A knowledge based system for the selection of industrial sensors

In this paper a method is proposed to assist the designer of a measurement system in finding the optimal set of sensors for a given measurement problem. The method will be implemented on a computer system and will contain a framework for optimality, where the user can define, what is optimal in his/her case. To combat the combinatorial explosion during a search, solutions will be generated on different levels of abstraction. A solution at a high level of abstraction represents a large number of solutions at a lower level. This paper concentrates on modelling the physical world and the measurement system(s), which is necessary to identify possible sensor solutions. Modelling is performed in a systematic and modular way in order to enable an efficient search process.