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3.3. Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) : Ian F. C. Smith EPFL, Switzerland

This document discusses case-based reasoning (CBR), which involves finding solutions to new problems by adapting solutions to similar past cases. It describes the five main steps in CBR: representation, retrieval, adaptation, storage, and maintenance. Retrieval involves finding the most similar past cases, adaptation modifies the solution to fit the new problem, and storage saves the adapted solution as a new case. CBR is useful when past cases exist and remembering experience is helpful, and it has been applied in fields like medicine, law, and management.

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36 views

3.3. Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) : Ian F. C. Smith EPFL, Switzerland

This document discusses case-based reasoning (CBR), which involves finding solutions to new problems by adapting solutions to similar past cases. It describes the five main steps in CBR: representation, retrieval, adaptation, storage, and maintenance. Retrieval involves finding the most similar past cases, adaptation modifies the solution to fit the new problem, and storage saves the adapted solution as a new case. CBR is useful when past cases exist and remembering experience is helpful, and it has been applied in fields like medicine, law, and management.

Uploaded by

varunsingh214761
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Knowledge Component 3: Acquiring Data and Knowledge

3.3. Case-Based
Reasoning (CBR)

Ian F. C. Smith
EPFL, Switzerland
1

Module Information
Intended audience
Novice
Key words
Case-based reasoning, information
retrieval, adaptation, case storage
Author
Ian F.C. Smith, EPFL, Switzerland
Reviewers

Review Board:

Bill OBrian, TCCIT IC Committee Chair, University of Texas Austin, USA


Guillermo Salazar, TCCIT Edu Committee Chair, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, USA
William Rasdorf, TCCIT JCCE editor, North Carolina State University, USA
Chimay Anumba, Loughborough University, UK.

The ASCE GCEC Officers:

Renate Fruchter, ExCom Past Chair, Stanford University, USA


Carlos Caldas, TCCIT DIM Committee Chair, University of Texas Austin, USA

Tomasz Arciszewski, ExCom Chair, George Mason University, USA


Ian Smith, ExCom Vice-Chair, EPFL, Switzerland
Hani Melhem, ExCom Vice-Chair, Kansas State University, USA

The ASCE Technical Council on Computing and IT


Officers:

Renate Fruchter, ExCom Past Chair, Stanford University, USA


Kim Roddis, ExCom Chair, George Washington University, USA
Raymond Issa, ExCom Vice Chair, University of Florida Gainesville,
USA
Hani Melhin, ExCom Secretary, Kansas State University, USA
Ian Flood, ExCom Member at Large, University of Florida Gainesville,
USA
Ian Smith, ExCom Member, EU Liaison, EPFL, Switzerland

Outline
Introduction
Steps in Case-Based Reasoning
CBR Cycle
CBR in Everyday Life

Principle
Case-based reasoning (CBR) involves finding
solutions to new tasks by reusing good solutions
to old tasks.
CBR systems have many advantages over other
types of computer systems for decision support.
Some of them are given in the following slides.

Advantages of CBR
The process of storing cases often involves
transformations that are computationally less
expensive than those necessary with other
representations.
A good case is often an easy shortcut in the
search for good solutions.
The closed-world assumption associated with
abductive tasks (Module 1.3) is explicitly related to
the number of available cases.
6

Advantages (cont'd.)
When only small changes are made to the old
case, intrinsic advantages of the old case are
transferred to the new task.
Cases are often the best way to represent
knowledge, especially when the available models
are unreliable.
The capability of the system can be enhanced by
simply adding a case.

Advantages (cont'd.)
Large case-based reasoning systems are currently
used for diagnosis, maintenance, planning and
customer support.
There is much potential in civil engineering.

Outline
Introduction
Steps in Case-Based Reasoning
CBR Cycle
CBR in Everyday Life

Five Steps
There are five main steps in the development and
use of a CBR system.

Representation
Retrieval
Adaptation
Storage
Maintenance

10

Step 1: Representation
This step involves decisions related to how the case is
stored in the computer.
For example, if cases are to be stored in a relational
database, appropriate attributes have to be selected.
This is an important step since it can greatly influence
the quality of support provided.
One has to know clearly for what purpose the cases are
intended before finalizing the representation.
11

Step 1: Representation (cont'd.)


Characteristics of both task and solution must be
represented.
Task characteristics are used for case retrieval (Step 2)
and solution characteristics are used for case adaptation
(Step 3).
Case =

Task
characteristics

Solution
characteristics

12

Step 2: Retrieval
This step involves the selection of a case (or cases)
that have task characteristics which are similar to the
new task.
Here, the challenge involves defining what the word
similar means.
Hundreds of similarity metrics exist. The most common
employ nearest neighbor methods.

