Informal Introduction To Similarity-Based and Case-Based Reasoning

Chapter 3
Informal Introduction to
Similarity-Based and
Case-Based Reasoning
Stand 20.12.00
Recommended References
This lecture is not intended to provide a complete
introduction into case based reasoning. It will rather deal
only with those aspects which are used in applications to
e-c. For additional readings we recommend:
A. Aamodt, E. Plaza: Case-Based Reasoning: Foundational
Issues, Methodological Variations, and System Approaches. AI
Communications 7(1) (1994), S.39-59.
M. Lenz, B. Bartsch-Sprl, H.-D. Burkhard, S. Wess (eds.): CaseBased Reasoning Technology. Springer Lecture Notes in AI 1400,
1998.
R. Bergmann, S. Breen, M. Gker, M. Manago, S. Wess:
Developing Industrial Case-Based Reasoning Application - The
INRECA- Methodology. Springer Lecture Notes in AI 1612, 1999.
-2-
(c) 2000 Dr. Ralph Bergmann and Prof. Dr. Michael M. Richter, Universitt Kaiserslautern
Case-Based Reasoning (CBR)

Case-based reasoning (CBR) is a certain technique which
was based on analogical reasoning.
The main intention is to reuse previous experiences for
actual problems.
The difficulty arises when the actual situation is not
identical to the previous one: There is an inexactness
involved.
Its main aspect is that CBR-techniques allow inexact
(approximate) reasoning in a controlled manner.
Here we will shortly describe its main features.
Major applications have been fault diagnosis and help
desk systems.
-3-
Similarity Based Reasoning

The central notion in CBR is the concept of similarity.
The methods in CBR have been extended in a way which
allows applications to other problems rather than reusing
previous experiences:
in electronic commerce e.g. to product selection.
This is due to an abstract formulation of the similarity

concept.
In particular, the main algorithms of CBR can still be
applied to these new situations.
We will first describe the original technique informally and
then proceed to the extensions.
-4-
What is CBR?
Case-based reasoning is [...] reasoning by remembering.

Leake, 1996
A case-based reasoner solves new problems by adapting solutions

that were used to solve old problems.
Riesbeck & Schank, 1989
Case-based reasoning is a recent approach to problem solving and

learning [...]
Aamodt & Plaza, 1994
Case-based reasoning is both [...] the ways people use cases to

solve problems and the ways we can make machines use them.
Kolodner, 1993
-5-
History of CBR in USA
Roger Schank, Yale University: Cognitive Science

1977: Scripts for knowledge representation (Schank, Abelson)
1983: Dynamic Memory Theory, Memory Organization Packets
CYRUS: First implemented CBR-System (Kolodner)
1983-1988: Other Systems, e.g., JUDGE, SWALE, CHEF
Bruce Porter, Austin Texas: Concept Learning

1986-89: System PROTOS (Exemplar-based concept representation)
Edwina Rissland, U. of Massachusetts: Cases in Law (since 1983)

1990-92: Systems HYPO (Ashley) and CABARET (Skalak)
Jaime Carbonell & Manuela Veloso, Carnegie Mellon U.: Analogy

since 1990 Prodigy/Analogy: Case-based Planning using analogy
Interest in CBR is increasing in USA (new research groups),
since 1988 several DARPA and AAAI Workshops
-6-
History of CBR in Europe
Michael M. Richter, U. Kaiserslautern, Germany: CBR for Expert Systems

1988-1991 Systems MOLTKE and PATDEX (technical diagnosis)
since 1991 Case-Based Planning: Systems Caplan/CbC, PARIS
since 1992 European Projects INRECA, INRECA-II, WEBSELL
Ramon Mantaras, Enric Plaza, IIIA Blanes, Spain: CBR and ML

1990 Case-Based Learning for medical diagnosis
Agnar Aamodt, U. Trondheim, Norway: CBR and Knowledge Acquisition

1991 System CREEK: Integration of Cases and general knowledge
Mark Keane, Trinity College, Dublin: Cognitive Science

since 1988 Theory of analogical reasoning
Since 1991 Increasing interest in Europe (several new research groups)

