An Integrated Architecture for Engineering Problem Solving

Abstract

Problem solving is an essential function of human cognition. To build intelligent systems that are capable of assisting engineers and tutoring students, we need to develop an information processing model that captures the skills used in engineering problem solving. This thesis describes the Integrated Problem Solving Architecture (IPSA) that combines qualitative, quantitative and diagrammatic reasoning skills to produce annotated solutions to engineering problems. We focus on representing expert knowledge, and examine how control knowledge provides the structure for using domain knowledge. To demonstrate our architecture for engineering problem solving, we present a Thermodynamics Problem Solver (TPS) that uses the IPSA architecture. TPS solves over 150 thermodynamics problems taken from the first four chapters of a common thermodynamics textbook and produces expert-like solutions.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 1998
Accession Number
ADA465520

Entities

People

  • Yusuf Pisan

Organizations

  • Northwestern University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Autonomy
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Artificial Intelligence Computing
  • Artificial Intelligence Software
  • Cognition
  • Cognitive Science
  • Computational Science
  • Computer Vision
  • Engineering
  • Engineers
  • Gas Laws
  • Heat Energy
  • Heat Transfer
  • Ideal Gas Law
  • Information Processing
  • Machine Learning
  • Psychology
  • Thermodynamics

Fields of Study

  • Computer science

Readers

  • Software Engineering.
  • Team-Based Human-Centered Cognitive Task Decision Making and Information Performance.
  • Theoretical Analysis.