluation of scientific evidence in forensics. On the basis of their evaluation of profiles, experts might provide assistance in planning appropriate target testing schemes.

Developing framework for agent- based diabetes disease management system: user perspective.

PubMed

Mohammadzadeh, Niloofar; Safdari, Reza; Rahimi, Azin

2014-02-01

One of the characteristics of agents is mobility which makes them very suitable for remote electronic health and tele medicine. The aim of this study is developing a framework for agent based diabetes information management at national level through identifying required agents. The main tool is a questioner that is designed in three sections based on studying library resources, performance of major organizations in the field of diabetes in and out of the country and interviews with experts in the medical, health information management and software fields. Questionnaires based on Delphi methods were distributed among 20 experts. In order to design and identify agents required in health information management for the prevention and appropriate and rapid treatment of diabetes, the results were analyzed using SPSS 17 and Results were plotted with FREEPLANE mind map software. ACCESS TO DATA TECHNOLOGY IN PROPOSED FRAMEWORK IN ORDER OF PRIORITY IS: mobile (mean 1/80), SMS, EMAIL (mean 2/80), internet, web (mean 3/30), phone (mean 3/60), WIFI (mean 4/60). In delivering health care to diabetic patients, considering social and human aspects is essential. Having a systematic view for implementation of agent systems and paying attention to all aspects such as feedbacks, user acceptance, budget, motivation, hierarchy, useful standards, affordability of individuals, identifying barriers and opportunities and so on, are necessary.

A Bibliography of Externally Published Works by the SEI Engineering Techniques Program

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-08-01

media, and virtual reality * model- based engineering * programming languages * reuse * software architectures * software engineering as a discipline...Knowledge- Based Engineering Environments." IEEE Expert 3, 2 (May 1988): 18-23, 26-32. Audience: Practitioner [Klein89b] Klein, D.V. "Comparison of...Terms with Software Reuse Terminology: A Model- Based Approach." ACM SIGSOFT Software Engineering Notes 16, 2 (April 1991): 45-51. Audience: Practitioner

Challenges faced with the implementation of Web-Based Data Query Systems for population health: development of a questionnaire based on expert consensus.

PubMed

Ahuja, Manik; Aseltine, Robert; Warren, Nicholas; Reisine, Susan; Williams, Pam Holtzclaw; Cislo, Andy

2018-01-01

State health agencies (SHA) and local health agencies (LHA) face several challenges with the dissemination of local health data using Web-Based Data Query Systems (WDQS). To help guide future research, this study aimed to utilize expert consensus to identify the most relevant items that contribute to these challenges. A total of 17 researchers and public health professionals agreed to participate in a three-round Delphi process. In round 1, four topics were represented on a 42-item questionnaire using a 5-point Likert scale, along with free-text responses. Free-text responses were analyzed leading to a series of items for a second Delphi round. Participants were given an opportunity to revise results in round 3 for items that did not meet consensus in round 1 or round 2. Consensus on expert opinions was defined at interquartile range (IQR) ≤ 1. The experts reached consensus on a total of 21 (50%) of the 42 items presented in the initial questionnaire. Eleven of the 15 (73%) of the items extracted from the free-text responses met consensus. Items in consensus from this pilot study were used to develop an instrument for a broader survey across Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) coordinators across all 50 US states. Experts confirmed that software development costs, inadequate human resources, data sharing gaps, a lack of political support, and poor data quality contribute significantly to challenges in their data implementation. The findings from this pilot study inform us of items of public health significance that will help guide future research.

Evaluation of Incremental Releases of ECS User Interfaces and the Development of HDF/HDF-EOS Tutorials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Emmitt, G. D.; Greco, S.

2001-01-01

During the reporting period, the PI has continued to serve on numerous review panels, task forces, and committees with the goal of providing input and guidance for the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) program at NASA Headquarters and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). In addition, the PI has worked together with personnel at Simpson Weather Associates (SWA) to help create an on-line HDF/HDF-EOS tutorial for beginning and non-expert users of both the Hierarchical Data Format (HDF) and HDF-EOS data format and software libraries. Finally, the PI has worked together with personnel at SWA and the Information Technology and Systems Center (ITSC) at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) on a feasibility study regarding the use of data mining software to ascertain features from the gridded output from numerical meteorological forecast models. A summary of these activities is provided.

Are Future Teachers Methodically Trained to Distinguish Good from Bad Educational Software?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pjanic, Karmelita; Hamzabegovic, Jasna

2016-01-01

In the era of information technology and general digitization of society, invasion of every kind of software is evident. No matter how laudable is the existence and development of educational software, taking into account its role, its quality and whether it achieves the desired goal is very important. In addition to programming experts it is…

Large autonomous spacecraft electrical power system (LASEPS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dugal-Whitehead, Norma R.; Johnson, Yvette B.

1992-01-01

NASA - Marshall Space Flight Center is creating a large high voltage electrical power system testbed called LASEPS. This testbed is being developed to simulate an end-to-end power system from power generation and source to loads. When the system is completed it will have several power configurations, which will include several battery configurations. These configurations are: two 120 V batteries, one or two 150 V batteries, and one 250 to 270 V battery. This breadboard encompasses varying levels of autonomy from remote power converters to conventional software control to expert system control of the power system elements. In this paper, the construction and provisions of this breadboard are discussed.

Formal analysis of the surgical pathway and development of a new software tool to assist surgeons in the decision making in primary breast surgery.

PubMed

Catanuto, Giuseppe; Pappalardo, Francesco; Rocco, Nicola; Leotta, Marco; Ursino, Venera; Chiodini, Paolo; Buggi, Federico; Folli, Secondo; Catalano, Francesca; Nava, Maurizio B

2016-10-01

The increased complexity of the decisional process in breast cancer surgery is well documented. With this study we aimed to create a software tool able to assist patients and surgeons in taking proper decisions. We hypothesized that the endpoints of breast cancer surgery could be addressed combining a set of decisional drivers. We created a decision support system software tool (DSS) and an interactive decision tree. A formal analysis estimated the information gain derived from each feature in the process. We tested the DSS on 52 patients and we analyzed the concordance of decisions obtained by different users and between the DSS suggestions and the actual surgery. We also tested the ability of the system to prevent post breast conservation deformities. The information gain revealed that patients preferences are the root of our decision tree. An observed concordance respectively of 0.98 and 0.88 was reported when the DSS was used twice by an expert operator or by a newly trained operator vs. an expert one. The observed concordance between the DSS suggestion and the actual decision was 0.69. A significantly higher incidence of post breast conservation defects was reported among patients who did not follow the DSS decision (Type III of Fitoussi, N = 4; 33.3%, p = 0.004). The DSS decisions can be reproduced by operators with different experience. The concordance between suggestions and actual decision is quite low, however the DSS is able to prevent post- breast conservation deformities. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Coming of Digital Desktop Media.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galbreath, Jeremy

1992-01-01

Discusses the movement toward digital-based platforms including full-motion video for multimedia products. Hardware- and software-based compression techniques for digital data storage are considered, and a chart summarizes features of Digital Video Interactive, Moving Pictures Experts Group, P x 64, Joint Photographic Experts Group, Apple…

Optimum-AIV: A planning and scheduling system for spacecraft AIV

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arentoft, M. M.; Fuchs, Jens J.; Parrod, Y.; Gasquet, Andre; Stader, J.; Stokes, I.; Vadon, H.

1991-01-01

A project undertaken for the European Space Agency (ESA) is presented. The project is developing a knowledge based software system for planning and scheduling of activities for spacecraft assembly, integration, and verification (AIV). The system extends into the monitoring of plan execution and the plan repair phase. The objectives are to develop an operational kernel of a planning, scheduling, and plan repair tool, called OPTIMUM-AIV, and to provide facilities which will allow individual projects to customize the kernel to suit its specific needs. The kernel shall consist of a set of software functionalities for assistance in initial specification of the AIV plan, in verification and generation of valid plans and schedules for the AIV activities, and in interactive monitoring and execution problem recovery for the detailed AIV plans. Embedded in OPTIMUM-AIV are external interfaces which allow integration with alternative scheduling systems and project databases. The current status of the OPTIMUM-AIV project, as of Jan. 1991, is that a further analysis of the AIV domain has taken place through interviews with satellite AIV experts, a software requirement document (SRD) for the full operational tool was approved, and an architectural design document (ADD) for the kernel excluding external interfaces is ready for review.

Phylotastic! Making tree-of-life knowledge accessible, reusable and convenient.

PubMed

Stoltzfus, Arlin; Lapp, Hilmar; Matasci, Naim; Deus, Helena; Sidlauskas, Brian; Zmasek, Christian M; Vaidya, Gaurav; Pontelli, Enrico; Cranston, Karen; Vos, Rutger; Webb, Campbell O; Harmon, Luke J; Pirrung, Megan; O'Meara, Brian; Pennell, Matthew W; Mirarab, Siavash; Rosenberg, Michael S; Balhoff, James P; Bik, Holly M; Heath, Tracy A; Midford, Peter E; Brown, Joseph W; McTavish, Emily Jane; Sukumaran, Jeet; Westneat, Mark; Alfaro, Michael E; Steele, Aaron; Jordan, Greg

2013-05-13

Scientists rarely reuse expert knowledge of phylogeny, in spite of years of effort to assemble a great "Tree of Life" (ToL). A notable exception involves the use of Phylomatic, which provides tools to generate custom phylogenies from a large, pre-computed, expert phylogeny of plant taxa. This suggests great potential for a more generalized system that, starting with a query consisting of a list of any known species, would rectify non-standard names, identify expert phylogenies containing the implicated taxa, prune away unneeded parts, and supply branch lengths and annotations, resulting in a custom phylogeny suited to the user's needs. Such a system could become a sustainable community resource if implemented as a distributed system of loosely coupled parts that interact through clearly defined interfaces. With the aim of building such a "phylotastic" system, the NESCent Hackathons, Interoperability, Phylogenies (HIP) working group recruited 2 dozen scientist-programmers to a weeklong programming hackathon in June 2012. During the hackathon (and a three-month follow-up period), 5 teams produced designs, implementations, documentation, presentations, and tests including: (1) a generalized scheme for integrating components; (2) proof-of-concept pruners and controllers; (3) a meta-API for taxonomic name resolution services; (4) a system for storing, finding, and retrieving phylogenies using semantic web technologies for data exchange, storage, and querying; (5) an innovative new service, DateLife.org, which synthesizes pre-computed, time-calibrated phylogenies to assign ages to nodes; and (6) demonstration projects. These outcomes are accessible via a public code repository (GitHub.com), a website (http://www.phylotastic.org), and a server image. Approximately 9 person-months of effort (centered on a software development hackathon) resulted in the design and implementation of proof-of-concept software for 4 core phylotastic components, 3 controllers, and 3 end-user demonstration tools. While these products have substantial limitations, they suggest considerable potential for a distributed system that makes phylogenetic knowledge readily accessible in computable form. Widespread use of phylotastic systems will create an electronic marketplace for sharing phylogenetic knowledge that will spur innovation in other areas of the ToL enterprise, such as annotation of sources and methods and third-party methods of quality assessment.

