An Introduction to Expert Systems and Knowledge Acquisition Techniques

This paper describes first steps to transform all internships in the undergraduate STEM Summer Research Program in the federal government at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) to prepare students for engineering careers in the 21 st century. AFIT is a government institution of higher education within the Air Force. Over 40 students participate annually and perform research in all six engineering departments at the AFIT Graduate School of Engineering and Management. These are the departments of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Engineering Physics, Mathematics and Statistics, Operational Sciences, and Systems Engineering and Management. First, starting in summer 2012, a formal assessment tool is now distributed to students to measure the impact of the research experience. Second, starting in summer 2013, students are now provided with four career broadening programs that are informed by student survey results in 2012. These programs are made possible through a partnership among AFIT, the LEADER (Launching Equity in the Academy across the Dayton Entrepreneurial Region) Consortium, and the Southwestern Ohio Consortium for Higher Education (SOCHE). The partnership assesses the students’ experiences and informs future experiences based upon the results of student surveys. SOCHE has employed nearly 1,000 STEM students in the past 25 years. Feedback was sought in 2012 from the 48 participating students to improve all internships in the Summer Research Program in order to help prepare engineering student interns for work in the 21 st century. In response to the feedback, four new voluntary program components were made available to all students in the 2013 Program. Because of government restrictions, student participation is voluntary. The components are: (A) A joint orientation process with SOCHE and AFIT Project Leaders; (B) Student cohorts through social activities and STEM-based games; (C) A weekly seminar meeting with outside presentations of general interest, such as job-hunting, resume-writing, information about scholarships and fellowships, and the process to apply to graduate school; and (D) A Poster Session so that students present the engineering experiences they have gained. A poster competition was held to select the best student posters, and selected students were awarded “Posters of Excellence” Certificates. In 2013, SOCHE again implemented an assessment tool in an effort to better understand the needs of the 43 participating students. Of these students, 10 students had also participated in the 2012 program (repeat participation rate of nearly 25%). SOCHE asked all 43 students to complete a pre survey when the program was in session (response rate: 33%) and a post survey following the program (response rate: 16%). Post survey responses are favorable to the career broadening programs. Student participation in the 12 one-hour weekly events was nearly 100% in the joint orientation and 13% in the other events. This paper will describe the importance of the four new career-broadening components to transform the internships at AFIT to prepare students for engineering careers in the 21 st century. Additional results and findings of the assessment of the 2013 Summer Research Program will be discussed, and the results and findings will be compared with results from the 2012 Program. The views expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States Air Force, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.

This paper presents a graduate curriculum for software engineering education, as proposed by the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT). In order to define such a curriculum, it is first necessary to define what is meant by the term “software engineer,” and what capabilities are expected in a graduate of such a program. The process of “software engineering” is examined in the context of requirements for software system development and management within the Air Force. These requirements help define the fundamental concepts and techniques, as well as the support tools, which must be integrated into an effective curriculum for software engineering. The program presented incorporates both the theory and practice of software engineering. The proposed curriculum for a Master of Science degree with a major in software engineering is based on AFIT’s experience with software engineering education and its ongoing contact with many Air Force agencies involved in software development. Many of AFIT’s student thesis efforts have involved large-scale software developments which often extend from student to student over several years. This paper presents this program, along with supporting discussion of program objectives and course content.

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This paper will discuss some of the issues involved in building an Expert System that embodies tuning rules for IBM's MVS/XA operating system. To understand the components of an Expert System and their functions, PROLOG on an IBM PC (Turbo-PROLOG from Borland International) was chosen as the development environment. The paper will begin by defining the key concepts about Expert Systems, Knowledge Engineering, and Knowledge Acquisition. The reader will be given a brief overview of PROLOG, from which we can explain how an inference mechanism was developed. Finally, the paper will describe the Expert System that was developed, and additionally will provide a set of key issues that should be addressed in the future. It is our overall objective to provide new insight into the application of AI to CPE.

