Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T18:50:13.861Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Function based reasoning

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 July 2009

Amruth N. Kumar
Affiliation:
T.A.S., Ramapo College of New Jersey, Mahwah NJ 07430, USA and Computer Science, 226 Bell Hall, SUNY Buffalo, NY 14260, USA, (Email: amruth @ cs.buffalo.edu)

Extract

When a mechanic troubleshoots a car, a physician narrows down a diagnosis, a designer selects from among options, or a corporation conducts a post-mortem of a venture gone wrong, the nature knowledge used is more likely than not, the same. That knowledge is “function”, though in the above scenarios it may be variously referred to as “responsibility”, “causal factor” or “missing element”. Reasoning about function is an integral part of human reasoning. It is currently attracting a lot of attention in artificial intelligence.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allemang, D and Chandrasekaran, B, 1991. “Functional representation and program debugging”. In: Proceedings of the 6th Knowledge Based Software Engineering Conference.IEEE Press.Google Scholar
Franke, DW, 1991. “Deriving and using descriptions of purpose”. IEEE Expert (Special Track on Functional Reasoning) 6(2) 4147.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hodges, J, 1992. “Naive mechanics: A computational model of device use and function in design improvisation”. IEEE Expert (Special Track on Functional Reasoning) 7(2).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paynter, HM, 1961. Analysis and Design of Engineering Systems. MIT Press.Google Scholar
Sembugamoorthy, V and Chandrasekaran, B, 1986. “Functional representation of devices and compilation of diagnostic problem-solving systems”. In: Kolodner, and Riesbeck, (eds.), Experience, Memory and Reasoning. Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Sutton, M, Stark, L and Bowyer, KW, 1993. “Function-based generic recognition for multiple object categories”. In: Jain, AK and Flynn, PJ (eds.), Three-dimensional Object Recognition Systems. 227470, Elsevier.Google Scholar
Umeda, Y, Tomiyama, T and Yoshikawa, H, 1992. “A design methodology for a self-maintenance machine based on functional redundancy”. In: Taylor, DL and Stauffer, LA (eds.), Design Theory and Methodology. ASME.CrossRefGoogle Scholar