Evaluation of a deidentification (De-Id) software engine to share pathology reports and clinical documents for research.

PubMed

Gupta, Dilip; Saul, Melissa; Gilbertson, John

2004-02-01

We evaluated a comprehensive deidentification engine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), Pittsburgh, PA, that uses a complex set of rules, dictionaries, pattern-matching algorithms, and the Unified Medical Language System to identify and replace identifying text in clinical reports while preserving medical information for sharing in research. In our initial data set of 967 surgical pathology reports, the software did not suppress outside (103), UPMC (47), and non-UPMC (56) accession numbers; dates (7); names (9) or initials (25) of case pathologists; or hospital or laboratory names (46). In 150 reports, some clinical information was suppressed inadvertently (overmarking). The engine retained eponymic patient names, eg, Barrett and Gleason. In the second evaluation (1,000 reports), the software did not suppress outside (90) or UPMC (6) accession numbers or names (4) or initials (2) of case pathologists. In the third evaluation, the software removed names of patients, hospitals (297/300), pathologists (297/300), transcriptionists, residents and physicians, dates of procedures, and accession numbers (298/300). By the end of the evaluation, the system was reliably and specifically removing safe-harbor identifiers and producing highly readable deidentified text without removing important clinical information. Collaboration between pathology domain experts and system developers and continuous quality assurance are needed to optimize ongoing deidentification processes.

Two New Tools for Glycopeptide Analysis Researchers: A Glycopeptide Decoy Generator and a Large Data Set of Assigned CID Spectra of Glycopeptides.

PubMed

Lakbub, Jude C; Su, Xiaomeng; Zhu, Zhikai; Patabandige, Milani W; Hua, David; Go, Eden P; Desaire, Heather

2017-08-04

The glycopeptide analysis field is tightly constrained by a lack of effective tools that translate mass spectrometry data into meaningful chemical information, and perhaps the most challenging aspect of building effective glycopeptide analysis software is designing an accurate scoring algorithm for MS/MS data. We provide the glycoproteomics community with two tools to address this challenge. The first tool, a curated set of 100 expert-assigned CID spectra of glycopeptides, contains a diverse set of spectra from a variety of glycan types; the second tool, Glycopeptide Decoy Generator, is a new software application that generates glycopeptide decoys de novo. We developed these tools so that emerging methods of assigning glycopeptides' CID spectra could be rigorously tested. Software developers or those interested in developing skills in expert (manual) analysis can use these tools to facilitate their work. We demonstrate the tools' utility in assessing the quality of one particular glycopeptide software package, GlycoPep Grader, which assigns glycopeptides to CID spectra. We first acquired the set of 100 expert assigned CID spectra; then, we used the Decoy Generator (described herein) to generate 20 decoys per target glycopeptide. The assigned spectra and decoys were used to test the accuracy of GlycoPep Grader's scoring algorithm; new strengths and weaknesses were identified in the algorithm using this approach. Both newly developed tools are freely available. The software can be downloaded at http://glycopro.chem.ku.edu/GPJ.jar.

Development, Validation and Integration of the ATLAS Trigger System Software in Run 2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keyes, Robert; ATLAS Collaboration

2017-10-01

The trigger system of the ATLAS detector at the LHC is a combination of hardware, firmware, and software, associated to various sub-detectors that must seamlessly cooperate in order to select one collision of interest out of every 40,000 delivered by the LHC every millisecond. These proceedings discuss the challenges, organization and work flow of the ongoing trigger software development, validation, and deployment. The goal of this development is to ensure that the most up-to-date algorithms are used to optimize the performance of the experiment. The goal of the validation is to ensure the reliability and predictability of the software performance. Integration tests are carried out to ensure that the software deployed to the online trigger farm during data-taking run as desired. Trigger software is validated by emulating online conditions using a benchmark run and mimicking the reconstruction that occurs during normal data-taking. This exercise is computationally demanding and thus runs on the ATLAS high performance computing grid with high priority. Performance metrics ranging from low-level memory and CPU requirements, to distributions and efficiencies of high-level physics quantities are visualized and validated by a range of experts. This is a multifaceted critical task that ties together many aspects of the experimental effort and thus directly influences the overall performance of the ATLAS experiment.

Using Commercial Off-the-Shelf Software Tools for Space Shuttle Scientific Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Groleau, Nicolas; Friedland, Peter (Technical Monitor)

1994-01-01

In October 1993, the Astronaut Science Advisor (ASA) was on board the STS-58 flight of the space shuttle. ASA is an interactive system providing data acquisition and analysis, experiment step re-scheduling, and various other forms of reasoning. As fielded, the system runs on a single Macintosh PowerBook 170, which hosts the six ASA modules. There is one other piece of hardware, an external (GW Instruments, Sommerville, Massachusetts) analog-to-digital converter connected to the PowerBook's SCSI port. Three main software tools were used: LabVIEW, CLIPS, and HyperCard: First, a module written in LabVIEW (National Instruments, Austin, Texas) controls the A/D conversion and stores the resulting data in appropriate arrays. This module also analyzes the numerical data to produce a small set of characteristic numbers or symbols describing the results of an experiment trial. Second, a forward-chaining inference system written in CLIPS (NASA) uses the symbolic information provided by the first stage with a static rule base to infer decisions about the experiment. This expert system shell is used by the system for diagnosis. The third component of the system is the user interface, written in HyperCard (Claris Inc. and Apple Inc., both in Cupertino, California).

Conference on Real-Time Computer Applications in Nuclear, Particle and Plasma Physics, 6th, Williamsburg, VA, May 15-19, 1989, Proceedings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pordes, Ruth (Editor)

1989-01-01

Papers on real-time computer applications in nuclear, particle, and plasma physics are presented, covering topics such as expert systems tactics in testing FASTBUS segment interconnect modules, trigger control in a high energy physcis experiment, the FASTBUS read-out system for the Aleph time projection chamber, a multiprocessor data acquisition systems, DAQ software architecture for Aleph, a VME multiprocessor system for plasma control at the JT-60 upgrade, and a multiasking, multisinked, multiprocessor data acquisition front end. Other topics include real-time data reduction using a microVAX processor, a transputer based coprocessor for VEDAS, simulation of a macropipelined multi-CPU event processor for use in FASTBUS, a distributed VME control system for the LISA superconducting Linac, a distributed system for laboratory process automation, and a distributed system for laboratory process automation. Additional topics include a structure macro assembler for the event handler, a data acquisition and control system for Thomson scattering on ATF, remote procedure execution software for distributed systems, and a PC-based graphic display real-time particle beam uniformity.

Designing and encoding models for synthetic biology.

PubMed

Endler, Lukas; Rodriguez, Nicolas; Juty, Nick; Chelliah, Vijayalakshmi; Laibe, Camille; Li, Chen; Le Novère, Nicolas

2009-08-06

A key component of any synthetic biology effort is the use of quantitative models. These models and their corresponding simulations allow optimization of a system design, as well as guiding their subsequent analysis. Once a domain mostly reserved for experts, dynamical modelling of gene regulatory and reaction networks has been an area of growth over the last decade. There has been a concomitant increase in the number of software tools and standards, thereby facilitating model exchange and reuse. We give here an overview of the model creation and analysis processes as well as some software tools in common use. Using markup language to encode the model and associated annotation, we describe the mining of components, their integration in relational models, formularization and parametrization. Evaluation of simulation results and validation of the model close the systems biology 'loop'.

On a Formal Tool for Reasoning About Flight Software Cost Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spagnuolo, John N., Jr.; Stukes, Sherry A.

2013-01-01

A report focuses on the development of flight software (FSW) cost estimates for 16 Discovery-class missions at JPL. The techniques and procedures developed enabled streamlining of the FSW analysis process, and provided instantaneous confirmation that the data and processes used for these estimates were consistent across all missions. The research provides direction as to how to build a prototype rule-based system for FSW cost estimation that would provide (1) FSW cost estimates, (2) explanation of how the estimates were arrived at, (3) mapping of costs, (4) mathematical trend charts with explanations of why the trends are what they are, (5) tables with ancillary FSW data of interest to analysts, (6) a facility for expert modification/enhancement of the rules, and (7) a basis for conceptually convenient expansion into more complex, useful, and general rule-based systems.

SSAGES: Software Suite for Advanced General Ensemble Simulations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sidky, Hythem; Colón, Yamil J.; Helfferich, Julian

Molecular simulation has emerged as an essential tool for modern-day research, but obtaining proper results and making reliable conclusions from simulations requires adequate sampling of the system under consideration. To this end, a variety of methods exist in the literature that can enhance sampling considerably, and increasingly sophisticated, effective algorithms continue to be developed at a rapid pace. Implementation of these techniques, however, can be challenging for experts and non-experts alike. There is a clear need for software that provides rapid, reliable, and easy access to a wide range of advanced sampling methods, and that facilitates implementation of new techniquesmore » as they emerge. Here we present SSAGES, a publicly available Software Suite for Advanced General Ensemble Simulations designed to interface with multiple widely used molecular dynamics simulations packages. SSAGES allows facile application of a variety of enhanced sampling techniques—including adaptive biasing force, string methods, and forward flux sampling—that extract meaningful free energy and transition path data from all-atom and coarse grained simulations. A noteworthy feature of SSAGES is a user-friendly framework that facilitates further development and implementation of new methods and collective variables. In this work, the use of SSAGES is illustrated in the context of simple representative applications involving distinct methods and different collective variables that are available in the current release of the suite.« less

SSAGES: Software Suite for Advanced General Ensemble Simulations.

PubMed

Sidky, Hythem; Colón, Yamil J; Helfferich, Julian; Sikora, Benjamin J; Bezik, Cody; Chu, Weiwei; Giberti, Federico; Guo, Ashley Z; Jiang, Xikai; Lequieu, Joshua; Li, Jiyuan; Moller, Joshua; Quevillon, Michael J; Rahimi, Mohammad; Ramezani-Dakhel, Hadi; Rathee, Vikramjit S; Reid, Daniel R; Sevgen, Emre; Thapar, Vikram; Webb, Michael A; Whitmer, Jonathan K; de Pablo, Juan J

2018-01-28

Molecular simulation has emerged as an essential tool for modern-day research, but obtaining proper results and making reliable conclusions from simulations requires adequate sampling of the system under consideration. To this end, a variety of methods exist in the literature that can enhance sampling considerably, and increasingly sophisticated, effective algorithms continue to be developed at a rapid pace. Implementation of these techniques, however, can be challenging for experts and non-experts alike. There is a clear need for software that provides rapid, reliable, and easy access to a wide range of advanced sampling methods and that facilitates implementation of new techniques as they emerge. Here we present SSAGES, a publicly available Software Suite for Advanced General Ensemble Simulations designed to interface with multiple widely used molecular dynamics simulations packages. SSAGES allows facile application of a variety of enhanced sampling techniques-including adaptive biasing force, string methods, and forward flux sampling-that extract meaningful free energy and transition path data from all-atom and coarse-grained simulations. A noteworthy feature of SSAGES is a user-friendly framework that facilitates further development and implementation of new methods and collective variables. In this work, the use of SSAGES is illustrated in the context of simple representative applications involving distinct methods and different collective variables that are available in the current release of the suite. The code may be found at: https://github.com/MICCoM/SSAGES-public.

