To All,
Knowledge Industries provides the DXSolution Series Software to Automotive
Information Services (AIS) to build and operate a diagnostic system to aid
Automotive Service Technicians.
AIS provides this service to independent service garages around the U.S. on
a subscription basis and has an ever growing market share. They were
recently awarded the "Motor Top Twenty Tool" for 2003. AIS provides
Service Technician support for over 10,000 clients annually.
This application is, to my knowledge, the first commercial use of Bayes
Nets for Automotive Diagnostics and may also be the largest single public
commercial use of Bayesian Technology to date.
To see a test case used by AIS for recruiting subscribers, look at the AIS
site and follow the instructions below to see one of their Interactive
Bayesian Diagnostic Tool in profitable commercial use
* go to www.identifix.com
* Select the "Try Direct-Hit Now" tab in the upper left corner of the
screen
* After reading as much of the information on this screen as you find
of interest, Select the "Try it Now!" button in the center of the screen
* The demo is pre-set for a 1996 Ford Taurus. In operation the service
technician would identify the desired vehicle. Right of center there is a
"Most Frequent Symptoms" header and a list below. Select the first item
"Cranks but does not start"
* Right of center there is a "Search Results Summary" header that lists
the "knowledge "tools" that are available to help the technician. Select
the fourth "tool" labeled "Advanced Flowcharts(s)" to access the Bayesian
diagnostic running on the KI Inference Engine.
* At the "Advanced Flowcharts(s)" level, select the available flowchart
(Bayes Net) labeled "Engine Cranks But Does Not Start" to start the
Bayesian analysis
* Select the item on the left of the screen "Recommended Tests" - one
of the three modes of use for the Bayes network(s)
* At the center of the screen Click to enter the test results for the
first recommended test. The most important next test will then be
recommended by the Bayes Net and as you enter the results of that test the
"Recommended Fixes" will change to reflect the test results. The impact of
the test results will show under "Possible Fixes" on the left. The length
of the red bar will show the probability that the repair shown just below
the bar will resolve the symptoms. Note that the system does not require
the use of the "Enter" key - per the feedback from the users.
* Respond to as many questions as you like and explore the range of
responses. Note that the "Test Details" are included as an aid to the
Service Technician
* Continue entering Tests Results as you like. The system will make a
final recommendation when no further tests results could make an
appreciable change in "Possible Fixes".
Items to note:
* The Bayesian component was renamed as an "Advanced Flowchart" to meet
the expectations of the user base - Service Technicians have always used
flowcharts and they are more comfortable with an "Advanced" flowchart than
with a new tool called a Bayes Network.
* AIS delivers a very large and complex knowledge product to the user
- - the KI contribution is a unique and important added value component. The
KI component differentiates AIS from the other automotive information
services that offer similar, but static, information.
* There are over well over 700 separate Bayes nets of 100 to 200 nodes
in the system.
* The Bayes nets are built and maintained by a team of Automotive
Service Technicians using the KI DXpress Solution Series Software after
training provided by Jonathan Weiss and John Mark Agosta of Knowledge
Industries.
Jeff Sweet, President/CEO of AIS at [EMAIL PROTECTED] can provide you
with further information about their applications.
Questions?
Comments?
Cheers,
Ed Olmstead
President/CEO
Knowledge Industries, Inc
408 554 0712
408 396 5570
www.kic.com
www.symptomedix.com
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"Life is the art of drawing sufficient conclusions from insufficient
premises"
Samuel Butler 1835-1902
