Module 02562 (2004)
Syllabus page 2004/2005
06-02562
Planning
Level 3/H
Links | Outline | Aims | Outcomes | Prerequisites | Teaching | Assessment | Books | Detailed Syllabus
The Module Description is a strict subset of this Syllabus Page. (The University module description has not yet been checked against the School's.)
Relevant Links
For more information (like notes, handouts) see the module web page at
http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~mmk/Teaching/Planning/.
Outline
The basic notions and problems of planning are presented. In particular we discuss the frame problem. In order to achieve practical results, the general planning problem has been restricted to special cases like the blocks world with complete information and one agent. For this setting, different procedures were developed; in particular the linear planning system STRIPS, non-linear planning and hierarchical planning with abstraction of the situation and of the operators will be presented. The advantages and disadvantages of the different approaches are discussed.
Aims
The aims of this module are to:
- introduce the basic concepts and terminology of planning
- give an overview on the main approaches to planning, including the classical approaches as well as recent developments
- present the strengths and limitations of the different approaches
- enable students to read up-to-date research papers in planning
Learning Outcomes
| On successful completion of this module, the student should be able to: | Assessed by: | |
| 1 | explain the main approaches in classical planning as well as recent methods of planning | Examination |
| 2 | understand and discuss the advantages and limitations of these approaches | Examination |
| 3 | apply the presented planning algorithms to unseen examples | Examination |
| 4 | explain the relationship between approaches to mechanised planning and human planning | Examination |
| 5 | read, understand, and give a presentation on a recent research paper in the field | In-class presentation |
Restrictions, Prerequisites and Corequisites
Restrictions:
None
Prerequisites:
06-18188 (Introduction to AI) (or equivalent)
Co-requisites:
None
Teaching
Teaching Methods:
2 hrs/week lectures, discussion classes, short presentations of original publications.
Contact Hours:
Assessment
- Supplementary (where allowed): As the sessional assessment
- The continuous assessment consists of the preparation and presentation of a seminar.
Recommended Books
| Title | Author(s) | Publisher, Date |
| Introduction to Artificial Intelligence | Charniak E & McDermott D | 1985 |
| Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach (Second Edition) | Russell S & Norvig P | 2003 |
| Artificial Intelligence: A New Synthesis | Nilsson NJ | 1998 |
| An Introduction to MultiAgent Systems | Wooldridge M | 2002 |
Detailed Syllabus
-
Basic notions of planning
- Goals, Blocks world, Deductive Planning, Frame Problem, frame axioms (tractability), planning as search (breadth-first search, depth-first search, heuristic search)
- Planning with STRIPS, Representation, Search, Limits
- (interaction of partial goals, unsolvable problems), Planning for simultaneous goals (Solution to the so-called Sussman anomaly)
- Non-Linear Planning
- (basic idea and notions, classification and solution of conflicts, critics), Linear vs. non-linear planning
- Hierarchical Planning
- (Planning with abstraction of situations, Planning with abstraction of operators)
- Increasing the Flexibility in Planning
- Conditional Planning (sensing, dependence on unknown facts)
- Reactivity vs Deliberation
- Distributed Planning
- Multi-agent planning
- Efficient methods (GraphPlan, SAT planning)
Last updated: 14 Mar 2004
Source file: /internal/modules/COMSCI/2004/xml/02562.xml
Links | Outline | Aims | Outcomes | Prerequisites | Teaching | Assessment | Books | Detailed Syllabus