RuleMaster

RuleMaster is a general-purpose software package for building and delivering expert systems. Its features include l) knowledge acquisition by inductive learning,... 

RuleMaster expert systems are represented as Radial programs. To build an expert system, domain knowledge is normally entered in two parts a module structure and the bodies of the modules. The structure defines the hierarchical organization of decisions used to solve the problem. The code within each module defines the details of one of these decisions. 

Rule Language (Radial). RuleMaster expert systems are expressed in Radial, a block structured interpreted language with a syntax similar to Pascal and ADA. Radial is a simple, easy-to-learn language which supports the full range of expert system capabilities. 

Explanation. A user may ask for explanation of the line of reasoning at any time during an expert system consultation. RuleMaster presents explanation as a list of premises and conclusions in English-like text. The explanation describes the execution path which led up to the current conclusion or question. Explanation is presented in proof ordering, which usually differs from the order in which the questions and conclusions were encountered. This is perceived as more relevant and understandable than the time-ordered presentation of fired rules, as is present in most expert system approaches. 

A RuleMaster program may also be set up to be called from another program. By combining several expert systems in this manner, a large application can be modeled as a set of cooperating exi>erts. 

Portability. RuleMaster is written in the C language, making it portable to a wide range of micro- and mini-computers with the UNIX, VMS, or PC-DOS operating systems. By late 1985 RuleMaster had been installed on more than twenty brands of computers, ranging in size from IBM PCs to large mini-computers. 

Function of TOGA. An HSB employee, Richard I. Lowe, is one of the handful of transformer diagnosis experts in the U.S. His rules have been incorporated in an expert system called TOGA, which was built with the RuleMaster expert system building package. 

RuleMaster provides an example-based knowledge input mechanism which practicing experts find comfortable to use. 

Programming Skills. One of the first steps in building RuleMaster expert system is creating the module hierarchy for the prototype. This requires skill in top-down design and structiared programming. 

Other applications built with RuleMaster demonstrate additional reasons for building expert systems. 

GloveAID ( ) predicts the most effective glove materials to choose for protection against hazardous chemicals. There are no established experts in this field, because much of the protection effectiveness measurements are Just now being performed. The inductive learning aspect of RuleMaster is used to help organize the date which is available and to suggest which measurements should be performed next. 

RuleMaker, a subsystem of RuleMaster, induces rules for all situations from examples that may cover only some of the cases. At the heart of the induction process is the creation of an induction file, which in part includes examples indicating what the expert system should do under different circumstances. Now, in the example above, THE RULES FOR CORRELATING VARIOUS CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL PARAMETERS OF THE HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS TESTED WITH THE PROTECTIVE ABILITY OF THE SELECTED GLOVE MATERIALS ARE NOT KNOWN — THEY WILL HAVE TO BE INDUCED FR04 THE ANALYTICAL DATA. 

The RuleMaster induction file produced from the example data set is shown in Figure 5. The name given to this induction file module is ClasslO". The STATE in a module is essentially the name of sub-modules that will carry out actions within a module. In this simple example there are no sub-modules so the name given to the state is "only . 

It is interesting to correlate these rules with the first rules that were estimated with no help from RuleMaster. These were the rules used to construct the first prototype expert system. GloveAId for non-halogenated aromatic compounds ... 

As can be seen by a comparison of the two rule sets, the one induced by RuleMaster has significantly more refinement to it and will come much closer to making accurate predictions than the human induced rule set. 

Thus, the rules induced by RuleMaster offer possibilities for reducing cost and allowing more dextrous work to be performed than would have been available using the human induced rules. 

Michie, D. Muggleton, S. Riese, C. Zubrick, S. First Conf. AI Applns., Denver, CO, 1984 RuleMaster-A Second-Generation Knowledge Engineering Facility Radian Tech. Rpt., MI-R-623, Radian Corp., P.O. Box 9948, Austin, TX 78766. 

SEPIC Issues permits for onsite private sewage disposal systems (in use) Rulemaster Micro W.J. Hadden/Intelligent Advisors, Inc. 26... 

Expert System for Hazardous Waste Regulations System to help identify appropriate waste regulations (development) Rulemaster Micro P.A. Barrow/Univ. of Alberta 43... 

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