SSAGES: Software Suite for Advanced General Ensemble Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sidky, Hythem; Colón, Yamil J.; Helfferich, Julian; Sikora, Benjamin J.; Bezik, Cody; Chu, Weiwei; Giberti, Federico; Guo, Ashley Z.; Jiang, Xikai; Lequieu, Joshua; Li, Jiyuan; Moller, Joshua; Quevillon, Michael J.; Rahimi, Mohammad; Ramezani-Dakhel, Hadi; Rathee, Vikramjit S.; Reid, Daniel R.; Sevgen, Emre; Thapar, Vikram; Webb, Michael A.; Whitmer, Jonathan K.; de Pablo, Juan J.

2018-01-01

Molecular simulation has emerged as an essential tool for modern-day research, but obtaining proper results and making reliable conclusions from simulations requires adequate sampling of the system under consideration. To this end, a variety of methods exist in the literature that can enhance sampling considerably, and increasingly sophisticated, effective algorithms continue to be developed at a rapid pace. Implementation of these techniques, however, can be challenging for experts and non-experts alike. There is a clear need for software that provides rapid, reliable, and easy access to a wide range of advanced sampling methods and that facilitates implementation of new techniques as they emerge. Here we present SSAGES, a publicly available Software Suite for Advanced General Ensemble Simulations designed to interface with multiple widely used molecular dynamics simulations packages. SSAGES allows facile application of a variety of enhanced sampling techniques—including adaptive biasing force, string methods, and forward flux sampling—that extract meaningful free energy and transition path data from all-atom and coarse-grained simulations. A noteworthy feature of SSAGES is a user-friendly framework that facilitates further development and implementation of new methods and collective variables. In this work, the use of SSAGES is illustrated in the context of simple representative applications involving distinct methods and different collective variables that are available in the current release of the suite. The code may be found at: https://github.com/MICCoM/SSAGES-public.

Development of an Expert System for Representing Procedural Knowledge

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Georgeff, Michael P.; Lansky, Amy L.

1985-01-01

A high level of automation is of paramount importance in most space operations. It is critical for unmanned missions and greatly increases the effectiveness of manned missions. However, although many functions can be automated by using advanced engineering techniques, others require complex reasoning, sensing, and manipulatory capabilities that go beyond this technology. Automation of fault diagnosis and malfunction handling is a case in point. The military have long been interested in this problem, and have developed automatic test equipment to aid in the maintenance of complex military hardware. These systems are all based on conventional software and engineering techniques. However, the effectiveness of such test equipment is severely limited. The equipment is inflexible and unresponsive to the skill level of the technicians using it. The diagnostic procedures cannot be matched to the exigencies of the current situation nor can they cope with reconfiguration or modification of the items under test. The diagnosis cannot be guided by useful advice from technicians and, when a fault cannot be isolated, no explanation is given as to the cause of failure. Because these systems perform a prescribed sequence of tests, they cannot utilize knowledge of a particular situation to focus attention on more likely trouble spots. Consequently, real-time performance is highly unsatisfactory. Furthermore, the cost of developing test software is substantial and time to maturation is excessive. Significant advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have recently led to the development of powerful and flexible reasoning systems, known as expert or knowledge-based systems. We have devised a powerful and theoretically sound scheme for representing and reasoning about procedural knowledge.

New Web-Monitoring Service Worries Some Legal Experts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sander, Libby

2008-01-01

A software program that searches for offensive content on college athletes' social-networking sites has drawn skeptical reactions from legal experts, who say it could threaten students' constitutional rights. Billed as a "social-network monitoring service" and marketed exclusively to college athletics departments, YouDiligence was on display at…

Computer assisted diagnosis in renal nuclear medicine: rationale, methodology and interpretative criteria for diuretic renography

PubMed Central

Taylor, Andrew T; Garcia, Ernest V

2014-01-01

The goal of artificial intelligence, expert systems, decision support systems and computer assisted diagnosis (CAD) in imaging is the development and implementation of software to assist in the detection and evaluation of abnormalities, to alert physicians to cognitive biases, to reduce intra and inter-observer variability and to facilitate the interpretation of studies at a faster rate and with a higher level of accuracy. These developments are needed to meet the challenges resulting from a rapid increase in the volume of diagnostic imaging studies coupled with a concurrent increase in the number and complexity of images in each patient data. The convergence of an expanding knowledge base and escalating time constraints increases the likelihood of physician errors. Errors are even more likely when physicians interpret low volume studies such as 99mTc-MAG3 diuretic scans where imagers may have had limited training or experience. Decision support systems include neural networks, case-based reasoning, expert systems and statistical systems. iRENEX (renal expert) is an expert system for diuretic renography that uses a set of rules obtained from human experts to analyze a knowledge base of both clinical parameters and quantitative parameters derived from the renogram. Initial studies have shown that the interpretations provided by iRENEX are comparable to the interpretations of a panel of experts. iRENEX provides immediate patient specific feedback at the time of scan interpretation, can be queried to provide the reasons for its conclusions and can be used as an educational tool to teach trainees to better interpret renal scans. iRENEX also has the capacity to populate a structured reporting module and generate a clear and concise impression based on the elements contained in the report; adherence to the procedural and data entry components of the structured reporting module assures and documents procedural competency. Finally, although the focus is CAD applied to diuretic renography, this review offers a window into the rationale, methodology and broader applications of computer assisted diagnosis in medical imaging. PMID:24484751

A usability evaluation of medical software at an expert conference setting.

PubMed

Bond, Raymond Robert; Finlay, Dewar D; Nugent, Chris D; Moore, George; Guldenring, Daniel

2014-01-01

A usability test was employed to evaluate two medical software applications at an expert conference setting. One software application is a medical diagnostic tool (electrocardiogram [ECG] viewer) and the other is a medical research tool (electrode misplacement simulator [EMS]). These novel applications have yet to be adopted by the healthcare domain, thus, (1) we wanted to determine the potential user acceptance of these applications and (2) we wanted to determine the feasibility of evaluating medical diagnostic and medical research software at a conference setting as opposed to the conventional laboratory setting. The medical diagnostic tool (ECG viewer) was evaluated using seven delegates and the medical research tool (EMS) was evaluated using 17 delegates that were recruited at the 2010 International Conference on Computing in Cardiology. Each delegate/participant was required to use the software and undertake a set of predefined tasks during the session breaks at the conference. User interactions with the software were recorded using screen-recording software. The 'think-aloud' protocol was also used to elicit verbal feedback from the participants whilst they attempted the pre-defined tasks. Before and after each session, participants completed a pre-test and a post-test questionnaire respectively. The average duration of a usability session at the conference was 34.69 min (SD=10.28). However, taking into account that 10 min was dedicated to the pre-test and post-test questionnaires, the average time dedication to user interaction of the medical software was 24.69 min (SD=10.28). Given we have shown that usability data can be collected at conferences, this paper details the advantages of conference-based usability studies over the laboratory-based approach. For example, given delegates gather at one geographical location, a conference-based usability evaluation facilitates recruitment of a convenient sample of international subject experts. This would otherwise be very expensive to arrange. A conference-based approach also allows for data to be collected over a few days as opposed to months by avoiding administration duties normally involved in laboratory based approach, e.g. mailing invitation letters as part of a recruitment campaign. Following analysis of the user video recordings, 41 (previously unknown) use errors were identified in the advanced ECG viewer and 29 were identified in the EMS application. All use errors were given a consensus severity rating from two independent usability experts. Out of a rating scale of 4 (where 1=cosmetic and 4=critical), the average severity rating for the ECG viewer was 2.24 (SD=1.09) and the average severity rating for the EMS application was 2.34 (SD=0.97). We were also able to extract task completion rates and times from the video recordings to determine the effectiveness of the software applications. For example, six out of seven tasks were completed by all participants when using both applications. This statistic alone suggests both applications already have a high degree of usability. As well as extracting data from the video recordings, we were also able to extract data from the questionnaires. Using a semantic differential scale (where 1=poor and 5=excellent), delegates highly rated the 'responsiveness', 'usefulness', 'learnability' and the 'look and feel' of both applications. This study has shown the potential user acceptance and user-friendliness of the novel EMS and the ECG viewer applications within the healthcare domain. It has also shown that both medical diagnostic software and medical research software can be evaluated for their usability at an expert conference setting. The primary advantage of a conference-based usability evaluation over a laboratory-based evaluation is the high concentration of experts at one location, which is convenient, less time consuming and less expensive. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Clinical Reasoning Tool for Virtual Patients: Design-Based Research Study.

PubMed

Hege, Inga; Kononowicz, Andrzej A; Adler, Martin

2017-11-02

Clinical reasoning is a fundamental process medical students have to learn during and after medical school. Virtual patients (VP) are a technology-enhanced learning method to teach clinical reasoning. However, VP systems do not exploit their full potential concerning the clinical reasoning process; for example, most systems focus on the outcome and less on the process of clinical reasoning. Keeping our concept grounded in a former qualitative study, we aimed to design and implement a tool to enhance VPs with activities and feedback, which specifically foster the acquisition of clinical reasoning skills. We designed the tool by translating elements of a conceptual clinical reasoning learning framework into software requirements. The resulting clinical reasoning tool enables learners to build their patient's illness script as a concept map when they are working on a VP scenario. The student's map is compared with the experts' reasoning at each stage of the VP, which is technically enabled by using Medical Subject Headings, which is a comprehensive controlled vocabulary published by the US National Library of Medicine. The tool is implemented using Web technologies, has an open architecture that enables its integration into various systems through an open application program interface, and is available under a Massachusetts Institute of Technology license. We conducted usability tests following a think-aloud protocol and a pilot field study with maps created by 64 medical students. The results show that learners interact with the tool but create less nodes and connections in the concept map than an expert. Further research and usability tests are required to analyze the reasons. The presented tool is a versatile, systematically developed software component that specifically supports the clinical reasoning skills acquisition. It can be plugged into VP systems or used as stand-alone software in other teaching scenarios. The modular design allows an extension with new feedback mechanisms and learning analytics algorithms. ©Inga Hege, Andrzej A Kononowicz, Martin Adler. Originally published in JMIR Medical Education (http://mededu.jmir.org), 02.11.2017.

Autonomous satellite command and control: A comparison with other military systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kruchten, Robert J.; Todd, Wayne

1988-01-01

Existing satellite concepts of operation depend on readily available experts and are extremely manpower intensive. Areas of expertise required include mission planning, mission data interpretation, telemetry monitoring, and anomaly resolution. The concepts of operation have envolved to their current state in part because space systems have tended to be treated more as research and development assets rather than as operational assets. These methods of satellite command and control will be inadequate in the future because of the availability, survivability, and capability of human experts. Because space systems have extremely high reliability and limited access, they offer challenges not found in other military systems. Thus, automation techniques used elsewhere are not necessarily applicable to space systems. A program to make satellites much more autonomous has been developed, using a variety of advanced software techniques. The problem the program is addressing, some possible solutions, the goals of the Rome Air Development Center (RADC) program, the rationale as to why the goals are reasonable, and the current program status are discussed. Also presented are some of the concepts used in the program and how they differ from more traditional approaches.

