GRADIENT: graphical dialogue support for process control

GRADIENT is a research project within the ESPRIT programme. The project aims to prove design principles, for the development of advanced interface systems for process control. The primary result is a graphical dialogue environment in which knowledge-based systems and dialogue design combine to provide advanced information processing for complex process control domains. From its inception, the run-time GRADIENT system was conceived to embody a software architecture derived from the philosophy of user interface management systems (UIMS). Within GRADIENT two monitoring and response systems are assigned, one to the process, and another to the operator. The former, a specialised expert system module, called QRES, attacks the problem of intelligent alarm handling. In his actions on the process, the operator is monitored by a plan-recognition system, called RESQ. This knowledge-based system attempts to interpret the operators´ likely control objectives, given the process state and his recent activity. Behind these two monitoring advisory systems, GRADIENT provides a support system with more extensive knowledge of the process plant