Fault diagnosis using first order logic tools

An automated circuit diagnostic tool implementing R. Reiter´s theory of diagnosis (1987) based on deep knowledge (i.e. knowledge based on certain design information) and using first-order logic as the representation language is discussed. In this approach, the automated diagnostician uses a description of the system structure and observations describing its performance to determine if any faults are apparent. If there is evidence that the system is faulty, the diagnostician uses the system description and observations to ascertain which component(s) would explain the behavior. In particular, Reiter´s method finds all combinations of components which explain this behavior