Autonomous Cryogenic Load Operations: Knowledge-Based Autonomous Test Engineer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schrading, J. Nicolas

2013-01-01

The Knowledge-Based Autonomous Test Engineer (KATE) program has a long history at KSC. Now a part of the Autonomous Cryogenic Load Operations (ACLO) mission, this software system has been sporadically developed over the past 20 years. Originally designed to provide health and status monitoring for a simple water-based fluid system, it was proven to be a capable autonomous test engineer for determining sources of failure in the system. As part of a new goal to provide this same anomaly-detection capability for a complicated cryogenic fluid system, software engineers, physicists, interns and KATE experts are working to upgrade the software capabilities and graphical user interface. Much progress was made during this effort to improve KATE. A display of the entire cryogenic system's graph, with nodes for components and edges for their connections, was added to the KATE software. A searching functionality was added to the new graph display, so that users could easily center their screen on specific components. The GUI was also modified so that it displayed information relevant to the new project goals. In addition, work began on adding new pneumatic and electronic subsystems into the KATE knowledge base, so that it could provide health and status monitoring for those systems. Finally, many fixes for bugs, memory leaks, and memory errors were implemented and the system was moved into a state in which it could be presented to stakeholders. Overall, the KATE system was improved and necessary additional features were added so that a presentation of the program and its functionality in the next few months would be a success.

Autonomous Cryogenic Load Operations: KSC Autonomous Test Engineer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shrading, Nicholas J.

2012-01-01

The KSC Autonomous Test Engineer (KATE) program has a long history at KSC. Now a part of the Autonomous Cryogenic Load Operations (ACLO) mission, this software system has been sporadically developed over the past 20+ years. Originally designed to provide health and status monitoring for a simple water-based fluid system, it was proven to be a capable autonomous test engineer for determining sources of failure in. the system, As part.of a new goal to provide this same anomaly-detection capability for a complicated cryogenic fluid system, software engineers, physicists, interns and KATE experts are working to upgrade the software capabilities and graphical user interface. Much progress was made during this effort to improve KATE. A display ofthe entire cryogenic system's graph, with nodes for components and edges for their connections, was added to the KATE software. A searching functionality was added to the new graph display, so that users could easily center their screen on specific components. The GUI was also modified so that it displayed information relevant to the new project goals. In addition, work began on adding new pneumatic and electronic subsystems into the KATE knowledgebase, so that it could provide health and status monitoring for those systems. Finally, many fixes for bugs, memory leaks, and memory errors were implemented and the system was moved into a state in which it could be presented to stakeholders. Overall, the KATE system was improved and necessary additional features were added so that a presentation of the program and its functionality in the next few months would be a success.

Software Product Liability

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-08-01

disclaimers should be a top priority. Contract law involves the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). This is an agreement between all the states (except...to contract law than this, the basic issue with software is that the sup- plier is generally an expert on an arcane and sophisticated technology and

Calyx{trademark} EA implementation at AECB

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1997-12-31

This report describes a project to examine the applicability of a knowledge-based decision support software for environmental assessment (Calyx) to assist the Atomic Energy Control Board in environmental screenings, assessment, management, and database searches. The report begins with background on the Calyx software and then reviews activities with regard to modification of the Calyx knowledge base for application to the nuclear sector. This is followed by lists of standard activities handled by the software and activities specific to the Board; the hierarchy of environmental components developed for the Board; details of impact rules that describe the conditions under which environmentalmore » impacts will occur (the bulk of the report); information on mitigation and monitoring rules and on instance data; and considerations for future work on implementing Calyx at the Board. Appendices include an introduction to expert systems and an overview of the Calyx knowledge base structure.« less

The Azimuth Project: an Open-Access Educational Resource

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baez, J. C.

2012-12-01

The Azimuth Project is an online collaboration of scientists, engineers and programmers who are volunteering their time to do something about a wide range of environmental problems. The project has several aspects: 1) a wiki designed to make reliable, sourced information easy to find and accessible to a technically literate nonexperts, 2) a blog featuring expository articles and news items, 3) a project to write programs that explain basic concepts of climate physics and illustrate principles of good open-source software design, and 4) a project to develop mathematical tools for studying complex networked systems. We discuss the progress so far and some preliminary lessons. For example, enlisting the help of experts outside academia highlights the problems with pay-walled journals and the benefits of open access, as well as differences between how software development is done commercially, in the free software community, and in academe.

Equilibrium expert: an add-in to Microsoft Excel for multiple binding equilibrium simulations and parameter estimations.

PubMed

Raguin, Olivier; Gruaz-Guyon, Anne; Barbet, Jacques

2002-11-01

An add-in to Microsoft Excel was developed to simulate multiple binding equilibriums. A partition function, readily written even when the equilibrium is complex, describes the experimental system. It involves the concentrations of the different free molecular species and of the different complexes present in the experiment. As a result, the software is not restricted to a series of predefined experimental setups but can handle a large variety of problems involving up to nine independent molecular species. Binding parameters are estimated by nonlinear least-square fitting of experimental measurements as supplied by the user. The fitting process allows user-defined weighting of the experimental data. The flexibility of the software and the way it may be used to describe common experimental situations and to deal with usual problems such as tracer reactivity or nonspecific binding is demonstrated by a few examples. The software is available free of charge upon request.

Application and systems software in Ada: Development experiences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kuschill, Jim

1986-01-01

In its most basic sense software development involves describing the tasks to be solved, including the given objects and the operations to be performed on those objects. Unfortunately, the way people describe objects and operations usually bears little resemblance to source code in most contemporary computer languages. There are two ways around this problem. One is to allow users to describe what they want the computer to do in everyday, typically imprecise English. The PRODOC methodology and software development environment is based on a second more flexible and possibly even easier to use approach. Rather than hiding program structure, PRODOC represents such structure graphically using visual programming techniques. In addition, the program terminology used in PRODOC may be customized so as to match the way human experts in any given application area naturally describe the relevant data and operations. The PRODOC methodology is described in detail.

TMS for Instantiating a Knowledge Base With Incomplete Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

James, Mark

2007-01-01

A computer program that belongs to the class known among software experts as output truth-maintenance-systems (output TMSs) has been devised as one of a number of software tools for reducing the size of the knowledge base that must be searched during execution of artificial- intelligence software of the rule-based inference-engine type in a case in which data are missing. This program determines whether the consequences of activation of two or more rules can be combined without causing a logical inconsistency. For example, in a case involving hypothetical scenarios that could lead to turning a given device on or off, the program determines whether a scenario involving a given combination of rules could lead to turning the device both on and off at the same time, in which case that combination of rules would not be included in the scenario.

Staged-Fault Testing of Distance Protection Relay Settings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Havelka, J.; Malarić, R.; Frlan, K.

2012-01-01

In order to analyze the operation of the protection system during induced fault testing in the Croatian power system, a simulation using the CAPE software has been performed. The CAPE software (Computer-Aided Protection Engineering) is expert software intended primarily for relay protection engineers, which calculates current and voltage values during faults in the power system, so that relay protection devices can be properly set up. Once the accuracy of the simulation model had been confirmed, a series of simulations were performed in order to obtain the optimal fault location to test the protection system. The simulation results were used to specify the test sequence definitions for the end-to-end relay testing using advanced testing equipment with GPS synchronization for secondary injection in protection schemes based on communication. The objective of the end-to-end testing was to perform field validation of the protection settings, including verification of the circuit breaker operation, telecommunication channel time and the effectiveness of the relay algorithms. Once the end-to-end secondary injection testing had been completed, the induced fault testing was performed with three-end lines loaded and in service. This paper describes and analyses the test procedure, consisting of CAPE simulations, end-to-end test with advanced secondary equipment and staged-fault test of a three-end power line in the Croatian transmission system.

Automated analysis of flow cytometric data for measuring neutrophil CD64 expression using a multi-instrument compatible probability state model.

PubMed

Wong, Linda; Hill, Beth L; Hunsberger, Benjamin C; Bagwell, C Bruce; Curtis, Adam D; Davis, Bruce H

2015-01-01

Leuko64™ (Trillium Diagnostics) is a flow cytometric assay that measures neutrophil CD64 expression and serves as an in vitro indicator of infection/sepsis or the presence of a systemic acute inflammatory response. Leuko64 assay currently utilizes QuantiCALC, a semiautomated software that employs cluster algorithms to define cell populations. The software reduces subjective gating decisions, resulting in interanalyst variability of <5%. We evaluated a completely automated approach to measuring neutrophil CD64 expression using GemStone™ (Verity Software House) and probability state modeling (PSM). Four hundred and fifty-seven human blood samples were processed using the Leuko64 assay. Samples were analyzed on four different flow cytometer models: BD FACSCanto II, BD FACScan, BC Gallios/Navios, and BC FC500. A probability state model was designed to identify calibration beads and three leukocyte subpopulations based on differences in intensity levels of several parameters. PSM automatically calculates CD64 index values for each cell population using equations programmed into the model. GemStone software uses PSM that requires no operator intervention, thus totally automating data analysis and internal quality control flagging. Expert analysis with the predicate method (QuantiCALC) was performed. Interanalyst precision was evaluated for both methods of data analysis. PSM with GemStone correlates well with the expert manual analysis, r(2) = 0.99675 for the neutrophil CD64 index values with no intermethod bias detected. The average interanalyst imprecision for the QuantiCALC method was 1.06% (range 0.00-7.94%), which was reduced to 0.00% with the GemStone PSM. The operator-to-operator agreement in GemStone was a perfect correlation, r(2) = 1.000. Automated quantification of CD64 index values produced results that strongly correlate with expert analysis using a standard gate-based data analysis method. PSM successfully evaluated flow cytometric data generated by multiple instruments across multiple lots of the Leuko64 kit in all 457 cases. The probability-based method provides greater objectivity, higher data analysis speed, and allows for greater precision for in vitro diagnostic flow cytometric assays. © 2015 International Clinical Cytometry Society.

Software for the EVLA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Butler, Bryan J.; van Moorsel, Gustaaf; Tody, Doug

2004-09-01

The Expanded Very Large Array (EVLA) project is the next generation instrument for high resolution long-millimeter to short-meter wavelength radio astronomy. It is currently funded by NSF, with completion scheduled for 2012. The EVLA will upgrade the VLA with new feeds, receivers, data transmission hardware, correlator, and a new software system to enable the instrument to achieve its full potential. This software includes both that required for controlling and monitoring the instrument and that involved with the scientific dataflow. We concentrate here on a portion of the dataflow software, including: proposal preparation, submission, and handling; observation preparation, scheduling, and remote monitoring; data archiving; and data post-processing, including both automated (pipeline) and manual processing. The primary goals of the software are: to maximize the scientific return of the EVLA; provide ease of use, for both novices and experts; exploit commonality amongst all NRAO telescopes where possible. This last point is both a bane and a blessing: we are not at liberty to do whatever we want in the software, but on the other hand we may borrow from other projects (notably ALMA and GBT) where appropriate. The software design methodology includes detailed initial use-cases and requirements from the scientists, intimate interaction between the scientists and the programmers during design and implementation, and a thorough testing and acceptance plan.