1991 First German CBR Workshop (AKCBR, GWCBR)
1993 First European CBR Workshop (EWCBR)
1995 First International CBR Conference (ICCBR)
-7-
Extensions to E-Commerce
The extensions to applications in electronic commerce have
been developed in various research projects like
WEBSELL (Esprit project, No. 27068 ):

tec:inno GmbH, Germany (prime contractor)
Interactive Multimedia Systems, IMS, Ireland
IWT Magazin Verlags GmbH, Germany
Adwired GmbH, Switzerland
Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
University of Kaiserslautern, Germany
READEE (Rhineland-Palatinate):
tec;inno GmbH, Germany
Engineering Office Conradi & Partner
University of Kaiserslautern, Germany
-8-
Example Applications (Overview)

Commercial applications are, e.g.:
Accommodation search in the Mritz region:
http://www.mueritz.de/
Search for Operational Amplifiers (Analog Devices):
http://imsgrp.com/analog/psearch.htm
Support for networking products (3Com):
http://knowledgebase.3com.com/
Travel Agency - Last Minute Trips (Check Out Touristik):
http://www.reiseboerse.com/
-9-
Case-Based Reasoning (CBR)

Basic Ideas:
Store previous experience (case)
Solve new Problems by selecting and reusing cases
Store new experience again
Replaces 0-1-logic by approximation

Is a well-founded technology:
Mathematically
Algorithmically
With respect to software technology
Supported by experiments and applications
Business success
- 10 -
What is a Case ?
A case has two parts:
Description of a problem or a set of problems
(generalized case)
Description of the solution of this problem
(formally or informally)
Possibly additions like explanations, comments on the quality
of the solution etc.
Cases represent experiences :
They record how a problem was solved in the past
- 11 -
Different Case Representations

Free text: textual CBR (tecInnos CBR answers,
ServiceSoft, Serviceware, Inferences casepoint 1st step)
Lists of questions and answers: conversational

CBR (Halley enterprise, Inferences casepoint 2nd step).
No common case structure.
Database like representation: structural CBR
(tecInnos CBR Works and orenge, Acknosofts KATE,
CaseBank, Isofts Recall, CSIs Remind)
- 12 -
Structured Case Representation

Many different case representations are used (see chapters 4 and
5):
Depend on requirements of domain and task
Structure of already available case data
Flat feature-value list

Simple case structure is sometimes sufficient for problem solving
Easy to store and retrieve in a CBR system
Object-oriented representations
Case: collection of objects (instances of classes)
Required for complex and structured objects
For special tasks:

Graph representations: case = set of nodes and arcs
Plans: case = (partially) ordered set of actions
Predicate logic: case = set of atomic formulas
- 13 -
How to Use a Case

Problem
of the case
Problem
Solution ?
Solution
adaptation
Solution
of the case
In general, there is no guarantee for getting good solutions

because the case may be too far away from the problem. Therefore
the problem arises how to define when a case is close enough.
- 14 -
How to Use a Case-Base

A case base is a data base of cases
If a new problem arises one will use a case from the
case base in order to solve the problem
If we have many cases then the chance is higher to
find one with a suitable solution
Because the given problem is usually not exactly in the
base one wants to retrieve a case which solved a
problem which is similar enough to be useful
Hence, the notion of similarity is central to CBR
The concept of similarity based retrieval is compared
with data base retrieval
- 15 -
Knowledge Container of CBR

In order to solve problems one needs knowledge.
Where is it located: In knowledge containers.
Similarity
measure
Vocabulay
Solution
transformation
Case
base
Storage
Compilation
Data
Information
Knowledge
Cases have not

to be understood in
order to be stored
A task of knowledge management is the

maintenance of the containers.
- 16 -
Typical Problems Handled with CBR:

