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Introduction

NeurOn-Line lets you create and manipulate truth values, which NeurOn-Line calls Inference Values.

You can find the Inference Blocks palette under the Action & Other submenu of the Palettes menu:

Observations

The first three blocks on this palette¯High Value Observation, Low Value Observation, Equality Observation, and Conclusion¯ detect features in (or draw "observations" from) your data. These blocks take a data value as input, test it, and pass the inference value that the test produced as output. Since you can state the test as an observation, such as "the input temperature is greater than or equal to 100°," these blocks are called Observations. They mark the transition from the data stage to the inference stage of your diagram.

The Observation blocks and the Conclusion block have special properties that the rest of the blocks on this palette do not have:

Triggering action blocks. Every condition has an output Control Path on the bottom of its icon. The block passes a control signal down that path whenever it passes a .true status value.
Triggering capabilities. You can attach any capability to a Condition, including those dealing with alarms.
Overriding. Every condition has an override menu choice that lets you manually enter the value it passes on.
Locking. Every condition also has a lock menu choice, described in "Locking and Unlocking Blocks", that lets you lock in the value. The output value won't change until you choose the unlock menu choice.

The first three blocks test values against a threshold:

The High Value Observation block tests whether the input value is higher than a threshold.
The Low Value Observation block tests whether the input value is lower than a threshold.
The Equality block tests whether the input value is equal to a reference value.

The Conclusion block is the simplest of these blocks. It serves no function other than providing you with an Observation block's special properties.

Performing Logical Operations

The blocks listed below perform basic logical operations on inference values:

The AND Gate block passes .true if all its input status values are .true.
The OR Gate block passes .true if any of its input status values are .true.
The NOT Gate block passes the opposite of its input status value.

Pausing Paths

The Inference Inhibit block lets you enable or disable an inference path depending on another inference value.

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