Interactive diagnostic system and method driven by expert system

A method for troubleshooting of networked electronic devices, comprising the steps of:

• an operator sending text or verbal commands to an input device, said commands functioning to notify the system of a problem with said networked electronic devices;
• said operator not being required to have any specialized knowledge;
• said input device asserting a fact to an inference engine, which said fact corresponds to said verbal or text commands;
• said inference engine adding said fact to a knowledge base;
• said inference engine applying rules from said knowledge base that are triggered by the assertion of said fact, in conjunction with a plurality of previously asserted facts contained in said knowledge base;
• said inference engine sending commands specified by one or a plurality of said rules to one or a plurality of said peripheral devices or to said input, said commands from said inference engine being for the purpose of gathering data about said networked electronic devices;
• said input and said peripheral devices providing responses to said commands from said inference engine;
• said responses in turn triggering said inference engine to assert new facts into said knowledge base;
• said new facts optionally triggering new rules in said knowledge base;
• said inference engine thus gathering data and following rules to troubleshoot said networked electronic devices;
• and
• said inference engine finally either resolving the problem with said networked electronic device or, optionally, said inference engine suspends troubleshooting when no more rules are triggered in said knowledge base, and leaves the fault for resolution by a human technician.

A system for troubleshooting of cable modems, comprising:

• an input responsive to verbal or text commands from an operator;
• said operator not being required to have any specialized knowledge;
• an inference engine computer program;
• a data storage for containing a knowledge base for use by said inference engine;
• and
• a plurality of peripheral devices suitable for gathering information about, sending information to, or gathering operational data from said cable modems;
• wherein said operator provides text or verbal commands to said input to notify the system of a fault in said cable modems, and said input asserts a fact to said inference engine, said fact corresponding to said text or verbal commands, and said inference engine adds said fact to said knowledge base, and said inference engine applies rules from said knowledge base which are triggered by said fact in conjunction with a plurality of previously asserted facts contained in said knowledge base, said rules including one or a plurality of rules requiring said inference engine to send commands to one or a plurality of said peripheral devices or to said input, said commands from said inference engine being for the purpose of gathering data about said cable modems, and said peripheral devices and said input provide responses to said commands from said inference engine, which said responses in turn trigger said inference engine to assert new facts into said knowledge base, which said new facts may trigger new rules to be executed by said inference engine, said inference engine thus gathering data and following rules to troubleshoot said cable modems.

A method for troubleshooting of cable modems, comprising the steps of:

• an operator sending text or verbal commands to an input device, said commands functioning to notify the system of a problem with said cable modems;
• said operator not being required to have any specialized knowledge;
• said input device asserting a fact to an inference engine, which said fact corresponds to said verbal or text commands;
• said inference engine adding said fact to a knowledge base;
• said inference engine applying rules from said knowledge base that are triggered by the assertion of said fact, in conjunction with a plurality of previously asserted facts contained in said knowledge base;
• said inference engine sending commands specified by one or a plurality of said rules to one or a plurality of said peripheral devices or to said input, said commands from said inference engine being for the purpose of gathering data about said cable modems;
• said input and said peripheral devices providing responses to said commands from said inference engine;
• said responses in turn triggering said inference engine to assert new facts into said knowledge base;
• said new facts optionally triggering new rules in said knowledge base;
• said inference engine thus gathering data and following rules to troubleshoot said cable modems.