MAINTENANCE TRAINER: AN EMBEDDED KNOWLEDGE BASED SYSTEM FOR EQUIPMENT REPAIR

MAINTENANCE TRAINER IS AN EMBEDDED SYSTEM FOR TEACHING TECHNICIANS HOW TO MAINTAIN EQUIPMENT. IT RESPONDS TO THE GROWING NEED TO TRAIN MAINTENANCE EXPERTS IN A TIME OF EVER MORE INTRICATE WEAPONRY. MAINTENANCE TRAINER COMBINES AN EXPERT SYSTEM FOR TROUBLESHOOTING WITH INTELLIGENT TUTORING SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY. IT SHOULD NOT ONLY IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE OF TECHNICIANS IN THE SPECIFICS OF MAINTAINING A GIVEN PIECE OF EQUIPMENT, BUT SHOULD TEACH GENERAL PRINCIPLES TO IMPROVE HIS OVERALL PERFORMANCE. THE INTELLIGENT TUTOR WILL MODEL AN IDEAL SOLUTION TO THE TROUBLESHOOTING PROBLEM TO USE AS A TEMPLATE FOR EVALUATING STUDENT PERFORMANCE. IT WILL MODEL THE PROCESS OF STUDENT LEARNING. IT WILL INTERACT WITH THE STUDENT IN A FLEXIBLE AND FRIENDLY WAY, INTERFERING WHEN NECESSARY TO CORRECT ERRORS AND THE REASONING THAT CREATED THEM. THE EXPERT SYSTEM WILL UTILIZE RULE BASED KNOWLEDGE SYSTEM AND INFERENCE TECHNIQUES. MAINTENANCE TRAINER SHOULD REDUCE THE COST AND DECREASE THE TIME FOR TRAINING MAINTENANCE TECHNICIANS, AS IT STRENGTHENS THEIR SKILLS. PHASE I OF THE PROJECT WILL COMPLETE THE SYSTEM DESIGN AND DEMONSTRATE THE CONCEPT.