Which factors affect software projects maintenance cost more?

PubMed

Dehaghani, Sayed Mehdi Hejazi; Hajrahimi, Nafiseh

2013-03-01

The software industry has had significant progress in recent years. The entire life of software includes two phases: production and maintenance. Software maintenance cost is increasingly growing and estimates showed that about 90% of software life cost is related to its maintenance phase. Extraction and considering the factors affecting the software maintenance cost help to estimate the cost and reduce it by controlling the factors. In this study, the factors affecting software maintenance cost were determined then were ranked based on their priority and after that effective ways to reduce the maintenance costs were presented. This paper is a research study. 15 software related to health care centers information systems in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and hospitals function were studied in the years 2010 to 2011. Among Medical software maintenance team members, 40 were selected as sample. After interviews with experts in this field, factors affecting maintenance cost were determined. In order to prioritize the factors derived by AHP, at first, measurement criteria (factors found) were appointed by members of the maintenance team and eventually were prioritized with the help of EC software. Based on the results of this study, 32 factors were obtained which were classified in six groups. "Project" was ranked the most effective feature in maintenance cost with the highest priority. By taking into account some major elements like careful feasibility of IT projects, full documentation and accompany the designers in the maintenance phase good results can be achieved to reduce maintenance costs and increase longevity of the software.

Software Development in the Water Sciences: a view from the divide (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miles, B.; Band, L. E.

2013-12-01

While training in statistical methods is an important part of many earth scientists' training, these scientists often learn the bulk of their software development skills in an ad hoc, just-in-time manner. Yet to carry out contemporary research scientists are spending more and more time developing software. Here I present perspectives - as an earth sciences graduate student with professional software engineering experience - on the challenges scientists face adopting software engineering practices, with an emphasis on areas of the science software development lifecycle that could benefit most from improved engineering. This work builds on experience gained as part of the NSF-funded Water Science Software Institute (WSSI) conceptualization award (NSF Award # 1216817). Throughout 2013, the WSSI team held a series of software scoping and development sprints with the goals of: (1) adding features to better model green infrastructure within the Regional Hydro-Ecological Simulation System (RHESSys); and (2) infusing test-driven agile software development practices into the processes employed by the RHESSys team. The goal of efforts such as the WSSI is to ensure that investments by current and future scientists in software engineering training will enable transformative science by improving both scientific reproducibility and researcher productivity. Experience with the WSSI indicates: (1) the potential for achieving this goal; and (2) while scientists are willing to adopt some software engineering practices, transformative science will require continued collaboration between domain scientists and cyberinfrastructure experts for the foreseeable future.

Clinical genomics information management software linking cancer genome sequence and clinical decisions.

PubMed

Watt, Stuart; Jiao, Wei; Brown, Andrew M K; Petrocelli, Teresa; Tran, Ben; Zhang, Tong; McPherson, John D; Kamel-Reid, Suzanne; Bedard, Philippe L; Onetto, Nicole; Hudson, Thomas J; Dancey, Janet; Siu, Lillian L; Stein, Lincoln; Ferretti, Vincent

2013-09-01

Using sequencing information to guide clinical decision-making requires coordination of a diverse set of people and activities. In clinical genomics, the process typically includes sample acquisition, template preparation, genome data generation, analysis to identify and confirm variant alleles, interpretation of clinical significance, and reporting to clinicians. We describe a software application developed within a clinical genomics study, to support this entire process. The software application tracks patients, samples, genomic results, decisions and reports across the cohort, monitors progress and sends reminders, and works alongside an electronic data capture system for the trial's clinical and genomic data. It incorporates systems to read, store, analyze and consolidate sequencing results from multiple technologies, and provides a curated knowledge base of tumor mutation frequency (from the COSMIC database) annotated with clinical significance and drug sensitivity to generate reports for clinicians. By supporting the entire process, the application provides deep support for clinical decision making, enabling the generation of relevant guidance in reports for verification by an expert panel prior to forwarding to the treating physician. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[The Strategic Organization of Skill

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roberts, Ralph

1996-01-01

Eye-movement software was developed in addition to several studies that focused on expert-novice differences in the acquisition and organization of skill. These studies focused on how increasingly complex strategies utilize and incorporate visual look-ahead to calibrate action. Software for collecting, calibrating, and scoring eye-movements was refined and updated. Some new algorithms were developed for analyzing corneal-reflection eye movement data that detect the location of saccadic eye movements in space and time. Two full-scale studies were carried out which examined how experts use foveal and peripheral vision to acquire information about upcoming environmental circumstances in order to plan future action(s) accordingly.

DMS augmented monitoring and diganosis application (DMS AMDA) prototype

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patterson-Hine, F. A.; Boyd, Mark A.; Iverson, David L.; Donnell, Brian; Lauritsen, Janet; Doubek, Sharon; Gibson, Jim; Monahan, Christine; Rosenthal, Donald A.

1993-01-01

The Data Management System Augmented Monitoring and Diagnosis Application (DMS AMDA) is currently under development at NASA Ames Research Center (ARC). It will provide automated monitoring and diagnosis capabilities for the Space Station Freedom (SSF) Data Management System (DMS) in the Control Center Complex (CCC) at NASA Johnson Space Center. Several advanced automation applications are under development for use in the CCC for other SSF subsystems. The DMS AMDA, however, is the first application to utilize digraph failure analysis techniques and the Extended Realtime FEAT (ERF) application as the core of its diagnostic system design, since the other projects were begun before the digraph tools were available. Model-based diagnosis and expert systems techniques will provide additional capabilities and augment ERF where appropriate. Utilization of system knowledge captured in the design phase of a system in digraphs should result in both a cost savings and a technical advantage during implementation of the diagnostic software. This paper addresses both the programmatic and technical considerations of this approach, and describes the software design and initial prototyping effort.

Current trends for customized biomedical software tools.

PubMed

Khan, Haseeb Ahmad

2017-01-01

In the past, biomedical scientists were solely dependent on expensive commercial software packages for various applications. However, the advent of user-friendly programming languages and open source platforms has revolutionized the development of simple and efficient customized software tools for solving specific biomedical problems. Many of these tools are designed and developed by biomedical scientists independently or with the support of computer experts and often made freely available for the benefit of scientific community. The current trends for customized biomedical software tools are highlighted in this short review.

SERDP and ESTCP Expert Panel Workshop on Research and Development Needs for the Environmental Remediation Application of Molecular Biological Tools

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-10-01

used to infer metabolic rates in marine systems. For example, there is evidence from both pure cultures and environmental samples that rbcL...It includes many useful bioinformatics features such as constructing a neighbor-joining tree for a subset of sequences, downloading a subset of...further provide software that allow users to extract useful information from sequences. The most commonly used feature is probe/primer design

[Current status and future of telemonitoring : Scenarios for telemedical care in 2025].

PubMed

Zippel-Schultz, Bettina; Schultz, Carsten; Helms, Thomas M

2017-09-01

Telemonitoring is an already realized implementation of digital transformation in the healthcare system. It has the potential to support and secure a sustainable and comprehensive provision of healthcare for a rising number of chronically ill patients, e. g. patients with chronic heart failure. Remote regions in particular can profit from the benefits of telemonitoring; however, so far telemonitoring services have not become truly established in the German healthcare market. Together with experts from politics, science and practice, a scenario analysis "Health Care System 2025 - A Place for Telemonitoring?" was carried out with the aim to examine the future development of the healthcare market and to draw conclusions for providers of telemonitoring services or devices. The scenario analysis contained two workshops and an expert survey and was supported by a scenario software. The current drivers and barriers of the diffusion of telemonitoring were identified and the most relevant factors that influence the future development of the healthcare market were discussed. Based on those influencing factors, three different scenarios were determined: (1) administrating rather than shaping, (2) safely into the future and (3) interconnected and digital world. In the subsequent consequence analysis activities were defined, which describe the necessary infrastructure, software instruments, organizational structures and provision of services and discuss possible activities, which prepare telemonitoring solutions for the future.

Implementing the HDF-EOS5 software library for data products in the UNAVCO InSAR archive

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baker, Scott; Meertens, Charles; Crosby, Christopher

2017-04-01

UNAVCO is a non-profit university-governed consortium that operates the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Geodesy Advancing Geosciences and EarthScope (GAGE) facility and provides operational support to the Western North America InSAR Consortium (WInSAR). The seamless synthetic aperture radar archive (SSARA) is a seamless distributed access system for SAR data and higher-level data products. Under the NASA-funded SSARA project, a user-contributed InSAR archive for interferograms, time series, and other derived data products was developed at UNAVCO. The InSAR archive development has led to the adoption of the HDF-EOS5 data model, file format, and library. The HDF-EOS software library was designed to support NASA Earth Observation System (EOS) science data products and provides data structures for radar geometry (Swath) and geocoded (Grid) data based on the HDF5 data model and file format provided by the HDF Group. HDF-EOS5 inherits the benefits of HDF5 (open-source software support, internal compression, portability, support for structural data, self-describing file metadata enhanced performance, and xml support) and provides a way to standardize InSAR data products. Instrument- and datatype-independent services, such as subsetting, can be applied to files across a wide variety of data products through the same library interface. The library allows integration with GIS software packages such as ArcGIS and GDAL, conversion to other data formats like NetCDF and GeoTIFF, and is extensible with new data structures to support future requirements. UNAVCO maintains a GitHub repository that provides example software for creating data products from popular InSAR processing software packages like GMT5SAR and ISCE as well as examples for reading and converting the data products into other formats. Digital object identifiers (DOI) have been incorporated into the InSAR archive allowing users to assign a permanent location for their processed result and easily reference the final data products. A metadata attribute is added to the HDF-EOS5 file when a DOI is minted for a data product. These data products are searchable through the SSARA federated query providing access to processed data for both expert and non-expert InSAR users. The archive facilitates timely distribution of processed data with particular importance for geohazards and event response.

Artificial intelligence applications in space and SDI: A survey

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fiala, Harvey E.

1988-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to survey existing and planned Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications to show that they are sufficiently advanced for 32 percent of all space applications and SDI (Space Defense Initiative) software to be AI-based software. To best define the needs that AI can fill in space and SDI programs, this paper enumerates primary areas of research and lists generic application areas. Current and planned NASA and military space projects in AI will be reviewed. This review will be largely in the selected area of expert systems. Finally, direct applications of AI to SDI will be treated. The conclusion covers the importance of AI to space and SDI applications, and conversely, their importance to AI.

SURE (Science User Resource Expert): A science planning and scheduling assistant for a resource based environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thalman, Nancy E.; Sparn, Thomas P.

1990-01-01

SURE (Science User Resource Expert) is one of three components that compose the SURPASS (Science User Resource Planning and Scheduling System). This system is a planning and scheduling tool which supports distributed planning and scheduling, based on resource allocation and optimization. Currently SURE is being used within the SURPASS by the UARS (Upper Atmospheric Research Satellite) SOLSTICE instrument to build a daily science plan and activity schedule and in a prototyping effort with NASA GSFC to demonstrate distributed planning and scheduling for the SOLSTICE II instrument on the EOS platform. For the SOLSTICE application the SURE utilizes a rule-based system. Development of a rule-based program using Ada CLIPS as opposed to using conventional programming, allows for capture of the science planning and scheduling heuristics in rules and provides flexibility in inserting or removing rules as the scientific objectives and mission constraints change. The SURE system's role as a component in the SURPASS, the purpose of the SURE planning and scheduling tool, the SURE knowledge base, and the software architecture of the SURE component are described.

