PROSPECTOR

Presenter:

Junaid Khan
Department of Computer Science
University of Peshawar Pakistan
Junaid_upesh@yahoo.com
Geology and Geologist

What is Geology?
Geology is the study of the Earth, the materials of which it is made, the
structure of those materials, and the processes acting upon them.

Who are Geologists?

Geologists are scientists who study the physical structure and
processes of the Earth. They study many processes such as landslides,
earthquakes, floods. They conduct studies that locate rocks that contain
important metals, mines, locate and produce oil, natural gas and
ground water, etc.
What is an Expert System?
 An expert system is a software that attempts to
reproduce the performance of one or more human
experts, most commonly in a specific problem domain,
and is a traditional application and/or subfield of
artificial Intelligence. – Wikipedia.org

OR
to say more simply,

 An expert system is an intelligent computer program

designed to act as an expert in a particular area.
Block Diagram of an Expert System

Expert System
Knowledge Representation Schemes

Four types of schemes most commonly used are:

1. RULES
2. SEMANTIC NETS
3. LOGIC
4. FRAMES
Knowledge Representation Schemes

1. Rules:
Knowledge is represented in the form as:
IF condition THEN action

2. Semantic nets:
Suitable for representing knowledge of hierarchical nature.
e.g.
has-prop
Quadrilateral n-sides, closed

AKO
has-prop
Parallelogram Opposite sides parallel

AKO
has-prop
Rectangle All angles equal

AKO
has-prop
Square All sides equal length

Is-a
has-prop
Square-7 (50, 50)

Semantic nets supports inheritance

 Knowledge Representation Schemes
3. Logic: Knowledge about an object is represented by describing what is
known to be true about it with correctly formed sentences of logic.
For example, an arrangement of the blocks world

can be represented by the sentences of logic as:

block(a)
block(b)
block(c)
on(a,table)
on(c,table)
on(b,c) b
a c

4. Frames: A frame represents an object or situation by describing the

collection of attributes that it possesses. An example of an object
say “Book” is,

Title:
Author:
Date of publication:
Number of pages:
Some Famous Types of Expert System

 DENDRAL
 HEARSAY I and II
 MACSYMA
 INTERNIST
 MYCIN
 XCON-R1
 PUFF
 PROSPECTOR
PROSPECTOR

Prospector is an expert system that help

geologists locate ore deposits and to
identify sites for drilling or mining.
PROSPECTOR
 Developed by:Nine Experts: R. Duda, P. E.Hart, N.J. Nilsson, R.
Reboh, J. Slocum, G. Sutherland and John
Gasching (1974-1983)

 Developed at: Artificial Intelligence Center,

Stanford Research Institute (SRI) International
California, USA

Tools used: programmed in LISP, and is a descendant of

MYCIN
PROSPECTOR
 Domain: exploratory geology

 Task: evaluate geological sites

 User: Geologists

 Input: geological survey data

 Output: maps and site evaluations

 Architecture: rule-like semantic networks with

uncertainty
Operation of PROSPECTOR
 PROSPECTOR used a combined structure that
incorporated rules and a semantic network.

 PROSPECTOR had over 1000 rules.

 It was a consultation system to assist geologists working

in mineral exploration

 The user, an exploration geologist, was asked to input the

characteristics of a suspected deposit: the geological
setting, structures, kinds of rocks and minerals.

 PROSPECTOR compared these characteristics with models

of ore deposits and made an assessment of the suspected
mineral deposit. It could also explain the steps it used to
reach the conclusion.
PROSPECTOR: Operational Process

Characteristics of a particular exploration site are given

(e.g. geologic setting, structural controls, and kinds of rocks minerals,
and alteration products present or suspected)

PROSPECTOR compares observations with

stored models of ore deposits

PROSPECTOR notes similarities, differences

and missing information

(POSPECTOR asks for additional information if necessary)

PROSPECTOR assesses the mineral potential of the prospect

PROSPECTOR at Work
 PROSPECTOR: Operational Details

 PROSPECTOR uses RULES and SEMANTIC-NETS to organize

the domain knowledge and backward chaining inference
strategy

 The input data are assumed to be incomplete and uncertain

 PROSPECTOR performs a consultation to determine such

things as:
 which model best fits the data
 where the most favorable drilling sites are located
 what additional data would be most helpful in reaching firmer
conclusions
 What is the basis for these conclusions & recommendations
Conclusion:

Different features of geological area are

provided to PROSPECTOR and it suggest
whether or not potential exist for particular
ore.