products and services

l

Symbolic processing The Symbolic Manipulation Program (SMP) from Inference Corp is de- signed to solve mathematical prob- lems in symbolic form. ‘The expert whose knowledge was tapped to

build the program is a physicist, like the potential users. Tlnis makes a difference to the users because they don’t have to overcome the software’s

way of communicating before they can use it,’ says president Alexander Jacobson.

Inference is also working on the Advanced Reasoning Tool which allows users to construct customized expert systems. A similar product from Intelligenetics is the Knowledge Engineering Environment (Kee). Kee

is used to build the knowledge base, reasoning strategy and user interface for a system which approximates the behaviour of the expert or provides support for the expert.

According to Martin Hollander, VP of Intelligenetics, Kee allows users to mix tools and LISP methods. Kee is available in INTERLISP D on the Xerox 1100, 1108 and 1132 compu- ters, and in ZETALISP on the Symbol- its 3600. By using the Xerox and Symbolics machines, the software can take advantage of bit-mapping and graphics features that are not available on a standard 24 line terminal.

‘Kee tools are especially useful for

rapidly developing a prototype sys- tem. Users can get a feel for what an expert system should be like. Often an expert system is developed with Kee and LISP procedures on a LISP

computer, and then reprogrammed in another language for use on machines that are currently in use by an organi- zation,’ says Hollander.

Probably the best known expert systems are in the field of medicine where they have achieved 90 percent reliability in diagnoses. Related sys- tems include Intelligenetics’ BION, a genetic engineering workstation, used as a lab tool for designing and con- ducting experiments.

With the help of NCR, Teknow- ledge has developed Ocean to assist in configuring mainframe systems. Us- ing Ocean, factory personnel maintain an ‘electronic encyclopedia’ of main- frames. The system extends order entry and inventory control software

by inspecting and analysing orders, reasoning about their appropriateness and making conclusions about them. Marlene Brown E

Plant doctor Artificial intelligence is likely to have an impact on all aspects of our lives, not just academically or in business. For example, Metacomco has an expert system running on the ACT Apricot or IBM PC which helps with looking after houseplants. The system is called Plant Doctor, and prescribes treatment and care for over 45 types of houseplant.

The first section of the system is problem diagnosis. The system asks questions about symptoms and how the plant is cared for. It then calculates the likelihood of each disorder, out of a choice of 40, displays its conclusions and suggests remedial action.

The system is also a general houseplant information centre. It has a plant description and notes section, which includes advice on looking after and its favoured environment. Then a general care procedures section has more indepth data on care of the plant throughout the year, and how to propogate it.

The final section selects suitable plants for given situations. So the entire package gives general information about a limited number of plants, and helps in diagnosis of the more common ailments. The package costs &25 from Metacomco .

Although this is example is fairly light-hearted, Metacomco sees it as an example of how AI programs can be developed on hardware sufficiently cheap to allow one machine per person. (Metacomco, 26 Portland Sq, Bristol BS2 8RZ, UK. Tel: (0272) 428781) 0

~0127 no4 may 1985