A novel method for measuring the structure constant of the atmospheric turbulence on an arbitrary path has recently been demonstrated by the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT). This method provides a unique ability to remotely measure the intensity of turbulence, which is important for predicting beam spread, wander, and scintillation effects on High Energy Laser (HEL) propagation. Because this is a new technique, estimating A novel method for measuring the structure constant of the atmospheric turbulence on an arbitrary path has recently been demonstrated by the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT). This method provides a unique ability to remotely measure the intensity of turbulence, which is important for predicting beam spread, wander, and scintillation effects on High Energy Laser (HEL) propagation. Because this is a new technique, estimating Cn2 using radar is a complicated and time consuming process. This paper presents a new software program which is being developed to automate the calculation of Cn2 over an arbitrary path. The program takes regional National Weather Service NEXRAD radar reflectivity measurements and extracts data for the path of interest. These reflectivity measurements are then used to estimate Cn2 over the path. The program uses the Radar Software Library (RSL) produced by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) at the NASA/Goddard Flight Center. RSL provides support for nearly all formats of weather radar data. The particular challenge to extracting data is in determining which data bins the path passes through. Due to variations in radar systems and measurement conditions, the RSL produces data grids that are not consistent in geometry or completeness. The Cn2 program adapts to the varying geometries of each radar image. Automation of the process allows for fast estimation of Cn2 and supports a goal of real-time remote turbulence measurement. Recently, this software was used to create comparison data for RF scintillation measurements. In this task it performed well, extracting thousands of measurements in only a few minutes.using radar is a complicated and time consuming process. This paper presents a new software program which is being developed to automate the calculation of Cn2 over an arbitrary path. The program takes regional National Weather Service NEXRAD radar reflectivity measurements and extracts data for the path of interest. These reflectivity measurements are then used to estimate Cn2 over the path. The program uses the Radar Software Library (RSL) produced by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) at the NASA/Goddard Flight Center. RSL provides support for nearly all formats of weather radar data. The particular challenge to extracting data is in determining which data bins the path passes through. Due to variations in radar systems and measurement conditions, the RSL produces data grids that are not consistent in geometry or completeness. The Cn2 program adapts to the varying geometries of each radar image. Automation of the process allows for fast estimation of Cn2 and supports a goal of real-time remote turbulence measurement. Recently, this software was used to create comparison data for RF scintillation measurements. In this task it performed well, extracting thousands of measurements in only a few minutes.© (2012) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

This paper describes how the curriculum and course format at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) has evolved based on our experience with the highly-successful Cyber Defense Exercise (CDX) sponsored by the National Security Agency (NSA). Using industry-standard hardware and software, AFIT graduate students designed, built, and operated a robust network infrastructure that survived scans, denial of service attacks, social engineering, viruses, and root kits orchestrated by a team of NSA-sponsored hackers. AFIT's two-quarter graduate-level course format changed this year to provide more hands-on, student-initiated education, which we found to be an effective teaching style for information security courses. This change in course format placed more emphasis on a coordinated team approach to defending the network. In this paper, we explain how the students formed teams and planned their activities and discuss how effective organization and division of labor can successfully thwart cyber attacks

A New Approach In Learning For Intelligent Multi Agent Systems

Some of the basic earth-science problems that span industry, academia, and the government, and are likely candidates for the application of knowledge-based expert systems, pertain to energy and mineral resource studies. Most of the world's energy resources and many of its metallic and mineral resources are derived from complex sources in sedimentary basins. A comprehensive basin analysis requires an understanding of data from many specialties including sedimentology, stratigraphy, geophysics, structural geology, and geochemistry. Such as integrated analysis is almost impossible without a computer. Research efforts in the US Geological Survey are currently being directed at exploring the feasibility of applying expert systems and knowledge acquisition techniques to the design and development of a global system of classification and geological analysis of sedimentary basins to assess their petroleum potential. The primary objective is the design of a prototype object-oriented expert system, interfaced with a Geographic Information System (GIS), that captures both the logic used to define the geologic concepts and the reasoning under uncertainty that enables geologists to understand and reconstruct geologic history of a sedimentary basins. The systems are designed to analyze the traditional concepts of source, reservoir, and trapping mechanism; to help diagnose geologic conditions favorable for the occurrencemore » of petroleum or other energy resources; and to assist in assessing these resources. The design and content of the expert systems program is discussed for application to basin analysis studies to aid in petroleum resource assessment.« less

This paper describes supplementing the digital forensics course at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) with the highly-successful DoD Cyber Crime Center (DC3) Digital Forensics Challenge. The DC3 Digital Forensics Challenge consists of several difficult digital forensic tasks. The knowledge and skills required to complete these tasks often resides outside of the material presented in a graduate digital forensics course. By utilizing concepts taught in AFIT's digital forensics course, a team of four graduate students won the 2007 competition. In this paper, we explain how our team used forensically sound principles learned in class, reinforcing the class concepts, coupled with old-fashioned hard work to successfully complete the challenge.

