Model-Based Explanation of Plant Knowledge

摘要

This thesis deals with computer explanation of knowledge related to the designand operation of industrial plants. Power plants, steel mills, paper factories, and high energy physics control systems are studied to set requirements for explanation. A framework is formulated for analyzing explanations of plant knowledge. It consists of three parts: (1) a typology of explanation, organized of explanation (processes, automation, or support systems), (2) an identification of explanation tasks generic for the plant domain, and (3) an identification of essential model types for explanation (structural behavioral, functional, and teleological). The tasks use the models to create the explanations of the given classes. Key mechanisms are discussed to implement the generic explanation tasks. Knowledge representations based on objects and their relations form a vocabulary to model and present plant knowledge. A particular class of models, means-end models, is used to explain plant knowledge. Explanations are generated through searches in the models. Hypertext is adopted to communicate explanations over dialogue based on context. The results are demonstrated in prototypes.