State inference in a heterogeneous system

Abstract

The invention relates to inferring the state of a system of interest having a plurality of indicator values and possibly being heterogeneous in nature. A number of indicator values from a control state and from a comparison state are gathered. From these indicator values, classification power between the control and comparison states (measure of goodness) is computed. Difference values are computed for the indicator values from the system of interest based on the difference to the indicator values from control and comparison states. From a number of these indicators, composite indicators are formed, and composite measures of goodness and composite difference values are computed. A plurality of composite indicators may be formed at different levels. These indicators may be represented as a tree and grouped according to content, and at the same time they may be arranged according to the measure of goodness or some other value. The indicators, measures of goodness, and difference values may be visualized and shown to a user, who may use such a representation for inferring the state of the system.

1 - 24 . (canceled) 
     
     
         25 . A method in an apparatus for inferring a state of a system of interest, the method comprising the steps of:
 defining a first indicator and a second indicator in a system, where the values of the first indicator and the second indicator are indicative of the state of the system of interest;   determining a measure of goodness for said first indicator and for said second indicator by using values of said first indicator and values of said second indicator, respectively, of a control state and a comparison state;   determining a difference value for said first indicator and for said second indicator in a system of interest with reference to said first and second indicators in said control and comparison states;   defining a composite indicator of said first indicator and said second indicator;   determining a measure of goodness for the composite indicator by using information indicative of said measure of goodness of said first indicator and said second indicator;   determining a difference value for the composite indicator in a system of interest; and   arranging said composite indicator to be used in inferring the state of the system of interest.   
     
     
         26 . A method according to  claim 25 , further comprising the steps of:
 forming said difference values for said first and second indicators to be indicative of whether the system of interest is in a control state or a comparison state or in a state between the control state and the comparison state; and   displaying difference values arranged according to their respective measures of goodness for inferring the state of the system of interest.   
     
     
         27 . A method according to  claim 25 , further comprising the step of displaying said difference values of said first, second and composite indicators of said system of interest to a user, wherein:
 said difference values of said first, second and composite indicators of said system of interest are displayed with a value such as a number, a symbol, a color, a shade, a pattern, a bar or a gauge; and   said difference values of said first, second and composite indicators are at least one of highlighted and suppressed according to the respective measure of goodness of said first, second and composite indicators using a visual cue such as at least one of size, blinking, position on the display, and stacking.   
     
     
         28 . A method according to  claim 25 , further comprising the steps of:
 displaying said difference value of said composite indicator of said system of interest with a colour symbol on a first level in a tree structure;   displaying said difference values of said first and second indicator of said system of interest with a colour symbol on a second level in a tree structure;   displaying said measures of goodness of said first, second and composite indicators of said system of interest with a size of said colour symbol.   
     
     
         29 . A method according to  claim 28 , further comprising the steps of:
 grouping said tree structure by forming groups of indicators that are on the same level of the tree and that are linked to a composite indicator of another level; and   arranging said groups of said tree structure according to said measures of goodness so that indicators having a larger measure of goodness are arranged to appear visually together.   
     
     
         30 . A method according to  claim 29 , further comprising the steps of:
 arranging said groups of indicators to appear horizontally in a decreasing order according to the respective measures of goodness of the composite indicators; and   arranging indicators inside said groups of indicators to appear vertically in a decreasing order according to their respective measures of goodness.   
     
     
         31 . A method according to  claim 25 , further comprising the step of:
 computing the difference value of said composite indicator of said system of interest from the difference values of said first and second indicator of said system of interest, the calculation being done according to the respective measures of goodness of said first and second indicator of said system of interest, such as using a weighted average.   
     
     
         32 . A method according to  claim 25 , further comprising the step of:
 computing the measures of goodness of said first, second and composite indicators by determining a statistical probability of said indicator being a reliable measure for determining whether the said system of interest belongs to said at least one control or comparison state.   
     
     
         33 . A method according to  claim 25 , further comprising the step of:
 computing the measure of goodness of said composite indicator of said system of interest using attributes of said first and second indicators of said system of interest in the calculation.   
     
     
         34 . A method according to  claim 25 , further comprising the step of:
 computing at least one said difference value by comparing an indicator of said system of interest to indicators of at least one control and comparison state; and   computing at least one said measure of goodness by using a statistical distribution of said at least one control and comparison state.   
     
     
         35 . An apparatus for inferring a state of a system of interest, said apparatus comprising:
 at least one processor and memory comprising computer program code, the memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:
 define a first indicator and a second indicator in a system, where the values of the first indicator and the second indicator are indicative of the state of the system of interest; 
 determine a measure of goodness for said first indicator and for said second indicator by using values of said first indicator and values of said second indicator, respectively, of a control state and a comparison state; 
 determine a difference value for said first indicator and for said second indicator in a system of interest with reference to said first and second indicators in said control and comparison states; 
 define a composite indicator of said first indicator and said second indicator; 
 determine a measure of goodness for the composite indicator by using information indicative of said measure of goodness of said first indicator and said second indicator; 
 determine a difference value for the composite indicator in a system of interest; and 
 arrange said composite indicator to be used in inferring the state of the system of interest. 
   
