Knowledge Based Systems: A powerful yet deceptive engineering tool

Knowledge Based System (KBS) technology emanating from a sub-field of Artificial Intelligence can be a powerful and yet deceptive engineering tool. Its power is evident from the magnitude of published KBS applications. Its deceit lies in the illusion that the technology is universally powerful and relatively simple to implement. This paper attempts to aid the engineer with the handling and application of this new tool: by firstly presenting an overview of the historical evolution of KBS’s and describing their organization, and secondly, by describing a number of successful engineering applications of KBS’s. Common deceptive pitfalls and simplifications are exposed at each step.