EventiC: A Real-Time Unbiased Event-Based Learning Technique for Complex Systems

An improved method for the real time sensitivity analysis in large scale complex systems is proposed in this paper. The method borrows principles from the event tracking of interrelated causal events and deploys clustering methods to automatically measure the relevance and contribution made by each input event data (ED) on system outputs. The ethos of the proposed event modeling (EM) technique is that the behavior or the state of a system is a function of the knowledge acquired about events occurring in the system and its wider operational environment. As such it builds on the theoretical and the practical foundation for the engineering of knowledge and data in modern and complex systems. The proposed EM platform EventiC filters noncontributory ED sources and has the potential to include information that was initially thought irrelevant or simply not considered at the design stage. The real-time ability to group and rank relevant input-output ED in order of its importance and relevance will not only improve the data quality, but leads to an improved higher level of mathematical formulization in the modern complex systems. The contribution of the approach to systems' modeling is in the automation of data analysis, control, and plant process modeling. EventiC has been validated as the monitoring and the control system for a cement factory. In addition to the previously known parameters, the proposed EventiC identified new influential parameters that were previously unknown. It also filtered 18% of the input data without compromising the data quality or the integrity. The solution has improved the quality of input variable selection and simplify plant control strategies.