Classification and Diagnosis
A class is a certain subset of some universe and a
classification assigns to each element one or more
classes to which it belongs.
In fault diagnosis the classification is only the first
step:
Observations
diagnosis
classification
repair
Domain rules
Diagnosis occurs frequently in After Sales Support,

see chapter 12
- 17 -
A Simple Example (I) Overview

Typical Scenario: Call Center
Technical Diagnosis of Car Faults:
symptoms are observed (e.g., engine doesnt start) and
values are measured (e.g., battery voltage = 6.3V)
goal: Find the cause for the failure (e.g., battery empty) and
a repair strategy (e.g., charge battery)
Case-Based Diagnosis:
a case describes a diagnostic situation and contains:
description of the symptoms
description of the failure and the cause
description of a repair strategy
store a collection of cases in a case base
find case similar to current problem and reuse repair strategy
- 18 -
A Simple Example (II)

What does a Case Look Like?
A case describes one particular diagnostic situation

A case records several features and their specific values
occurred in that situation
A case is not a ( general) rule !!
Feature
C
A
S
E
1
Value
Problem (Symptoms)
Problem: Front light doesnt work
Car: VW Golf IV, 1.6 l
Year: 1998
Battery voltage: 13,6 V
State of lights: OK
State of light switch: OK
Solution
Diagnosis: Front light fuse defect
Repair: Replace front light fuse
- 19 -
A Simple Example (III)

A Case Base With Two Cases
Each case
describes one
particular situation
All cases are
independent of
each other
C
A
S
E
1
C
A
S
E
2
Problem (Symptoms)
Car: VW Golf III, 1.6 l
Year: 1996
State of lights: OK

Solution

Problem (Symptoms)
Car: Audi A4
Year: 1997
State of lights: surface damaged

Solution
Diagnosis: Bulb defect
Repair: Replace front light

- 20 -
A Simple Example (IV)

Solving a New Diagnostic Problem
A new problem has to be solved

We make several observations in the current situation
Observations define a new problem
Not all feature values have to be known
Note: The new problem is a case without solution part
Feature
Value
Problem (Symptom):
Problem: Break light doesnt work
Car: Audi 80
Year: 1989
Battery voltage: 12.6 V
State of light: OK
- 21 -
A Simple Example (V)

Compare the New Problem with Each Case
and Select the Most Similar Case :
New
NewProblem
Problem
Similar?
Similar?
C
A
S
E
x
When are two cases similar?

How to rank the cases according to their similarity?
Similarity is the most important concept in CBR !!
We can assess similarity based on the similarity of each feature

Similarity of each feature depends on the feature value.
BUT: Importance of different features may be different
- 22 -
A Simple Example (VI)

Similarity Computation
Not similar
Very similar
Assignment of similarities for features values.
Express degree of similarity by a real number between 0 and 1
Examples:
Feature: Problem
Front light doesnt work
0.8
Break light doesnt work
Front light doesnt work
0.4
Engine doesnt start
12.6 V
0.9
Feature: Battery voltage
(similarity depends on the difference)
13.6 V
0.1
6.7 V
12.6 V
Different features have different importance (weights)!
High importance: Problem, Battery voltage, State of light, ...
Low importance: Car, Year, ...
- 23 -
A Simple Example (VII)

Compare Similarity and Case 1
Problem (Symptom)
Car: Audi 80
Year: 1989
State of lights: OK
Very important feature: weight = 6

Less important feature: weight = 1
0.8
0.4
0.6
0.9
1.0
Problem (Symptoms)
Car: VW Golf III, 1.6 l
Year: 1996
State of lights: OK
Solution
Similarity computation by weighted average

similarity(new,case 1) = 1/20 * [ 6*0.8 + 1*0.4 + 1*0.6 + 6*0.9 + 6* 1.0 ] = 0.86
- 24 -
A Simple Example (VIII)

Compare Similarity and Case 2
Problem (Symptom)
Car: Audi 80
Year: 1989
State of lights: OK
Very important feature: weight = 6

Less important feature: weight = 1
0.8
0.8
0.4
0.95
0
Problem (Symptoms)
Car: Audi A4
Year: 1997
State of lights: surface damaged
Solution
Similarity computation by weighted average

similarity(new,case 2) = 1/20 * [ 6*0.8 + 1*0.8 + 1*0.4 + 6*0.95 + 6*0 ] = 0.585
Case 1 is more similar: due to feature State of lights
- 25 -
A Simple Example (IX)

