Knowledge representation and planning control in an expert system for the creative design of mechanisms

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Abstract
An interactive system, referred to as MECXPERT {Mechanism Expert}, has been designed with the expressed purpose of assisting nonexpert design engineers in creating mechanisms for fulfilling specific motion-conversion and/or power-transmission requirements. The particular knowledge representation scheme chosen for this application comprises a hybrid formulation of a rule-based production system with a frame-based approach. The underlying control strategy is based on a series of special-purpose, domain-specific operators whose function is to move from one problem space to another through various stages or ‘states’ that comprise the mechanism design process. The primary focus of this paper centers on the representation of knowledge and its control within an expert system for creative mechanism design. An overview summarizing the reasons for developing such an expert system is provided, and the formulation of a problem is discussed through an example taken from the design of a variable-stroke internal-combustion engine mechanism.