The GE MEAD computer-aided control engineering environment

The GE multidisciplinary expert-aided analysis and design (MEAD) project, which involves the integration of several computer-aided control engineering (CACE) packages under a supervisor which coordinates the execution of these packages with a database manager, an expert system, and an advanced user interface, is discussed. The principal components are, in functional terms: a supervisor, which integrates the underlying CACE packages and coordinates all activity within the GE MEAD computer program (GMCP); an expert system shell and rule bases for expert aiding of specific procedures to relieve the user from unnecessary low-level detail; a database manager for tracking system models that evolve over time along with associated results; and a user interface that facilitates access to the CACE package capabilities by permitting the user to work in several modalities, i.e. menu/forms style, using GE MEAD commands, the core packages' native commands, or the GE MEAD macro facility. The operation of the GMCP, including the user interface, expert system, and database manager, is illustrated by examples.<>