Reuse the Solution of Case 1
C
A
S
E
1
Problem (Symptoms):
...
Solution:
Problem (Symptom):
Car: Audi 80
Year: 1989
State of light: OK
Adapt Solution:
How do differences in the
problem affect the solution?
New Solution:
Diagnosis: Break light fuse defect
Repair: Replace break light fuse

- 26 -
A Simple Example (X)

Store the New Experience
If diagnosis is correct:
Store new case in the memory.
C
A
S
E
3
Problem (Symptoms):
Car: Audi 80
Year: 1989
State of lights: OK
Solution:
Diagnosis: break light fuse defect
Repair: replace break light fuse
- 27 -
Customer Classification
In e-c another classification problem arises: To define
classes of customers with the same behavior and
treat the customers according to their class:
Observations
about the
customer
Customer
class
Customer
treatment
Domain
knowledge
Inexact
classification
This will be discussed in chapter 10.

- 28 -
The Classical CBR R4-Cycle
This cycle shows the main

activities in CBR
[from: Aamodt & Plaza, 1994]
Retrieve:
Problem
New
Case
Re
tai
n
Learned
Case
Confirmed
Solution
Case
Base
Reuse:
New
Retrieved Case
Case
Knowledge
Re
vis
e
Tested/
Repaired
Case
Re
t r ie
ve
Determine most similar case(s).
Re
us
e
Solved
Case
Solve the new problem re-using

information and knowledge in the
retrieved case(s).
Revise:
Evaluate the applicability of the
proposed solution in the real-world.
Retain:
Suggested
Solution
Update case base with new learned

case for future problem solving.
- 29 -
Retrieve: Modeling Similarity

The similarity based retrieval realizes an inexact match
which is still useful:
Useful solutions from a case base
Useful products from a product base
Different approaches depending on case representation

Similarity measures (see chapter 6):
Are functions to compare two cases
sim: Case x Case [0..1]
Local similarity measure: similarity on feature level
Global similarity measure: similarity on case or object level
For special tasks (see chapters 5 and 6):

(Sub-)Graph isomorphism for graph representations
Logical inferences
- 30 -
Similarities (1)
Similarities are described by measures with
numerical values
They operate on
problem descriptions, demands, products ,...
Intention:
The more similar two problem descriptions C and D are,
the more useful it is two use one of the solutions also
for the other problem.
The more similar a demand and a product are the more
useful is the product for satisfying the demand.
- 31 -
Similarities (2)
Given a fixed problem (demand) C
A similarity measure introduces a partial ordering (to be
more or less similar to C) on
the set of problems and therefore also on the case base
the set of products and therefore on the the product base.
The basic intention means that more similar also

means more useful with respect to the solutions
Therefore the similarity measure controls the utility
when inexact solutions are employed or the desired
product is not exactly as desired available.
- 32 -
Similarities (3)
An important consequence of the intention is that
similarity is strongly related to utility
Utility is provided by the customer and should reflect
his interests and needs
Similarity is secondary because it is used to find
solutions for the customer.
Similarity is therefore not an absolute notion like truth
but a problem dependent notion.
- 33 -
Similarities (4)
The similarity measure is the central element to
navigate through the space of possible solutions or
possible products.
Instead of presenting the exact solution similarity is a
concept to approximates it.
Even when the exact or optimal solution is not
available or too difficult to achieve one comes still up
with at least a suggestion for the solution.
- 34 -
A Typical Similarity Measure
Given two problem descriptions C1, C2

p attributes y1, ..., yp used for the representation
p
SIM(C1,C2) j sim j(C1,C2)

j 1
simj : similarity for attribute yj (local measure)

wj : describes the relevance of attribute j for the problem
- 35 -
Retrieval: Finding The Nearest Neighbor

For a new problem C the nearest neighbor in the case
base is the case (D,L) for which problem D has the
greatest similarity to C.
Its solution L is intended to be most useful and is then
the best solution the case base can offer (or best
available product).
Classical databases use always total similarity
(i.e. equality).
The access to data in databases is in similarity based
systems replaced by the search for the nearest
neighbor. It can be regarded as an optimization
process.
This requires more effort but can be much more useful.

