Introducing Actions into Qualitative Simulation

Many potential uses of qualitative physics, such as robot planning and intelligent computer-aided engineering, require integrating physics with actions taken by agents. This paper proposes to augment qualitative simulation to include the effects of actions to form action-augmented envisionrnents . The action-augmented envisionment incorporates both the effects of an agent's actions and what will happen in the physical world whether or not the agent does something. Consequently, it should provide a richer basis for planning and procedure generation than any previous representation . This paper defines action-augmented envisionments and an algorithm for directly computing them, along with an analysis of its complexity and suitability for different kinds of problems . We describe work in progress on an implementation, and discuss potential extensions, including incremental algorithms . To be presented at the 2nd Qualitative Physics Workshop July, 1988, Paris, France 

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1989
• Where: IJCAI
• Authors: Kenneth D. Forbus
• Keywords: Action-augmented Envisionments, IJCAI 1989, IJCAI 2007, Many Potential Uses, Qualitative Physics