Power User Interface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pfister, Robin; McMahon, Joe

2006-01-01

Power User Interface 5.0 (PUI) is a system of middleware, written for expert users in the Earth-science community, PUI enables expedited ordering of data granules on the basis of specific granule-identifying information that the users already know or can assemble. PUI also enables expert users to perform quick searches for orderablegranule information for use in preparing orders. PUI 5.0 is available in two versions (note: PUI 6.0 has command-line mode only): a Web-based application program and a UNIX command-line- mode client program. Both versions include modules that perform data-granule-ordering functions in conjunction with external systems. The Web-based version works with Earth Observing System Clearing House (ECHO) metadata catalog and order-entry services and with an open-source order-service broker server component, called the Mercury Shopping Cart, that is provided separately by Oak Ridge National Laboratory through the Department of Energy. The command-line version works with the ECHO metadata and order-entry process service. Both versions of PUI ultimately use ECHO to process an order to be sent to a data provider. Ordered data are provided through means outside the PUI software system.

The crustal dynamics intelligent user interface anthology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Short, Nicholas M., Jr.; Campbell, William J.; Roelofs, Larry H.; Wattawa, Scott L.

1987-01-01

The National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) has initiated an Intelligent Data Management (IDM) research effort which has, as one of its components, the development of an Intelligent User Interface (IUI). The intent of the IUI is to develop a friendly and intelligent user interface service based on expert systems and natural language processing technologies. The purpose of such a service is to support the large number of potential scientific and engineering users that have need of space and land-related research and technical data, but have little or no experience in query languages or understanding of the information content or architecture of the databases of interest. This document presents the design concepts, development approach and evaluation of the performance of a prototype IUI system for the Crustal Dynamics Project Database, which was developed using a microcomputer-based expert system tool (M. 1), the natural language query processor THEMIS, and the graphics software system GSS. The IUI design is based on a multiple view representation of a database from both the user and database perspective, with intelligent processes to translate between the views.

Software Products

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1993-01-01

MAST is a decision support system to help in the management of dairy herds. Data is collected on dairy herds around the country and processed at regional centers. One center is Cornell University, where Dr. Lawrence Jones and his team developed MAST. The system draws conclusions from the data and summarizes it graphically. CLIPS, which is embedded in MAST, gives the system the ability to make decisions without user interaction. With this technique, dairy managers can identify herd problems quickly, resulting in improved animal health and higher milk quality. CLIPS (C Language Integrated Production System) was developed by NASA's Johnson Space Center. It is a shell for developing expert systems designed to permit research, development and delivery on conventional computers.

A Knowledge Engineering Approach to Analysis and Evaluation of Construction Schedules

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-02-01

software engineering discipline focusing on constructing KBSs. It is an incremental and cyclical process that requires the interaction of a domain expert(s...the U.S. Army Coips of Engineers ; and (3) the project management software developer, represented by Pinnell Engineering , Inc. Since the primary...the programming skills necessary to convert the raw knowledge intn a form a computer can understand. knowledge engineering : The software engineering

The potential for intelligent decision support systems to improve the quality and consistency of medication reviews.

PubMed

Bindoff, I; Stafford, A; Peterson, G; Kang, B H; Tenni, P

2012-08-01

Drug-related problems (DRPs) are of serious concern worldwide, particularly for the elderly who often take many medications simultaneously. Medication reviews have been demonstrated to improve medication usage, leading to reductions in DRPs and potential savings in healthcare costs. However, medication reviews are not always of a consistently high standard, and there is often room for improvement in the quality of their findings. Our aim was to produce computerized intelligent decision support software that can improve the consistency and quality of medication review reports, by helping to ensure that DRPs relevant to a patient are overlooked less frequently. A system that largely achieved this goal was previously published, but refinements have been made. This paper examines the results of both the earlier and newer systems. Two prototype multiple-classification ripple-down rules medication review systems were built, the second being a refinement of the first. Each of the systems was trained incrementally using a human medication review expert. The resultant knowledge bases were analysed and compared, showing factors such as accuracy, time taken to train, and potential errors avoided. The two systems performed well, achieving accuracies of approximately 80% and 90%, after being trained on only a small number of cases (126 and 244 cases, respectively). Through analysis of the available data, it was estimated that without the system intervening, the expert training the first prototype would have missed approximately 36% of potentially relevant DRPs, and the second 43%. However, the system appeared to prevent the majority of these potential expert errors by correctly identifying the DRPs for them, leaving only an estimated 8% error rate for the first expert and 4% for the second. These intelligent decision support systems have shown a clear potential to substantially improve the quality and consistency of medication reviews, which should in turn translate into improved medication usage if they were implemented into routine use. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Expert system for UNIX system reliability and availability enhancement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Catherine Q.

1993-02-01

Highly reliable and available systems are critical to the airline industry. However, most off-the-shelf computer operating systems and hardware do not have built-in fault tolerant mechanisms, the UNIX workstation is one example. In this research effort, we have developed a rule-based Expert System (ES) to monitor, command, and control a UNIX workstation system with hot-standby redundancy. The ES on each workstation acts as an on-line system administrator to diagnose, report, correct, and prevent certain types of hardware and software failures. If a primary station is approaching failure, the ES coordinates the switch-over to a hot-standby secondary workstation. The goal is to discover and solve certain fatal problems early enough to prevent complete system failure from occurring and therefore to enhance system reliability and availability. Test results show that the ES can diagnose all targeted faulty scenarios and take desired actions in a consistent manner regardless of the sequence of the faults. The ES can perform designated system administration tasks about ten times faster than an experienced human operator. Compared with a single workstation system, our hot-standby redundancy system downtime is predicted to be reduced by more than 50 percent by using the ES to command and control the system.

Expert System for UNIX System Reliability and Availability Enhancement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Xu, Catherine Q.

1993-01-01

Highly reliable and available systems are critical to the airline industry. However, most off-the-shelf computer operating systems and hardware do not have built-in fault tolerant mechanisms, the UNIX workstation is one example. In this research effort, we have developed a rule-based Expert System (ES) to monitor, command, and control a UNIX workstation system with hot-standby redundancy. The ES on each workstation acts as an on-line system administrator to diagnose, report, correct, and prevent certain types of hardware and software failures. If a primary station is approaching failure, the ES coordinates the switch-over to a hot-standby secondary workstation. The goal is to discover and solve certain fatal problems early enough to prevent complete system failure from occurring and therefore to enhance system reliability and availability. Test results show that the ES can diagnose all targeted faulty scenarios and take desired actions in a consistent manner regardless of the sequence of the faults. The ES can perform designated system administration tasks about ten times faster than an experienced human operator. Compared with a single workstation system, our hot-standby redundancy system downtime is predicted to be reduced by more than 50 percent by using the ES to command and control the system.

Analysis of a mammography teaching program based on an affordance design model.

PubMed

Luo, Ping; Eikman, Edward A; Kealy, William; Qian, Wei

2006-12-01

The wide use of computer technology in education, particularly in mammogram reading, asks for e-learning evaluation. The existing media comparative studies, learner attitude evaluations, and performance tests are problematic. Based on an affordance design model, this study examined an existing e-learning program on mammogram reading. The selection criteria include content relatedness, representativeness, e-learning orientation, image quality, program completeness, and accessibility. A case study was conducted to examine the affordance features, functions, and presentations of the selected software. Data collection and analysis methods include interviews, protocol-based document analysis, and usability tests and inspection. Also some statistics were calculated. The examination of PBE identified that this educational software designed and programmed some tools. The learner can use these tools in the process of optimizing displays, scanning images, comparing different projections, marking the region of interests, constructing a descriptive report, assessing one's learning outcomes, and comparing one's decisions with the experts' decisions. Further, PBE provides some resources for the learner to construct one's knowledge and skills, including a categorized image library, a term-searching function, and some teaching links. Besides, users found it easy to navigate and carry out tasks. The users also reacted positively toward PBE's navigation system, instructional aids, layout, pace and flow of information, graphics, and other presentation design. The software provides learners with some cognitive tools, supporting their perceptual problem-solving processes and extending their capabilities. Learners can internalize the mental models in mammogram reading through multiple perceptual triangulations, sensitization of related features, semantic description of mammogram findings, and expert-guided semantic report construction. The design of these cognitive tools and the software interface matches the findings and principles in human learning and instructional design. Working with PBE's case-based simulations and categorized gallery, learners can enrich and transfer their experience to their jobs.

TU-A-17A-02: In Memoriam of Ben Galkin: Virtual Tools for Validation of X-Ray Breast Imaging Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Myers, K; Bakic, P; Abbey, C

2014-06-15

This symposium will explore simulation methods for the preclinical evaluation of novel 3D and 4D x-ray breast imaging systems – the subject of AAPM taskgroup TG234. Given the complex design of modern imaging systems, simulations offer significant advantages over long and costly clinical studies in terms of reproducibility, reduced radiation exposures, a known reference standard, and the capability for studying patient and disease subpopulations through appropriate choice of simulation parameters. Our focus will be on testing the realism of software anthropomorphic phantoms and virtual clinical trials tools developed for the optimization and validation of breast imaging systems. The symposium willmore » review the stateof- the-science, as well as the advantages and limitations of various approaches to testing realism of phantoms and simulated breast images. Approaches based upon the visual assessment of synthetic breast images by expert observers will be contrasted with approaches based upon comparing statistical properties between synthetic and clinical images. The role of observer models in the assessment of realism will be considered. Finally, an industry perspective will be presented, summarizing the role and importance of virtual tools and simulation methods in product development. The challenges and conditions that must be satisfied in order for computational modeling and simulation to play a significantly increased role in the design and evaluation of novel breast imaging systems will be addressed. Learning Objectives: Review the state-of-the science in testing realism of software anthropomorphic phantoms and virtual clinical trials tools; Compare approaches based upon the visual assessment by expert observers vs. the analysis of statistical properties of synthetic images; Discuss the role of observer models in the assessment of realism; Summarize the industry perspective to virtual methods for breast imaging.« less

Personal manufacturing systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bailey, P.

1992-04-01

Personal Manufacturing Systems are the missing link in the automation of the design-to- manufacture process. A PMS will act as a CAD peripheral, closing the loop around the designer enabling him to directly produce models, short production runs or soft tooling with as little fuss as he might otherwise plot a drawing. Whereas conventional 5-axis CNC machines are based on orthogonal axes and simple incremental movements, the PMS is based on a geodetic structure and complex co-ordinated 'spline' movements. The software employs a novel 3D pixel technique for give itself 'spatial awareness' and an expert system to determine the optimum machining conditions. A completely automatic machining strategy can then be determined.