- 36 -
Thresholds and Rough Sets

The nearest neighbor (in the given case base) is not always
sufficient for providing an acceptable solution.
On the other hand, a case which is not the nearest neighbor may
be sufficient enough.
For this purpose one can introduce two thresholds and , 0 <
< < 1 with the intention
If sim(newproblem, caseproblem) < then the case is not accepted;
If sim(newproblem, caseproblem) > then the case is accepted.
This partitions this case base (for the actual problem into three
parts (so-called rough sets): accepted cases, unaccepted cases
and an uncertainty set.
The same works for product bases.
- 37 -
Retrieve: Efficiency Issues

Efficient case retrieval is essential for large case bases and
large product spaces.
Different approaches depending
on the representation
complexity of similarity computation
size of the base
Organization of the base:

Linear lists, only for small bases
Index structures for large bases, e.g., kd-trees,
retrieval nets, discrimination nets
2-Phase retrieval: MAC-FAC strategies
How to store cases or products:

Databases: for large bases or if shared with other applications
Main memory: for small bases, not shared
See chapter 7.
- 38 -
Reuse: How to Adapt the Solution

No modification of the solution: just copy. Manual/interactive
solution adaptation by the user.
Automatic solution adaptation :
Transformational Analogy: transformation of the solution
Rules or operators to adjust solution w.r.t. differences in the
problems
Knowledge required about the impact of differences
Derivational Analogy: replay of the problem solving trace
Complete generative problem solver
Knowledge required about how to solve the problem in principle
Compositional adaptation: combine several cases to a single solution
See chapter 9
- 39 -
Adaptation in Electronic Commerce

The best available product may not satisfy customers
demands sufficiently well.
Customize the product if possible
Exchange, add or remove parts
Change parameters
etc.
Suggest product bundles if an individual product does

not satisfy the customers demands
Product Configuration
See chapter 9.
- 40 -
Revise: Verify and Correct Solution

Revise phase: little attention in CBR research today
No revise phase
Verification of the solution by computer simulation
Verification / evaluation of the solution in the real world
For products: Technical or customer evaluation, buying decision
Criteria for revision

Correctness of the solution
Quality of the solution
Other, e.g., user preferences
- 41 -
Retain: Learning from Problem Solving

What can be learned
New experience (new case)

Improved similarity assessment, importance of features
Organization/indexing of the case base to improve efficiency
Knowledge for solution adaptation
Forgetting cases, e.g., for efficiency or because out-of-date
Methods
Storing cases in the case base

Deleting cases from the case base
Explanation-based learning
Induction, e.g. of decision trees
Neural net style learning
- 42 -
Advantages of CBR over other

Techniques
Reduces the knowledge acquisition effort
Requires less maintenance effort
Improves problem solving performance through
reuse
Makes use of existing data, e.g. in databases
Improves over time and adapt to changes in the
environment
High user acceptance
- 43 -
Reduce Knowledge Acquisition Effort

Traditional KnowledgeBased Systems
CBR Systems
Solution
Knowledge Acquisition
Domain
Knowledge
!!
KBS
Require less general

knowledge
Most knowledge in case
base
Case knowledge is easier to
acquire (sometimes already
available)
Knowledge Base
Problem
Acquisition of general
knowledge is very difficult !!
- 44 -
Less Effort Required for Maintenance

What is the impact of changes of the environment ?
Rule bases or models are difficult to maintain
Many dependencies between rules

Rules of KBS often difficult to understand for non AI experts
Effects of changes of the rule base are hard to predict
Maintenance by the domain expert impossible !!
Case bases are easier to maintain
Cases are independent from each other

