Educational expert systems for computer-aided design of control systems

The issues underlying the development of an educational computer-aided design (CAD) expert system for controller design and digital circuit design are discussed. The research is based on an analysis of the specific system design process. Background and historical information concerning CAD is given. An overview of the generic issues, problem decomposition, design characteristics, and specific artificial intelligence techniques in the implementation of an expert system is presented, with emphasis on the development of TOTAL-EASE, an expert system for control engineering, and on a digital integrated circuit design associate. An evaluation of the system using a series of test problems and a questionnaire process indicates positive user satisfaction