Knowledge Based Configuration

Knowledge-based Configuration incorporates knowledge representation formalisms to capture complex product models and reasoning methods to provide intelligent interactive behavior with the user. This book represents the first time that corporate and academic worlds collaborate integrating research and commercial benefits of knowledge-based configuration. Foundational interdisciplinary material is provided for composing models from increasingly complex products and services. Case studies, the latest research, and graphical knowledge representations that increase understanding of knowledge-based configuration provide a toolkit to continue to push the boundaries of what configurators can do and how they enable companies and customers to thrive. Includes detailed discussion of state-of-the art configuration knowledge engineering approaches such as automated testing and debugging, redundancy detection, and conflict management Provides an overview of the application of knowledge-based configuration technologies in the form of real-world case studies from SAP, Siemens, Kapsch, and more Explores the commercial benefits of knowledge-based configuration technologies to business sectors from services to industrial equipment Uses concepts that are based on an example personal computer configuration knowledge base that is represented in an UML-based graphical language

A special year like 1999 invites one to draw a balance of what has been achieved in the roughly 30 years of research and development in knowledge based systems (still abbreviated as XPS following the older term “expert systems”) and to take a look at th what the future may hold. For the 5 German conference on knowledge-based systems we therefore asked current and former speakers of the four working groups (FG’s) in the subdivision of knowledge-based systems (FA 1.5) of the German association of Informatics (GI) to present a survey of and future prospects for their respective fields: knowledge engineering, diagnosis, configuration, and case-based reasoning. An additional 14 technical papers deal with current topics in knowledge-based systems with an equal emphasis on methods and applications. They are selected from more than 50 papers accepted in the 4 parallel workshops of XPS-99: a) Knowledge Management, Organizational Memory and Reuse, b) various fields of applications, c) the traditional PuK Workshop (planning and configuration), and d) the GWCBR (German workshop on case-based reasoning). The other papers presented at these workshops are not included in this volume but are available as internal reports of Würzburg university together with the exhibition guide that emphasizing tool support for building knowledge based systems.

The primary aim of this up-to-date research book is to report a sample of the most recent advances in the field of intelligent interactive systems in knowledge-based environments. It contains recent research and case studies of intelligent interactive systems. This book will prove useful to researchers, professors, research students and practitioners as it reports novel research work on innovative topics in the area of intelligent interactive systems.

Looking at ways to encode prior knowledge and to extract, refine, and revise knowledge within a neurocomputing system.Neurocomputing methods are loosely based on a model of the brain as a network of simple interconnected processing elements corresponding to neurons. These methods derive their power from the collective processing of artificial neurons, the chief advantage being that such systems can learn and adapt to a changing environment. In knowledge-based neurocomputing, the emphasis is on the use and representation of knowledge about an application. Explicit modeling of the knowledge represented by such a system remains a major research topic. The reason is that humans find it difficult to interpret the numeric representation of a neural network.The key assumption of knowledge-based neurocomputing is that knowledge is obtainable from, or can be represented by, a neurocomputing system in a form that humans can understand. That is, the knowledge embedded in the neurocomputing system can also be represented in a symbolic or well-structured form, such as Boolean functions, automata, rules, or other familiar ways. The focus of knowledge-based computing is on methods to encode prior knowledge and to extract, refine, and revise knowledge within a neurocomputing system.ContributorsC. Aldrich, J. Cervenka, I. Cloete, R.A. Cozzio, R. Drossu, J. Fletcher, C.L. Giles, F.S. Gouws, M. Hilario, M. Ishikawa, A. Lozowski, Z. Obradovic, C.W. Omlin, M. Riedmiller, P. Romero, G.P.J. Schmitz, J. Sima, A. Sperduti, M. Spott, J. Weisbrod, J.M. Zurada

"Challenging, theoretically rich yet anchored in detailed empirical analysis, Loet Leydesdorff's exploration of the dynamics of the knowledge-economy is a major contribution to the field. Drawing on his expertise in science and technology studies, systems theory, and his internationally respected work on the 'triple helix', the book provides a radically new modelling and simulation of knowledge systems, capturing the articulation of structure, communication, and agency therein. This work will be of immense interest to both theorists of the knowledge-economy and practitioners in science policy." Andrew Webster Science & Technology Studies, University of York, UK ________________________________________ "This book is a ground-breaking collection of theory and techniques to help understand the internal dynamics of the modern knowledge-based economy, including issues such as stability, anticipation, and interactions amongst components. The combination of theory, measurement, and modelling gives the necessary power with which to address the complexity of modern networked social systems. Each on its own would partly illuminate an innovation system, but the combination sheds a far brighter light." Mike Thelwall Information Science, University of Wolverhampton, UK ________________________________________ "The sociologist Niklas Luhmann is considered one of the few social scientists possibly able to explain a decisive event once it has happened. In this book, Loet Leydesdorff answers the challenge to take Luhmann's analysis one step further by introducing anticipation into the theory. This book provides a fascinating exploration of the use of recursion and incursion to model social processes." Dirk Baecker Sociology, Universitat Witten/Herdecke, Germany ________________________________________ How can an economy based on something as volatile as knowledge be sustained? The urgency of improving our understanding of a knowledge-based economy provides the context and necessity of this study. In a previous study entitled A Sociological Theory of Communications: The Self-Organization of the Knowledge-based Society (2001) the author specified knowledge-based systems from a sociological perspective. In this book, he takes this theory one step further and demonstrates how the knowledge base of an economic system can be operationalized, both in terms of measurement and by providing simulation models."

This five-volume set clearly manifests the great significance of these key technologies for the new economies of the new millennium. The discussions provide a wealth of practical ideas intended to foster innovation in thought and, consequently, in the further development of technology. Together, they comprise a significant and uniquely comprehensive reference source for research workers, practitioners, computer scientists, academics, students, and others on the international scene for years to come.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Knowledge Engineering and Knowledge Management, EKAW 2000, held in Juan-les-Pins, France in October 2000. The 28 revised full papers and six revised short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from a high number of high-quality submissions. The book offers topical sections on knowledge modeling languages and tools, ontologies, knowledge acquisition from texts, machine learning, knowledge management and electronic commerce, problem solving methods, knowledge representation, validation, evaluation and certification, and methodologies.

Domain Oriented Systems Development is the sixth volume in the Advanced Information Processing Technology series of the Information Processing Society of Japan. It draws together a collection of research papers on domain analysis and modeling written by a group of software engineers and researchers from Japan, Korea, Canada and Austria. The