[mod.ai] Review - Spang Robinson Report, March 1987

E1AR0002@SMUVM1.BITNET.UUCP (03/27/87)

Spang Robinson Report, Volume Number 3, March 1987, Summary Thereof

The main article discusses AI and Database Technology with the results
of an interview with James Neiser of Ashton.  Ashton Tate is going to
be concentrating non-AI decison-rules with natural language and expert systems
to be considered later.  The newsletter also includes a two page table
listing various company's plans and products in the database-AI integration
area.

Other items of note in this article include:
  Symantec has sold 40,000 copies of their system which is a data base
  system with natural language.
  Cullinet has agreed to acquire the company selling a COBOL based expert
  system shell
  Man-Machine systems is marketing G-Base for the LMI Lambda and TI explorers
  which allows the interfacing of LISP and PROLOG to the database
  IBM has created a natural language and Prolog front end to SQL.
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New Applications of Expert Systems:
Cannon -  copier maintenance system
Ishikawajima Heavy Industry- engine failure analysis system
Yasukawa Electric Manufacturing System - large crane analysis system
Iwai Mechanical Industry - plant failure analysis sytem
Technical Collaborates - expert system for architects in the area of disaster/
                         safety regulations (in planning)
Takenaka Engineering - construction, surveying, (in development)
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Shorts

Fuji Xerox will be distributing PARC Smalltalk in Japan and ASR
will be marketing ExSys in Japan.

Medical Information Systems has a network allowing people to use medical
expert systems that is accesible via Fujitsu's VAN service.

Level Five Insight 2+ can access DBase II files.

The Senior marketer at Applied Expert Systems, Richard Karash, has left.
Larry Geisel is leaving  the Carnegie Group CEO position possibly to start
another company.

__________________________________________________________

The newsletter also contains a review of the recent IEEE conference on AI applic
ations.

Also reviews of the CRI Directory of Expert Systems and SEAI's Expert Systems 19
86:
An Assessment of Technology and Applications.