Industrial Expert Systems Review: A Comprehensive Analysis of Typical Applications

As a branch of artificial intelligence (AI), expert systems are well-known for interpreting and deducing solutions to problems based on the rules contained within a knowledge base. Over the past decade, the application of expert systems in the industrial sector has matured significantly, permeating both upstream and downstream segments of the supply chain. Unlike traditional methods in industry, the approach using expert systems leverages the knowledge within domain experts, simulating the decision-making process of experts through rules and inference engines, rather than solely relying on the intuition of manual operators or engineers. In this study, the recent progress in the industrial application of expert systems were reviewed, including 1) the fundamental concepts of expert systems (e.g. the components of expert systems, expert systems based on different reasoning mechanisms, and the developmental history of expert systems) were briefly introduced; 2) the advantages and limitations of expert systems were discussed; 3) a series of detailed examinations for the expert system application in areas such as risk assessment, decision analysis, industrial classification, and fault diagnosis were elucidated in this study; 4) The challenges currently faced by expert systems and their future development prospects were discussed. This study not only reviewed the application of expert systems in the industrial field but also revealed how these systems drive automated decision support, reduce dependence on manual experience, and enhance operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Furthermore, the study highlighted future development directions. Overall, the research emphasized the importance of effectively integrating expert systems in industrial automation and intelligent manufacturing, providing valuable insights for practitioners and researchers.