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We developed and compared Constraint Programming (CP) and Quantum Annealing (QA) approaches for rolling stock optimisation considering necessary maintenance tasks. To deal with such problems in CP we investigated specialised pruning rules and implemented them in a global constraint. For the QA approach, we developed quadratic unconstrained binary optimisation (QUBO) models. For testing, we use data sets based on real data from Deutsche Bahn and run the QA approach on real quantum computers from D-Wave. Classical computers are used to run the CP approach as well as tabu search for the QUBO models. We find that both approaches tend at the current development stage of the physical quantum annealers to produce comparable results, with the caveat that QUBO does not always guarantee that the maintenance constraints hold, which we fix by adjusting the QUBO model in preprocessing, based on how close the trains are to a maintenance threshold distance.
PDDL+ is an extension of PDDL that enables modelling planning domains with mixed discrete-continuous dynamics. In this paper we present a new approach to PDDL+ planning based on Constraint Answer Set Programming (CASP), i.e. ASP rules plus numerical constraints. To the best of our knowledge, ours is the first attempt to link PDDL+ planning and logic programming. We provide an encoding of PDDL+ models into CASP problems. The encoding can handle non-linear hybrid domains, and represents a solid basis for applying logic programming to PDDL+ planning. As a case study, we consider the EZCSP CASP solver and obtain promising results on a set of PDDL+ benchmark problems.
Fractals2019 started as a new experimental entry in the RoboCup Soccer 2D Simulation League, based on Gliders2d code base, and advanced to become a RoboCup-2019 champion. We employ combinatorial optimisation methods, within the framework of Guided Self-Organisation, with the search guided by local constraints. We present examples of several tactical tasks based on the Gliders2d code (version v2), including the search for an optimal assignment of heterogeneous player types, as well as blocking behaviours, offside trap, and attacking formations. We propose a new method, Dynamic Constraint Annealing, for solving dynamic constraint satisfaction problems, and apply it to optimise thermodynamic potential of collective behaviours, under dynamically induced constraints.
Stream constraint programming is a recent addition to the family of constraint programming frameworks, where variable domains are sets of infinite streams over finite alphabets. Previous works showed promising results for its applicability to real-world planning and control problems. In this paper, motivated by the modelling of planning applications, we improve the expressiveness of the framework by introducing 1) the until constraint, a new construct that is adapted from Linear Temporal Logic and 2) the @ operator on streams, a syntactic sugar for which we provide a more efficient solving algorithm over simple desugaring. For both constructs, we propose corresponding novel solving algorithms and prove their correctness. We present competitive experimental results on the Missionaries and Cannibals logic puzzle and a standard path planning application on the grid, by comparing with Apt and Brands method for verifying eventuality conditions using a CP approach.
Recently, the makespan-minimization problem of compiling a general class of quantum algorithms into near-term quantum processors has been introduced to the AI community. The research demonstrated that temporal planning is a strong approach for a class of quantum circuit compilation (QCC) problems. In this paper, we explore the use of constraint programming (CP) as an alternative and complementary approach to temporal planning. We extend previous work by introducing two new problem variations that incorporate important characteristics identified by the quantum computing community. We apply temporal planning and CP to the baseline and extended QCC problems as both stand-alone and hybrid approaches. Our hybrid methods use solutions found by temporal planning to warm start CP, leveraging the ability of the former to find satisficing solutions to problems with a high degree of task optionality, an area that CP typically struggles with. The CP model, benefiting from inferred bounds on planning horizon length and task counts provided by the warm start, is then used to find higher quality solutions. Our empirical evaluation indicates that while stand-alone CP is only competitive for the smallest problems, CP in our hybridization with temporal planning out-performs stand-alone temporal planning in the majority of problem classes.
This paper describes Picats planner, its implementation, and planning models for several domains used in International Planning Competition (IPC) 2014. Picats planner is implemented by use of tabling. During search, every state encountered is tabled, and tabled states are used to effectively perform resource-bounded search. In Picat, structured data can be used to avoid enumerating all possible permutations of objects, and term sharing is used to avoid duplication of common state data. This paper presents several modeling techniques through the example models, ranging from designing state representations to facilitate data sharing and symmetry breaking, encoding actions with operations for efficient precondition checking and state updating, to incorporating domain knowledge and heuristics. Broadly, this paper demonstrates the effectiveness of tabled logic programming for planning, and argues the importance of modeling despite recent significant progress in domain-independent PDDL planners.