EDMES: An Expert System for Monitoring Environmental Control and Life Support Data

An expert system has been developed that can assist an Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) analyst/subsystem manager in monitoring data during testing in Johnson Space Center's ECLSS test facility and in real time during Shuttle flights. This expert system is called ECLSS Data Monitoring Expert System (EDMES). EDMES combines a knowledge base in the form of rules with a conventional FORTRAN-based computer model of the Shuttle cabin atmosphere. EDMES receives data, determines what is occurring, and uses the model to predict what will happen in the future.

This paper presents an overview of EDMES, describes the user interface, and reports on the testing of EDMES.