Module generation for self-testing integrated systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vanriessen, Ronald Pieter

Hardware used for self test in VLSI (Very Large Scale Integrated) systems is reviewed, and an architecture to control the test hardware in an integrated system is presented. Because of the increase of test times, the use of self test techniques has become practically and economically viable for VLSI systems. Beside the reduction in test times and costs, self test also provides testing at operational speeds. Therefore, a suitable combination of scan path and macrospecific (self) tests is required to reduce test times and costs. An expert system that can be used in a silicon compilation environment is presented. The approach requires a minimum of testability knowledge from a system designer. A user friendly interface was described for specifying and modifying testability requirements by a testability expert. A reason directed backtracking mechanism is used to solve selection failures. Both the hierarchical testable architecture and the design for testability expert system are used in a self test compiler. The definition of a self test compiler was given. A self test compiler is a software tool that selects an appropriate test method for every macro in a design. The hardware to control a macro test will be included in the design automatically. As an example, the integration of the self-test compiler in a silicon compilation system PIRAMID was described. The design of a demonstrator circuit by self test compiler is described. This circuit consists of two self testable macros. Control of the self test hardware is carried out via the test access port of the boundary scan standard.

Analyst-centered models for systems design, analysis, and development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bukley, A. P.; Pritchard, Richard H.; Burke, Steven M.; Kiss, P. A.

1988-01-01

Much has been written about the possible use of Expert Systems (ES) technology for strategic defense system applications, particularly for battle management algorithms and mission planning. It is proposed that ES (or more accurately, Knowledge Based System (KBS)) technology can be used in situations for which no human expert exists, namely to create design and analysis environments that allow an analyst to rapidly pose many different possible problem resolutions in game like fashion and to then work through the solution space in search of the optimal solution. Portions of such an environment exist for expensive AI hardware/software combinations such as the Xerox LOOPS and Intellicorp KEE systems. Efforts are discussed to build an analyst centered model (ACM) using an ES programming environment, ExperOPS5 for a simple missile system tradeoff study. By analyst centered, it is meant that the focus of learning is for the benefit of the analyst, not the model. The model's environment allows the analyst to pose a variety of what if questions without resorting to programming changes. Although not an ES per se, the ACM would allow for a design and analysis environment that is much superior to that of current technologies.

PhyloPythiaS+: a self-training method for the rapid reconstruction of low-ranking taxonomic bins from metagenomes.

PubMed

Gregor, Ivan; Dröge, Johannes; Schirmer, Melanie; Quince, Christopher; McHardy, Alice C

2016-01-01

Background. Metagenomics is an approach for characterizing environmental microbial communities in situ, it allows their functional and taxonomic characterization and to recover sequences from uncultured taxa. This is often achieved by a combination of sequence assembly and binning, where sequences are grouped into 'bins' representing taxa of the underlying microbial community. Assignment to low-ranking taxonomic bins is an important challenge for binning methods as is scalability to Gb-sized datasets generated with deep sequencing techniques. One of the best available methods for species bins recovery from deep-branching phyla is the expert-trained PhyloPythiaS package, where a human expert decides on the taxa to incorporate in the model and identifies 'training' sequences based on marker genes directly from the sample. Due to the manual effort involved, this approach does not scale to multiple metagenome samples and requires substantial expertise, which researchers who are new to the area do not have. Results. We have developed PhyloPythiaS+, a successor to our PhyloPythia(S) software. The new (+) component performs the work previously done by the human expert. PhyloPythiaS+ also includes a new k-mer counting algorithm, which accelerated the simultaneous counting of 4-6-mers used for taxonomic binning 100-fold and reduced the overall execution time of the software by a factor of three. Our software allows to analyze Gb-sized metagenomes with inexpensive hardware, and to recover species or genera-level bins with low error rates in a fully automated fashion. PhyloPythiaS+ was compared to MEGAN, taxator-tk, Kraken and the generic PhyloPythiaS model. The results showed that PhyloPythiaS+ performs especially well for samples originating from novel environments in comparison to the other methods. Availability. PhyloPythiaS+ in a virtual machine is available for installation under Windows, Unix systems or OS X on: https://github.com/algbioi/ppsp/wiki.

Launching GUPPI: the Green Bank Ultimate Pulsar Processing Instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DuPlain, Ron; Ransom, Scott; Demorest, Paul; Brandt, Patrick; Ford, John; Shelton, Amy L.

2008-08-01

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) is launching the Green Bank Ultimate Pulsar Processing Instrument (GUPPI), a prototype flexible digital signal processor designed for pulsar observations with the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT). GUPPI uses field programmable gate array (FPGA) hardware and design tools developed by the Center for Astronomy Signal Processing and Electronics Research (CASPER) at the University of California, Berkeley. The NRAO has been concurrently developing GUPPI software and hardware using minimal software resources. The software handles instrument monitor and control, data acquisition, and hardware interfacing. GUPPI is currently an expert-only spectrometer, but supports future integration with the full GBT production system. The NRAO was able to take advantage of the unique flexibility of the CASPER FPGA hardware platform, develop hardware and software in parallel, and build a suite of software tools for monitoring, controlling, and acquiring data with a new instrument over a short timeline of just a few months. The NRAO interacts regularly with CASPER and its users, and GUPPI stands as an example of what reconfigurable computing and open-source development can do for radio astronomy. GUPPI is modular for portability, and the NRAO provides the results of development as an open-source resource.

Monitoring and analysis of data from complex systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dollman, Thomas; Webster, Kenneth

1991-01-01

Some of the methods, systems, and prototypes that have been tested for monitoring and analyzing the data from several spacecraft and vehicles at the Marshall Space Flight Center are introduced. For the Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) infrastructure, the Marshall Integrated Support System (MISS) provides a migration path to the state-of-the-art workstation environment. Its modular design makes it possible to implement the system in stages on multiple platforms without the need for all components to be in place at once. The MISS provides a flexible, user-friendly environment for monitoring and controlling orbital payloads. In addition, new capabilities and technology may be incorporated into MISS with greater ease. The use of information systems technology in advanced prototype phases, as adjuncts to mainline activities, is used to evaluate new computational techniques for monitoring and analysis of complex systems. Much of the software described (specially, HSTORESIS (Hubble Space Telescope Operational Readiness Expert Safemode Investigation System), DRS (Device Reasoning Shell), DART (Design Alternatives Rational Tool), elements of the DRA (Document Retrieval Assistant), and software for the PPS (Peripheral Processing System) and the HSPP (High-Speed Peripheral Processor)) is available with supporting documentation, and may be applicable to other system monitoring and analysis applications.

Adjustable Autonomy Testbed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malin, Jane T.; Schrenkenghost, Debra K.

2001-01-01

The Adjustable Autonomy Testbed (AAT) is a simulation-based testbed located in the Intelligent Systems Laboratory in the Automation, Robotics and Simulation Division at NASA Johnson Space Center. The purpose of the testbed is to support evaluation and validation of prototypes of adjustable autonomous agent software for control and fault management for complex systems. The AA T project has developed prototype adjustable autonomous agent software and human interfaces for cooperative fault management. This software builds on current autonomous agent technology by altering the architecture, components and interfaces for effective teamwork between autonomous systems and human experts. Autonomous agents include a planner, flexible executive, low level control and deductive model-based fault isolation. Adjustable autonomy is intended to increase the flexibility and effectiveness of fault management with an autonomous system. The test domain for this work is control of advanced life support systems for habitats for planetary exploration. The CONFIG hybrid discrete event simulation environment provides flexible and dynamically reconfigurable models of the behavior of components and fluids in the life support systems. Both discrete event and continuous (discrete time) simulation are supported, and flows and pressures are computed globally. This provides fast dynamic simulations of interacting hardware systems in closed loops that can be reconfigured during operations scenarios, producing complex cascading effects of operations and failures. Current object-oriented model libraries support modeling of fluid systems, and models have been developed of physico-chemical and biological subsystems for processing advanced life support gases. In FY01, water recovery system models will be developed.

Using CLIPS in a distributed system: The Network Control Center (NCC) expert system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wannemacher, Tom

1990-01-01

This paper describes an intelligent troubleshooting system for the Help Desk domain. It was developed on an IBM-compatible 80286 PC using Microsoft C and CLIPS and an AT&T 3B2 minicomputer using the UNIFY database and a combination of shell script, C programs and SQL queries. The two computers are linked by a lan. The functions of this system are to help non-technical NCC personnel handle trouble calls, to keep a log of problem calls with complete, concise information, and to keep a historical database of problems. The database helps identify hardware and software problem areas and provides a source of new rules for the troubleshooting knowledge base.

Methods and Tools for Ethical Usability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kavathatzopoulos, Iordanis; Kostrzewa, Agata; Laaksoharju, Mikael

The objectives of the tutorial are to provide knowledge of basic ethical, psychological and organizational theories that are relevant to consider ethical aspects during design and use of IT systems; knowledge and skills about handling and solving ethical problems in connection with design and use of IT-systems; and skills in using questionnaires, surveys, interviews and the like in connection with software development and IT-use. It contains lectures, workshop and exercises; use of special tools to identify and consider IT ethical issues during planning, construction, installation and use of IT systems; and group exercises where the participants train their ethical skills on IT ethical conflicts and problems. Intended participants are system developers, purchasers, usability experts, academics, HCI teachers.

Rocketdyne automated dynamics data analysis and management system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tarn, Robert B.

1988-01-01

An automated dynamics data analysis and management systems implemented on a DEC VAX minicomputer cluster is described. Multichannel acquisition, Fast Fourier Transformation analysis, and an online database have significantly improved the analysis of wideband transducer responses from Space Shuttle Main Engine testing. Leakage error correction to recover sinusoid amplitudes and correct for frequency slewing is described. The phase errors caused by FM recorder/playback head misalignment are automatically measured and used to correct the data. Data compression methods are described and compared. The system hardware is described. Applications using the data base are introduced, including software for power spectral density, instantaneous time history, amplitude histogram, fatigue analysis, and rotordynamics expert system analysis.

An evaluation of the documented requirements of the SSP UIL and a review of commercial software packages for the development and testing of UIL prototypes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gill, Esther Naomi

1986-01-01

A review was conducted of software packages currently on the market which might be integrated with the interface language and aid in reaching the objectives of customization, standardization, transparency, reliability, maintainability, language substitutions, expandability, portability, and flexibility. Recommendations are given for best choices in hardware and software acquisition for inhouse testing of these possible integrations. Software acquisition in the line of tools to aid expert-system development and/or novice program development, artificial intelligent voice technology and touch screen or joystick or mouse utilization as well as networking were recommended. Other recommendations concerned using the language Ada for the user interface language shell because of its high level of standardization, structure, and ability to accept and execute programs written in other programming languages, its DOD ownership and control, and keeping the user interface language simple so that multiples of users will find the commercialization of space within their realm of possibility which is, after all, the purpose of the Space Station.