This research examines the structural condition and management of facilities used in the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) in Kaduna, Nigeria. A field assessment that utilizes the rebound hammer test integrated with the survey results of the students and working staff supported the evaluation of the concrete structures’ condition and the current maintenance systems. The research shows that there is a disparity of elements of concrete quality in different structures; however, some deserve consideration and retrofit. In the survey respondents which expressed general dissatisfaction with current practices of maintenance, and there is a need to conduct more frequent and effective maintenance inspections, increase the number of employees in the department, and improve the reporting systems. Based on the findings of the study, the recommendations advanced on AFIT building maintenance are; Implementing preventive maintenance programs and programs on quality assurance. Implementing modern maintenance tools and personnel training.The above extensive measures will help reduce the risks and guarantee the reliability and friendliness of all AFIT structures to foster a learning environment.

article A comparison of Ada and Pascal in an introductory computer science course Share on Authors: Jeanne L. Murtagh Software Professional Development Program, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH Software Professional Development Program, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, OHView Profile , John A. Hamilton D/Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, United States Military Academy, West Point, NY D/Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, United States Military Academy, West Point, NYView Profile Authors Info & Claims ACM SIGAda Ada LettersVolume XVIIIIssue 6Nov./Dec. 1998 pp 75–80https://doi.org/10.1145/301687.289535Online:01 November 1998Publication History 1citation275DownloadsMetricsTotal Citations1Total Downloads275Last 12 Months7Last 6 weeks0 Get Citation AlertsNew Citation Alert added!This alert has been successfully added and will be sent to:You will be notified whenever a record that you have chosen has been cited.To manage your alert preferences, click on the button below.Manage my AlertsNew Citation Alert!Please log in to your account Save to BinderSave to BinderCreate a New BinderNameCancelCreateExport CitationPublisher SiteGet Access

The US Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) has been carrying out research related to the instability of composite cylindrical panels since 1979. This chapter is a review of the AFIT work and will discuss both its experimental and analytical features. Other organizations have pursued similar research [1, 2] and the AFIT work has cited their findings. AFIT is the only organization that has continued to explore many of the intricacies of this interesting area. More than 150 composite graphite/epoxy cylindrical panels have been tested.KeywordsTransverse ShearRadial DisplacementComposite PanelCollapse LoadCylindrical PanelThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

Industry today has a severe problem in the automatic testing of analog cards. At the Air Force Institute of Technology, we are developing an Expert System based on the structure and function of an analog circuit card to drive automatic test equipment. This system uses, the information contained in the schematic diagram of the circuit as well as fundamental knowledge of electronics and past experience in maintaining the card. One of the most important aspects of this system is its ability to reason about possible faults based upon the function of the subsections of the circuit. This task is accomplished using the type of "second principles" which an electronic engineer would use. It generates which tests the test equipment will conduct and, based upon the results of these test, determine the best test to perform next. In this paper, the basic reasoning mechanism for these systems is discussed.

Expert-system technology has emerged from beneath the umbrella of Artificial Intelligence and into the mainstream of engineering problem solving. There already are several notable examples of the application of this state-of-the-art technology in the petroleum industry. Clearly, expert systems that run efficiently on standard personal computers are particularly of value. A new expert-system generator that overcomes the speed, memory and mass-storage limitations of XT/AT-class personal computers is presented in this paper. The shell is optimized for the specific characteristics of the target user, knowledge expert and computer. Expert systems developed using this shell currently are being used by our technical personnel for drilling fluid and related applications.

Liver cirrhosis, the end stage of chronic liver disease, is one of the major risk factors for the development of liver cancer, and may result in premature death. This research proposes a fuzzy fibrosis decision support (F2DS) system. It is a fuzzy knowledge-based expert system for liver fibrosis stage prediction. F2DS is carefully based on a set of knowledge acquisition and machine learning techniques. In addition, the system depends on domain expert knowledge for designing the membership functions and validating the fuzzy knowledge base. It depends on a suitable list of 17 symptoms, and laboratory test features that can accurately and significantly describe fibrosis patients. The experimental results of the expert system were obtained using a real dataset from the Liver Institute, Mansoura University, Egypt, of 119 patients infected by chronic viral hepatitis C. The performance of the system was evaluated with many metrics, achieving a testing accuracy of 95.7%. The evaluation of proposed fuzzy expert system shows its capability of diagnosing the stages of liver fibrosis with a high degree of accuracy, and it can be embedded as a component in a healthcare system to assist physicians in their daily practice. In addition, students training in medicine can benefit from this system.