Domain experts and novices understand cases quite easy
Maintenance of CBR system (partially) by adding/deleting cases
However, changes in the vocabulary container require more effort
- 45 -
Expert Systems vs. CBR

Expert System
CBR System
Expert should be replaced

Should generate new
knowledge
Knowledge implicitly stored in
an expert system model
Supports the inexperienced

user in routine operations
Searching for similar cases and
adapting these if necessary
Knowledge explicitly stored in
concrete cases and similarity
measures
Hard to maintain because of

Distinctly easier to maintain
unpredictable implications by
and to update
model changes and extensions
Aimed at 100% coverage of
Works with the pareto principle
knowledge domain
- 46 -
Databases vs. CBR

Database System
CBR System
simple search all or

nothing
using same database but

search for most similar cases
often too many hits

(underspecification) or no hits
at all (overspecification)
system can be told to show

only, e.g., 10 cases by
descending order
no specific domain knowledge

used for the search
considers domain knowledge

for search by using similarity
measures, e.g., spatial or
geographical relations
pure database applications

cannot be used for online
consulting
online consulting is the power

of a CBR system
- 47 -
Positioning the CBR System

Stored
Solution
Knowledge,
Models
New
Case
RETRIEVE
RETAIN
Verified
Solution
Case Base
Knowledge Model
REVISE
Closed Knowledge Model
Adapted
Solution
Increasing
Knowledge Centralization
Expert Systems
Data,
Examples
REUSE
Open Database
Increasing
Example Orientation
CBR Systems
- 48 -
Similar
Case
Databases
Search Engines / Information Retrieval vs.

CBR (I)
Search Engine
CBR as an alternative for traditional information

retrieval systems:
intelligent search in unstructured documents
possible
Especially: Internet or Intranet
Someone searching will be lead to the
solution/relevant information step by step by selective
questions
CBR
- 49 -
Search Engines / Information Retrieval vs.

CBR (II)
Properties
Search Engines
CBR Systems
index the Internet
specific for one application
search for Web sites is possible
search for problem solutions

possible
search is processed by
keywords
search processed by features
no specific know-how present
specific know-how about the

domain used, even necessary
- 50 -
When to Use CBR?

... users have to be supported and advised
... cases can easily be identified and created,
products are simple to describe
... easy maintenance of the case based is desired
... no 100% coverage of the domain is required
... Similarity based retrieval is acceptable fast
CBR technology can be

understood as the fusion of
these concepts whereby the
advantages of knowledgebased systems are linked to
existing data.
- 51 -
Database
Expert
System
CBR
Information
Retrieval
The R4-Cycle for Electronic Commerce

The sales process
in the CBR-view
Retrieve:
Initial
demands
Re
t r ie
ve
Re
fin
User
demands
Product
Base
Evaluation
Reuse:
User
Retrieved
demands
product
Knowledge
Re
vis
e
Tested
product
Determine most similar product(s).
Modified
product
Re
us
e
Adapt/configurate the product using

information and knowledge
Revise:
Evaluate the product in the real world.
Refine:
Learn from customer behavior
Offer
- 52 -
Use of CBR Concepts in E-C (1)

In a sales context the customer has a demand to be
satisfied. The realization of the demand can be in
achieved basically two ways:
1) Use the CBR approach: Store cases of the form (demand,
product) in a case base and search for a similar demand in the
base if a new demand arises.
2) Try to associate directly a product to a demand without storing
cases.
In the sales context several classification tasks occur

(e.g. classification of customers). Again, there are the two
approaches as above.
When searching a suitable supplier also similarities can
be applied
- 53 -

The classical CBR approach:
nearest neighbor search
demand
(customer)
demand from case

(customer from case)
stored
product ?
(class ?)
reuse
- 54 -
product from case

(class from case)

The extended approach:
demand
(customer)
nearest neighbor search
Requires:
Notion of similarity
between
demand and product
(customer and class)
product from product base