A Neural Network Based Workstation for Automated Cell Proliferation Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-10-25

work was supported by the Programa de Apoyo a Proyectos de Desarrollo e Investigacíon en Informática REDII 2000. We thank Blanca Itzel Taboada for...Meléndez1, G. Corkidi.2 1Centro de Instrumentos, UNAM. P.O. Box 70-186, México 04510, D.F. 2Instituto de Biotecnología, UNAM. P.O. Box 510-3, 62250...proliferation analysis, of cytological microscope images. The software of the system assists the expert biotechnologist during cell proliferation and

CrossTalk: The Journal of Defense Software Engineering. Volume 26, Number 6, November/December 2013

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-12-01

requirements during sprint planning. Automated scanning, which includes automated code-review tools, allows the expert to monitor the system... sprint . This enables the validator to leverage the test results for formal validation and verification, and perform a shortened “hybrid” style of IV&V...per SPRINT (1-4 weeks) 1 week 1 Month Up to four months Ø Deliverable product to user Ø Security posture assessed Ø Accredited to field/operate

Computer Software: Does It Support a New View of Reading?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Case, Carolyn J.

A study examined commercially available computer software to ascertain its degree of congruency with current methods of reading instruction (the Interactive model) at the first and second grade levels. A survey was conducted of public school educators in Connecticut and experts in the field to determine their level of satisfaction with available…

Integration of an expert teaching assistant with distance learning software

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fonseca, S.P.; Reed, N.E.

1996-12-31

The Remote Teaching Assistant (RTA) software currently under development at UC Davis allows students and Teaching Assistants (TA`s) to interact through multimedia communication via the Internet. To resolve the problem of TA unavailability and limited knowledge, an Expert Teaching Assistant (ETA) module is being developed. When TA`s are not on-line, students in need of help consult ETA. The focus of this research is the development and integration of ETA with RTA, the establishment of an architecture suitable for use with education (the domain) in any sub-domain (course), and the creation of a mechanism usable by non-technical personnel to maintain knowledgemore » bases.« less

Phylotastic! Making tree-of-life knowledge accessible, reusable and convenient

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Scientists rarely reuse expert knowledge of phylogeny, in spite of years of effort to assemble a great “Tree of Life” (ToL). A notable exception involves the use of Phylomatic, which provides tools to generate custom phylogenies from a large, pre-computed, expert phylogeny of plant taxa. This suggests great potential for a more generalized system that, starting with a query consisting of a list of any known species, would rectify non-standard names, identify expert phylogenies containing the implicated taxa, prune away unneeded parts, and supply branch lengths and annotations, resulting in a custom phylogeny suited to the user’s needs. Such a system could become a sustainable community resource if implemented as a distributed system of loosely coupled parts that interact through clearly defined interfaces. Results With the aim of building such a “phylotastic” system, the NESCent Hackathons, Interoperability, Phylogenies (HIP) working group recruited 2 dozen scientist-programmers to a weeklong programming hackathon in June 2012. During the hackathon (and a three-month follow-up period), 5 teams produced designs, implementations, documentation, presentations, and tests including: (1) a generalized scheme for integrating components; (2) proof-of-concept pruners and controllers; (3) a meta-API for taxonomic name resolution services; (4) a system for storing, finding, and retrieving phylogenies using semantic web technologies for data exchange, storage, and querying; (5) an innovative new service, DateLife.org, which synthesizes pre-computed, time-calibrated phylogenies to assign ages to nodes; and (6) demonstration projects. These outcomes are accessible via a public code repository (GitHub.com), a website (http://www.phylotastic.org), and a server image. Conclusions Approximately 9 person-months of effort (centered on a software development hackathon) resulted in the design and implementation of proof-of-concept software for 4 core phylotastic components, 3 controllers, and 3 end-user demonstration tools. While these products have substantial limitations, they suggest considerable potential for a distributed system that makes phylogenetic knowledge readily accessible in computable form. Widespread use of phylotastic systems will create an electronic marketplace for sharing phylogenetic knowledge that will spur innovation in other areas of the ToL enterprise, such as annotation of sources and methods and third-party methods of quality assessment. PMID:23668630

Space information systems in the Space Station era; Proceedings of the AIAA/NASA International Symposium on Space Information Systems, Washington, DC and Greenbelt, MD, June 22, 23, 1987

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gerard, Mireille (Editor); Edwards, Pamela W. (Editor)

1988-01-01

Technological and planning issues for data management, processing, and communication on Space Station Freedom are discussed in reviews and reports by U.S., European, and Japanese experts. The space-information-system strategies of NASA, ESA, and NASDA are discussed; customer needs are analyzed; and particular attention is given to communication and data systems, standards and protocols, integrated system architectures, software and automation, and plans and approaches being developed on the basis of experience from past programs. Also included are the reports from workshop sessions on design to meet customer needs, the accommodation of growth and new technologies, and system interoperability.

Applying Service-Oriented Architecture on The Development of Groundwater Modeling Support System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, C. Y.; WANG, Y.; Chang, L. C.; Tsai, J. P.; Hsiao, C. T.

2016-12-01

Groundwater simulation has become an essential step on the groundwater resources management and assessment. There are many stand-alone pre- and post-processing software packages to alleviate the model simulation loading, but the stand-alone software do not consider centralized management of data and simulation results neither do they provide network sharing functions. Hence, it is difficult to share and reuse the data and knowledge (simulation cases) systematically within or across companies. Therefore, this study develops a centralized and network based groundwater modeling support system to assist model construction. The system is based on service-oriented architecture and allows remote user to develop their modeling cases on internet. The data and cases (knowledge) are thus easy to manage centralized. MODFLOW is the modeling engine of the system, which is the most popular groundwater model in the world. The system provides a data warehouse to restore groundwater observations, MODFLOW Support Service, MODFLOW Input File & Shapefile Convert Service, MODFLOW Service, and Expert System Service to assist researchers to build models. Since the system architecture is service-oriented, it is scalable and flexible. The system can be easily extended to include the scenarios analysis and knowledge management to facilitate the reuse of groundwater modeling knowledge.

Understanding the concept and importance of the health research system in Palestine: a qualitative study.

PubMed

AlKhaldi, Mohammed; Abed, Yehia; Pfeiffer, Constanze; Haj-Yahia, Saleem; Alkaiyat, Abdulsalam; Tanner, Marcel

2018-06-18

The importance of a health research system (HRS), namely an instrument for developing and enabling health systems, is increasing, particularly in developing countries. Assessing the perceptions of system performers is a necessary part of system analysis, which seeks to recognize a system's strengths and limitations aiming towards improvement. This study assesses the perceptions of policy-makers, academicians and experts regarding the HRS concept and its importance to generate insights for system strengthening. In Palestine, HRS is just emerging, helping to address the many public health-related challenges faced by the country. The study was implemented from January until July 2016, targeting three sectors, namely relevant government institutions, schools of public health, and major local and international health agencies. Data was collected through 52 in-depth interviews and six focus group discussions (FGDs) with policy-makers, academics, directors and experts. Participants and institutions were selected based on stated criteria and peer review. Data were translated, transcribed, checked and then imported to a software program (MAXQDA 12) for thematic and content analysis. A total of 104 experts participated, wherein 52 were interviewed and 52 participated in the six FGDs. The HRS concept, as defined by WHO, was conceptualized differently among participants with unclear delineations between various components. Inconsistencies appeared when participants attempted to conceptualize HRS in broader contexts, though HRS goals and functions were sufficiently delineated. The majority of participants agreed that HRS correlates with notions of 'improvement' and recognized HRS 'as a significant gain'. Neglect of HRS was perceived as a big loss. The study revealed that the level of understanding of HRS among health experts in Palestine is inadequate and not sufficiently conceptualized for its application. Findings also underlined the need to establish a central governance coordination body that promotes HRS understanding, awareness and culture as an enabler for HRS strengthening.

Biology Teacher and Expert Opinions about Computer Assisted Biology Instruction Materials: A Software Entitled Nucleic Acids and Protein Synthesis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hasenekoglu, Ismet; Timucin, Melih

2007-01-01

The aim of this study is to collect and evaluate opinions of CAI experts and biology teachers about a high school level Computer Assisted Biology Instruction Material presenting computer-made modelling and simulations. It is a case study. A material covering "Nucleic Acids and Protein Synthesis" topic was developed as the…

Retinopathy of Prematurity-assist: Novel Software for Detecting Plus Disease

PubMed Central

Pour, Elias Khalili; Pourreza, Hamidreza; Zamani, Kambiz Ameli; Mahmoudi, Alireza; Sadeghi, Arash Mir Mohammad; Shadravan, Mahla; Karkhaneh, Reza; Pour, Ramak Rouhi

2017-01-01

Purpose To design software with a novel algorithm, which analyzes the tortuosity and vascular dilatation in fundal images of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) patients with an acceptable accuracy for detecting plus disease. Methods Eighty-seven well-focused fundal images taken with RetCam were classified to three groups of plus, non-plus, and pre-plus by agreement between three ROP experts. Automated algorithms in this study were designed based on two methods: the curvature measure and distance transform for assessment of tortuosity and vascular dilatation, respectively as two major parameters of plus disease detection. Results Thirty-eight plus, 12 pre-plus, and 37 non-plus images, which were classified by three experts, were tested by an automated algorithm and software evaluated the correct grouping of images in comparison to expert voting with three different classifiers, k-nearest neighbor, support vector machine and multilayer perceptron network. The plus, pre-plus, and non-plus images were analyzed with 72.3%, 83.7%, and 84.4% accuracy, respectively. Conclusions The new automated algorithm used in this pilot scheme for diagnosis and screening of patients with plus ROP has acceptable accuracy. With more improvements, it may become particularly useful, especially in centers without a skilled person in the ROP field. PMID:29022295

A Low-Cost Tele-Imaging Platform for Developing Countries

PubMed Central

Adambounou, Kokou; Adjenou, Victor; Salam, Alex P.; Farin, Fabien; N’Dakena, Koffi Gilbert; Gbeassor, Messanvi; Arbeille, Philippe

2014-01-01

Purpose: To design a “low-cost” tele-imaging method allowing real-time tele-ultrasound expertise, delayed tele-ultrasound diagnosis, and tele-radiology between remote peripherals hospitals and clinics (patient centers) and university hospital centers (expert center). Materials and methods: A system of communication via internet (IP camera and remote access software) enabling transfer of ultrasound videos and images between two centers allows a real-time tele-radiology expertise in the presence of a junior sonographer or radiologist at the patient center. In the absence of a sonographer or radiologist at the patient center, a 3D reconstruction program allows a delayed tele-ultrasound diagnosis with images acquired by a lay operator (e.g., midwife, nurse, technician). The system was tested both with high and low bandwidth. The system can further accommodate non-ultrasound tele-radiology (conventional radiography, mammography, and computer tomography for example). The system was tested on 50 patients between CHR Tsevie in Togo (40 km from Lomé-Togo and 4500 km from Tours-France) and CHU Campus at Lomé and CHU Trousseau in Tours. Results: A real-time tele-expertise was successfully performed with a delay of approximately 1.5 s with an internet bandwidth of around 1 Mbps (IP Camera) and 512 kbps (remote access software). A delayed tele-ultrasound diagnosis was also performed with satisfactory results. The transmission of radiological images from the patient center to the expert center was of adequate quality. Delayed tele-ultrasound and tele-radiology was possible even in the presence of a low-bandwidth internet connection. Conclusion: This tele-imaging method, requiring nothing by readily available and inexpensive technology and equipment, offers a major opportunity for telemedicine in developing countries. PMID:25250306