     
     
         36 . An apparatus according to  claim 35 , further comprising computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:
 form said difference values for said first and second indicators to be indicative of whether the system of interest is in a control state or a comparison state or in a state between the control state and the comparison state; and   display difference values arranged according to their respective measures of goodness for inferring the state of the system of interest.   
     
     
         37 . An apparatus according to  claim 35 , further comprising computer program code configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to:
 display said difference values of said first, second and composite indicators of said system of interest to a user, wherein:
 said difference values of said first, second and composite indicators of said system of interest are displayed with a value such as a number, a symbol, a color, a shade, a pattern, a bar or a gauge; and 
 said difference values of said first, second and composite indicators are highlighted and/or suppressed according to the respective measure of goodness of said first, second and composite indicators using a visual cue such as size, blinking, position on the display or stacking. 
   
     
     
         38 . An apparatus according to  claim 35 , further comprising computer program code configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to:
 display said difference value of said composite indicator of said system of interest with a colour symbol on a first level in a tree structure;   display said difference values of said first and second indicator of said system of interest with a colour symbol on a second level in a tree structure; and   display said measures of goodness of said first, second and composite indicators of said system of interest with a size of said colour symbol.   
     
     
         39 . An apparatus according to  claim 38 , further comprising computer program code configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to:
 group said tree structure by forming groups of indicators that are on the same level of the tree and that are linked to a composite indicator of another level; and   arrange said groups of said tree structure according to said measures of goodness so that indicators having a larger measure of goodness are arranged to appear visually together.   
     
     
         40 . An apparatus according to  claim 39 , further comprising computer program code configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to:
 arrange said groups of indicators to appear horizontally in a decreasing order according to the respective measures of goodness of the composite indicators; and   arrange indicators inside said groups of indicators to appear vertically in a decreasing order according to their respective measures of goodness.   
     
     
         41 . An apparatus according to  claim 35 , further comprising computer program code configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to:
 compute the difference value of said composite indicator of said system of interest from the difference values of said first and second indicator of said system of interest, the calculation being done according to the respective measures of goodness of said first and second indicator of said system of interest, such as using a weighted average.   
     
     
         42 . An apparatus according to  claim 35 , further comprising computer program code configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to:
 compute the measures of goodness of said first, second and composite indicators by determining a statistical probability of said indicator being a reliable measure for determining whether the said system of interest belongs to said at least one control or comparison state.   
     
     
         43 . An apparatus according to  claim 35 , further comprising computer program code configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to:
 compute the measure of goodness of said composite indicator of said system of interest using attributes of said first and second indicators of said system of interest in the calculation.   
     
     
         44 . An apparatus according to  claim 35 , further comprising computer program code configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to:
 compute at least one said difference value by comparing an indicator of said system of interest to indicators of at least one control and comparison state; and   compute at least one said measure of goodness by using a statistical distribution of said at least one control and comparison state.   
     
     
         45 . A system for inferring a state of a system of interest,comprising at least one processor, memory including computer program code, the memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the system to:
 define a first indicator and a second indicator in a system, where the values of the first indicator and the second indicator are indicative of the state of the system of interest;   determine a measure of goodness for said first indicator and for said second indicator by using values of said first indicator and values of said second indicator, respectively, of a control state and a comparison state;   determine a difference value for said first indicator and for said second indicator in a system of interest with reference to said first and second indicators in said control and comparison states;   define a composite indicator of said first indicator and said second indicator;   determine a measure of goodness for the composite indicator by using information indicative of said measure of goodness of said first indicator and said second indicator;   determine a difference value for the composite indicator in a system of interest; and   arrange said composite indicator to be used in inferring the state of the system of interest.   
     
     
         46 . A system according to  claim 45 , further comprising computer program code configured to, with the processor, cause the system to:
 form said difference values for said first and second indicators to be indicative of whether the system of interest is in a control state or a comparison state or in a state between the control state and the comparison state; and   display difference values arranged according to their respective measures of goodness for inferring the state of the system of interest.   
     
     
         47 . A computer program product for inferring a state of a system of interest, said computer program product being stored on a computer readable medium and executable in a data processing device, the computer program product comprising:
 a computer program code section for defining a first indicator and a second indicator in a system, where the values of the first indicator and the second indicator are indicative of the state of the system of interest;   a computer program code section for determining a measure of goodness for said first indicator and for said second indicator by using values of said first indicator and values of said second indicator, respectively, of a control state and a comparison state;   a computer program code section for determining a difference value for said first indicator and for said second indicator in a system of interest with reference to said first and second indicators in said control and comparison states;   a computer program code section for defining a composite indicator of said first indicator and said second indicator;   a computer program code section for determining a measure of goodness for the composite indicator by using information indicative of said measure of goodness of said first indicator and said second indicator;   a computer program code section for determining a difference value for the composite indicator in a system of interest; and   a computer program code section for arranging said composite indicator to be used in inferring the state of the system of interest.   
     
     
         48 . A computer program product according to  claim 47 , further comprising
 a computer program code section for forming said difference values for said first and second indicators to be indicative of whether the system of interest is in a control state or a comparison state or in a state between the control state and the comparison state; and   a computer program code section for displaying difference values arranged according to their respective measures of goodness for inferring the state of the system of interest.