(customer class)
- 55 -

The retrieval algorithms developed in CBR can still be
applied.
The special situations may, however, require modifications
or variations of such algorithms.
The solution transformation will play an important role
because selected products often do not satisfy customer
demands without modification.
As a new requirement we will encounter configuration:
There may be only parts of products available in the
product base and for the demanded product one needs a
design from the parts.
- 56 -

Problems with the extended approach:
The terminology used in the descriptions of demand and
product (customer and customer class) is often quite
different.
Therefore similarity measures are more difficult to define.
This will be discussed in chapters 9 and 10.
Advantages of the new approach:

There is no case base necessary (which is often not
available);
The basic techniques (e.g. similarity based retrieval, inexact
classification) can still be applied.
The similarity based approach is often superior to standard
information and data based retrieval techniques.
- 57 -
Advantages of Using Similarity in E-C

Similarity based retrieval provides always an answer
(e.g. an offered product).
Answers can also be provided for incompletely stated
queries.
Change of user preferences can be reflected by
changed similarity measures.
The number of retrieved answers can be controlled
by selecting the m nearest neighbors.
Answers can be improved using adaptation.
- 58 -
Summary
CBR is a technique for solving problems based on experience
CBR problem solving involves four phases:

Retrieve,
Reuse,
Revise,
Retain
CBR systems store knowledge in four containers:

Vocabulary, Case Base,
Similarity Concept, Solution Adaptation
Large variety of techniques for:

representing the knowledge, in particular, the cases
realizing the different phases
CBR has several advantages over traditional KBS
The basic techniques of CBR have been extended to the needs of

E-Commerce.
- 59 -

Informal Introduction To Similarity-Based and Case-Based Reasoning

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Informal Introduction To Similarity-Based and Case-Based Reasoning

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Chapter 3

Case-Based Reasoning (CBR)

Similarity Based Reasoning

This is due to an abstract formulation of the similarity

Case-based reasoning is [...] reasoning by remembering.

A case-based reasoner solves new problems by adapting solutions

Case-based reasoning is a recent approach to problem solving and

Case-based reasoning is both [...] the ways people use cases to

History of CBR in USA

Roger Schank, Yale University: Cognitive Science

Bruce Porter, Austin Texas: Concept Learning

Edwina Rissland, U. of Massachusetts: Cases in Law (since 1983)

Jaime Carbonell & Manuela Veloso, Carnegie Mellon U.: Analogy

History of CBR in Europe

Michael M. Richter, U. Kaiserslautern, Germany: CBR for Expert Systems

Ramon Mantaras, Enric Plaza, IIIA Blanes, Spain: CBR and ML

Agnar Aamodt, U. Trondheim, Norway: CBR and Knowledge Acquisition

Mark Keane, Trinity College, Dublin: Cognitive Science

Since 1991 Increasing interest in Europe (several new research groups)

WEBSELL (Esprit project, No. 27068 ):

Example Applications (Overview)

Case-Based Reasoning (CBR)

Replaces 0-1-logic by approximation

Different Case Representations

Lists of questions and answers: conversational

Structured Case Representation

Flat feature-value list

For special tasks:

How to Use a Case

In general, there is no guarantee for getting good solutions

How to Use a Case-Base

Knowledge Container of CBR

Cases have not

A task of knowledge management is the

Typical Problems Handled with CBR:

Diagnosis occurs frequently in After Sales Support,

A Simple Example (I) Overview

A Simple Example (II)

A case describes one particular diagnostic situation

A Simple Example (III)

Problem: Front light doesnt work

Car: VW Golf III, 1.6 l

Battery voltage: 13,6 V

State of light switch: OK

Diagnosis: Front light fuse defect

Repair: Replace front light fuse

Problem: Front light doesnt work

Battery voltage: 12,9 V

State of lights: surface damaged

State of light switch: OK

Diagnosis: Bulb defect

Repair: Replace front light

A Simple Example (IV)

A new problem has to be solved

A Simple Example (V)

When are two cases similar?

We can assess similarity based on the similarity of each feature

A Simple Example (VI)

Assignment of similarities for features values.

Express degree of similarity by a real number between 0 and 1

Front light doesnt work

Break light doesnt work

Front light doesnt work