MINERVA superseeded IF/Prolog.
Please see
http://www.ifcomputer.co.jp/MINERVA
for details.
We discontinued to sell IF/Prolog Dec 31. 2003.
For current customers, we continue to provide
professional support for IF/Prolog until Dec 31, 2008.
Deutsche Telecom AG in their nationwide phone shops provide advice
to customers about features of telephone equipment, telephone configuration,
fees etc. Because of the frequent revision of the products and the
complexity of the offered devices and services, sales staff needs
expensive and tim consuming training.
The then German Postal Service commissioned InterFace Computer GmbH to
develop a system to support advisory service in the telephone stores.
The goal is to translate the customer's wishes and requirements into a
viable and most economical configuration.
As a result of a search, the system proposes best match offers like
"two push phones and utilize Family Telephone System. The fee is
less than 40DM for two months."
In its knowledge base the characteristics of telephones, attachments
and telephone circuits are written in the form of frames. Regulations
on the configuration issued by Postal Service are expressed using
constraints. Proposals are generated by possibility-list method, i.e.,
searching all options and eliminating those which do not satisfy
requirements by customers and the regulations. It is also possible to
search combinations giving priority to the economical aspects.
The knowledge base is written in IF/Prolog to allow easy maintenance
and revisions in accordance with new products or services.
This system is used in over 150 telephone stores of the German Postal
Service and Deutsche Telecom. Advisors, with the help of this system,
can better satisfy the customers' wishes and explain the latest products
more in detail.
Business Partner : Siemens A.G.
Hardware : Siemens MX500
Software : IF/Prolog, SINIX, Collage
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