National Dispatch Router: A Multiparadigm-Based Scheduling Adviser From Prototype to Production System

The national dispatch router (NDR) system is an application of AI technologies to a continuous mileage scheduling program. This system is the only such system we are aware of. It is written in Knowledge Craft and has been in production use since May 1988. NDR saves Digital Equipment Corporation 10 percent of its Continuous Mileage Program shipping costs in addition to providing several other benefits. The system also represents two successful technology transfers. The first was from a university, where the initial proof of concept was performed to Digital's Applied Intelligent Systems Group (AISG), and the second was from AISG to the user's Information Systems (IS) group, which has maintained the system for the past two years.