The GE MEAD computer-aided control engineering environment

The GE multidisciplinary expert-aided analysis and design (MEAD) project, which involves the integration of several computer-aided control engineering (CACE) packages under a supervisor which coordinates the execution of these packages with a database manager, an expert system, and an advanced user interface, is discussed. The principal components are, in functional terms: a supervisor, which integrates the underlying CACE packages and coordinates all activity within the GE MEAD computer program (GMCP); an expert system shell and rule bases for expert aiding of specific procedures to relieve the user from unnecessary low-level detail; a database manager for tracking system models that evolve over time along with associated results; and a user interface that facilitates access to the CACE package capabilities by permitting the user to work in several modalities, i.e. menu/forms style, using GE MEAD commands, the core packages´ native commands, or the GE MEAD macro facility. The operation of the GMCP, including the user interface, expert system, and database manager, is illustrated by examples