Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Computer Science Department
Proposal for a Masters Thesis
CONFIGURATION DESIGN: THE VT PROBLEM
This thesis would study the ability of DSPL to encode configuration
design knowledge. The Knowledge Acquisition community has issued some
standard problems for study and solution, so that different methods
for acquiring knowledge and building knowledge-based systems (KBS) can
be compared. DSPL is a language for building KBSs to do routine
design, where the design problem can be expressed as assigning values
to a predetermined set of attributes. The VT problem is the design of
an elevator. It was solved by a system called VT in 1986. A complete
specification of the problem is available.
The work would consist of an extensive literature review, an
evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of DSPL, in general and for
this problem, and the building of a system that solves the VT task, or
as much of it as can be handled by DSPL. Suitable preparation for the
thesis would be a knowledge of, or at least interest in, AI, Expert
Systems and Design.
Prof. David Brown
FL 131
831-5618
dcb@cs.wpi.edu