THREAT MATRIX ANALYSIS SYSTEM

• US 20070239408A1
• Filed: 03/05/2007
• Published: 10/11/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nucsafe, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Nucsafe, Inc.
• Inventors: Proctor, Alan, Manges, JoAnn T.
• Application Number:
  US11/682,026
• Publication Number:
  US 20070239408A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 703/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/025 Extracting rules from data

Abstract

A computerized system for evaluating a physical phenomenon. In some embodiments a data file defines at least one mathematical expression, and when multiple mathematical expressions are defined they are preferably defined in priority order. Each mathematical expression includes at least one physical variable. In some embodiments the mathematical expressions are Boolean expressions. A data acquisition system is configured to provide a measurement of physical parameters that correspond to the physical variables. In some embodiments the physical variables are radiation levels and the measurements of a physical parameter are radiation measurements. An execution engine is configured for sequentially reading each mathematical expression in the priority order from the data file. The execution engine then takes the measurement of the physical parameter corresponding to each physical variable and evaluates each mathematical expression by directly substituting each measurement of a physical parameter for each corresponding physical variable. The execution engine then initiates and associated actionable output if the computational result of the mathematical expression evaluates to a threshold criterion, such as TRUE or as FALSE.

Claims

1. A system for evaluating a physical phenomenon, the system comprising:

a data file defining a plurality of mathematical expressions, each mathematical expression incorporating at least one physical variable that at least in part establishes a computational result for the mathematical expression when the mathematical expression is evaluated, and each mathematical expression having an associated threshold criterion and having an associated actionable output to be initiated if the mathematical expression evaluates to the threshold criterion;

a data acquisition system configured for providing a measurement of a physical parameter corresponding to the at least one physical variable;

an execution engine configured for reading the plurality of mathematical expressions from the data file and configured for acquiring the measurement of a physical parameter corresponding to the at least one physical variable and configured for evaluating each mathematical expression by substituting each measurement of the physical parameter for the corresponding at least one physical variable and configured for initiating the associated actionable output if the computational result of the mathematical expression evaluates to the threshold criterion.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the plurality of mathematical expressions is defined in priority order in the data file and the execution engine is configured for sequentially reading the plurality of mathematical expressions in priority order.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the mathematical expressions comprise at least one Boolean expression wherein the computational result is a TRUE/FALSE logic state and the threshold criterion is an actionable logical state.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the at least one Boolean expression incorporates a physical variable that is a pseudo physical variable that comprises a subordinate Boolean expression that incorporates the at least one physical variable.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the data file is a compiled binary file.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein:

the data file defines a plurality of selected mathematical expressions;

the execution engine is configured for sequentially reading the plurality of selected mathematical expressions from the data file and configured for evaluating each selected mathematical expression by directly substituting each measurement of the physical parameter for the corresponding at least one physical variable and configured for initiating the associated actionable output if the computational result of the selected mathematical expression evaluates to the threshold criterion.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one mathematical expression includes expert knowledge.

8. A system for evaluating a physical phenomenon, the system comprising:

a data file defining a Boolean expression incorporating a physical variable that at least in part establishes a logical TRUE/FALSE state of the Boolean expression, and the Boolean expression having an associated actionable output to be initiated if the Boolean expression evaluates to an actionable logical state;

a data acquisition system for providing a measurement of a physical parameter corresponding to the physical variable;

an execution engine configured for reading the Boolean expression from the data file and configured for acquiring the measurement of the physical parameter and configured for evaluating the Boolean expression by substituting the measurement of the physical parameter for the physical variable and configured for initiating the actionable output if the logical TRUE/FALSE state of the Boolean expression evaluates to the actionable logical state.

9. The system of claim 8 where in the physical variable is a radiation level and measurement of a physical parameter is a radiation measurement.

10. The system of claim 8 wherein the Boolean expression incorporates a pseudo physical variable that comprises a subordinate Boolean expression that incorporates the physical variable.

11. The system of claim 8 wherein:

the Boolean expression incorporates a plurality of physical variables;

the data acquisition system provides a plurality of measurements of one or more physical parameters, each measurement corresponding to at least one of the physical variables; and

the execution engine directly substitutes each measurement of the one or more physical parameters for the corresponding at least one of the physical variables.

12. The system of claim 8 wherein the data file is a compiled binary file.

13. The system of claim 8 wherein the mathematical expression includes expert knowledge.

14. A method of evaluating a physical phenomenon, the method comprising:

(a) creating a prioritized set of rules, wherein each rule incorporates at least one physical variable that at least in part establishes a computational result for the rule when the rule is evaluated in view of a measurement of a physical parameter associated with the at least one physical variable;

(b) for each rule in the set of rules, defining a threshold criterion and defining an associated actionable output if the computational result of the rule evaluates to the threshold criterion;

(c) measuring the physical parameter corresponding to the at least one physical variable in each rule;

(d) evaluating each rule by substituting the measurement of the physical parameter corresponding to the at least one physical variable in the rule being evaluated and initiating the actionable output associated with the rule being evaluated if the computational result of the rule being evaluated evaluates to the threshold criterion associated with the rule being evaluated.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein step (a) comprises creating a prioritized set of rules, wherein one or more of the rules incorporate a plurality of physical variables that at least in part establish a computational result for the rule when the rule is evaluated in view of a measurement of the physical parameter associated with the at least one physical variable.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein at least one rule comprises a mathematical expression.

17. The method of claim 14 where at least one rule comprises a Boolean expression.

18. The method of claim 14 further comprising selecting a subset of the set of rules for evaluation;

and wherein;

step (c) comprises measuring a physical parameter corresponding to the at least one physical variable in each rule in the selected subset of the set of rules; and

step (d) comprises evaluating each rule in the selected subset of the set of rules by directly substituting the measurement of the physical parameter corresponding to the at least one physical variable in the rule being evaluated and initiating the actionable output with the rule being evaluated if the computational result of the rule being evaluated evaluates to the threshold criterion associated with the rule being evaluated.

19. The method of claim 14 further comprising,

step (b-1):

selecting for evaluation a subset of the physical variables that at least in part establishes a computational result for at least one rule when the at least one rule is evaluated, and

step (b-2);

selecting for evaluation a subset of the set of rules, the subset of the set of rules including each rule in the set of rules that incorporates physical variables corresponding only to physical variables in the subset of physical variables;

and wherein step (c) comprises measuring a physical parameter corresponding to the at least one physical variable in each rule in the subset of the set of rules; and

step (d) comprises evaluating each rule in the subset of the set of rules by directly substituting the measurement of the physical parameter corresponding to each at least one physical variable in the rule being evaluated and initiating the associated actionable output if the computational result of each selected mathematical expression evaluates to the threshold criterion associated with the rule being evaluated.

20. The method of claim 14 further comprising,

step (b-1) verifying availability of the measurement of a physical parameter corresponding to the at least one physical variable;

and

step (b-2) initiating an actionable output if the measurement of the physical parameter corresponding to the at least one physical variable is not available.