An Architecture for Real-Time Rule-Based Control

A method for control employing rule-based search is reviewed, and a Rule-Based Controller achieving economical real-time performance is described. Code optimization, in the form of LISP-to-Pascal knowledge base translation, provides real-time search execution speed and a processing environment enabling highly integrated symbolic and numeric computation. With a multiprocessor software architecture specifying rule-based protocol for control task communication, and a hardware architecture providing concurrent implementation within a multi-microprocessor system, the controller realizes a set of cooperating real-time expert systems. Based on experience gained through the design and implementation of a Rule-Based Flight Control System, the proposed approach appears applicable to a large class of complex control problems.