Integrating an Object-oriented Approach and Rule-based Reasoning in the Design of a Fabric Fault Advisory Expert System
Research and development
Authors:
- Dlodlo Nomusa
National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe - Hunter Lawrance
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa - Cele Cyprian
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, South Africa - Metelerkamp Roger (j/w)
- Botha Anton F. (j/w)
 Full text | Abstract: This paper describes the design of an expert system that not only offers advice to both textile and non-textile users on fabric faults, but also assists in the diagnosis of fabric faults. The expert system integrates both object-oriented and rule-based reasoning approaches. The system is based on the premise that the design of a component should be separated from the implementation details. In short, this means that the rules that manipulate a set of objects exist separately from the same set of objects. Separation of object definitions from rules that manipulate them in the knowledge base, and separation of the object-based knowledge base from the object-based inference engine that infers conditions, means that any changes made to any one of these components do not necessarily mean that changes to the other components have to be made, and also that each of these components is autonomous. Dependencies between components in an object in the object-oriented approach, the extendibility of such systems, the inheritance properties, and reusability of objects are just some of the advantages of adopting an object-oriented approach. |
Tags: object-oriented, rule-based, expert system, fabric faults