Today’s automobiles are complex electronic systems containing hundreds of microprocessors and a large number of RF transmitters and receivers. Keeping track of all possible interactions that might result in an EMC problem is a formidable task. EMC Expert is an expert system, which provides tools for working with EMC data. The expert system tool can monitor the cable harness and electronic components while they are being designed. It can identify design features that are likely to present EMC problems and estimate the magnitude of these problems. In this way potential susceptibility, radiation, cross-talk problems can be averted before the first prototypes are built and tested.

The expert system is based on two ideas. First idea demands a system that makes judgements based on rules and given data, like a human expert is doing when he just on the same data. The second idea demands a system that judges like an expert that has also access to calculation routines and calculation programs. The expert is assumed to apply all routines and programs to the complete data  and detect EMC issues more accurately.

EMC Expert detects problems according rules. The rules access several EMC calculation functions that give interesting numbers for assessing potential problems.

The underlying Expert System language CLIPS is both very flexible and fast. Powerful calculations can be done directly on arbitrary data objects using the large amount of provided operations of EMC Expert. Electrical, mechanical, or economical calculations on harnesses can be done quickly and efficiently with the help of a large set of mathematical functions included. The rule definition language CLIPS can be learned easily.