Improving the use of visual interactive simulation as a knowledge elicitation tool

Knowledge elicitation is a well-known bottleneck in the production of knowledge-based systems (KBS). This is mainly due to the tacit property of knowledge, which makes it difficult to be explicated, and hence analysed. Past research has shown that visual interactive simulation (VIS) could effectively be used to elicit episodic knowledge that is appropriate for machine learning (an AI capability that includes inductive learning) purposes, with a view of building a KBS. Nonetheless, the VIS-based elicitation process still has much room for improvement Based in the Ford Dagenham Engine Assembly Plant, a research project is being undertaken to investigate the individual/joint effects of visual display level and mode of problem case generation on the elicitation process. This paper looks at the methodology employed and some issues that have been encountered to date.