13

Steps 2: Retrieval (cont'd.)


Below is a simple example of a nearest neighbor
method for numerical attributes.
For a simple nearest neighbor calculation:
1. For each task attribute, define a maximum value
for the difference, Max.diff. This value sets the
limit for similarity. Beyond this value, two attribute
values are not similar.

14

Steps 2: Retrieval (cont'd.)


2. Define weight factors wf using a scale that describes
the relative importance of each task attribute.
An iterative loop begins here:
3. For the given case, for each task attribute, calculate
the difference (absolute value) between the value for
the attribute in the case and in the new task.
Divide this difference by Max.diff. Values greater
than 1 are set to 1. This result is called Distance.
15

Steps 2: Retrieval (cont'd.)


4. Evaluate the similarity variable for each task
attribute
Similarity = 1-Distance
5. Calculate a weighted overall similarity measure
between two cases [01]

similarity wf
Overall _ Similarity
wf
and return to step 3.
16

Steps 2: Retrieval (cont'd.)


6. Report all cases having values for overall similarity
that are above a pre-set level.
If possible, it is always preferable to report more than
one case. Engineers want computers to give them
choices, not answers.
At this point, users may choose to ignore certain cases
according to considerations that are not represented in
the task attributes.

17

Steps 3: Adaptation
The adaptation stage is the most difficult to implement
on a computer.
Here, the solution attributes of the retrieved case(s)
are modified to suit the new task. This is seldom
automated.
User interaction is often essential in order to bring in
the domain knowledge necessary for creating a useful
solution.

18

Steps 3: Adaptation (cont'd.)


While this stage is poorly supported in many
commercial systems, it is the crucial stage of casebased reasoning.
Without this stage, case-based reasoning would be no
more than an exercise in information retrieval.

19

Steps 4: Storage
The storage stage involves storing the newly found
solution in the case base for future use.
If the solution is within the scope of solutions that
were envisaged when case attributes were defined,
this stage is straightforward.

20

Steps 5: Maintenance
The maintenance stage involves elimination of cases
that are no longer relevant to the tasks that will come
in the future.
This stage may also include the task of ensuring that
the cases uniformly cover the entire range of
possible attribute values.

21

Outline
Introduction
Steps in Case-Based Reasoning
CBR Cycle
CBR in Everyday Life

22

The CBR Cycle


Initial Cases
Solution

Storage

Data Base

Maintenance

Adaptation

Retrieval

New Task
23

Outline
Introduction
Steps in Case-Based Reasoning
CBR Cycle
CBR in Everyday Life

24

CBR in Everyday Life


The concept of CBR is used in other fields where
decisions are required in open worlds.
Medicine
Doctors remember previous medical cases,
especially for rare symptoms
Law
Case histories are always consulted
Judgments often depend on precedents
Management
Learning through study of previous cases
25

Suitability of CBR
Well suited tasks
Classification
Diagnosis
Prediction
Control
Harder for CBR
Synthesis of systems
Engineering design
Planning of complex projects
26

Review Quiz
List the process steps for all CBR methods.
What are characteristics that indicate that a
CBR approach may be suitable?
What is the end criterion for retrieval?

27

Answers to Review Quiz


List the process steps for all CBR methods.
Retrieve the most similar case(s) comparing
the present case to the library of past cases
Select a retrieved case to solve the current task
Adapt the old case to make a new solution
Retain the new solution as a new case
Maintain the case base

28

Answers to Review Quiz


What are characteristics that indicate that a CBR
approach may be suitable?
Records of previously solved problems exist
Remembering previous experience is useful
Cases can be represented and stored without
excessive use of resources
Adaptation of cases is feasible
Maintenance that ensures complete and
uniform coverage is possible
29

Answers to Review Quiz


What is the end criterion for retrieval?
Retrieval is complete when the best
matching case is found.
Subtasks involve:
identifying a set of relevant problem descriptors
matching the case and returning a set of
sufficiently similar cases (given a similarity
criterion)
selecting the best case from the set of cases
returned

30

Summary
CBR involves finding solutions to new tasks by
reusing good solutions to old tasks.
The capability of a system can be increased by
simply adding a case.
There are 5 stages in the CBR methodology:
Representation

Retrieval
Adaptation
Storage
Maintenance
31

Further Reading
J. Kolodner. Case-Based Reasoning. Morgan
Kaufmann Publishers, San Mateo, CA, 1993
Raphael, B. and Smith, I.F.C. Fundamentals of
Computer-Aided Engineering, Wiley, 2003
Case-Based Reasoning on the Web, University of
Kaiserslautern, http://www.cbr-web.org

32

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