This document discusses constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs) and techniques for solving them. It begins by defining CSPs as problems with variables, domains of possible values, and constraints limiting assignments. Backtracking search and heuristics like minimum remaining values are described as standard approaches. Constraint propagation techniques like forward checking and arc consistency are explained, which aim to detect inconsistencies earlier. The 4-queens problem is provided as an example CSP.
Problem solving
Problem formulation
Search Techniques for Artificial Intelligence
Classification of AI searching Strategies
What is Search strategy ?
Defining a Search Problem
State Space Graph versus Search Trees
Graph vs. Tree
Problem Solving by Search
Artificial Intelligence: Introduction, Typical Applications. State Space Search: Depth Bounded
DFS, Depth First Iterative Deepening. Heuristic Search: Heuristic Functions, Best First Search,
Hill Climbing, Variable Neighborhood Descent, Beam Search, Tabu Search. Optimal Search: A
*
algorithm, Iterative Deepening A*
, Recursive Best First Search, Pruning the CLOSED and OPEN
Lists
Problem solving
Problem formulation
Search Techniques for Artificial Intelligence
Classification of AI searching Strategies
What is Search strategy ?
Defining a Search Problem
State Space Graph versus Search Trees
Graph vs. Tree
Problem Solving by Search
Artificial Intelligence: Introduction, Typical Applications. State Space Search: Depth Bounded
DFS, Depth First Iterative Deepening. Heuristic Search: Heuristic Functions, Best First Search,
Hill Climbing, Variable Neighborhood Descent, Beam Search, Tabu Search. Optimal Search: A
*
algorithm, Iterative Deepening A*
, Recursive Best First Search, Pruning the CLOSED and OPEN
Lists
Minmax Algorithm In Artificial Intelligence slidesSamiaAziz4
Mini-max algorithm is a recursive or backtracking algorithm that is used in decision-making and game theory. Mini-Max algorithm uses recursion to search through the game-tree.
Min-Max algorithm is mostly used for game playing in AI. Such as Chess, Checkers, tic-tac-toe, go, and various tow-players game. This Algorithm computes the minimax decision for the current state.
Artificial Intelligence: Introduction, Typical Applications. State Space Search: Depth Bounded
DFS, Depth First Iterative Deepening. Heuristic Search: Heuristic Functions, Best First Search,
Hill Climbing, Variable Neighborhood Descent, Beam Search, Tabu Search. Optimal Search: A
*
algorithm, Iterative Deepening A*
, Recursive Best First Search, Pruning the CLOSED and OPEN
Lists
P, NP, NP-Complete, and NP-Hard
Reductionism in Algorithms
NP-Completeness and Cooks Theorem
NP-Complete and NP-Hard Problems
Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP)
Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) - Approximation Algorithms
PRIMES is in P - (A hope for NP problems in P)
Millennium Problems
Conclusions
Artificial Intelligence: Introduction, Typical Applications. State Space Search: Depth Bounded
DFS, Depth First Iterative Deepening. Heuristic Search: Heuristic Functions, Best First Search,
Hill Climbing, Variable Neighborhood Descent, Beam Search, Tabu Search. Optimal Search: A
*
algorithm, Iterative Deepening A*
, Recursive Best First Search, Pruning the CLOSED and OPEN
Lists
This presentation discuses the following topics:
What is A-Star (A*) Algorithm in Artificial Intelligence?
A* Algorithm Steps
Why is A* Search Algorithm Preferred?
A* and Its Basic Concepts
What is a Heuristic Function?
Admissibility of the Heuristic Function
Consistency of the Heuristic Function
FellowBuddy.com is an innovative platform that brings students together to share notes, exam papers, study guides, project reports and presentation for upcoming exams.
We connect Students who have an understanding of course material with Students who need help.
Benefits:-
# Students can catch up on notes they missed because of an absence.
# Underachievers can find peer developed notes that break down lecture and study material in a way that they can understand
# Students can earn better grades, save time and study effectively
Our Vision & Mission – Simplifying Students Life
Our Belief – “The great breakthrough in your life comes when you realize it, that you can learn anything you need to learn; to accomplish any goal that you have set for yourself. This means there are no limits on what you can be, have or do.”
Like Us - https://www.facebook.com/FellowBuddycom
SDRule-L: Managing Semantically Rich Business Decision ProcessesChristophe Debruyne
Semantic Decision Rule Language (SDRule-L) is an extension to Object-Role Modelling language (ORM), which is one of the most popular fact based, graphical modelling languages for designing information systems. In this paper, we want to discuss how SDRule-L models can be formalized, analysed and applied in a business context. An SDRule-L model may contain static (e.g., data constraints) and dynamic rules (e.g., sequence of events). A reasoning engine is created for detecting inconsistency. When an SDRule-L model is used to manage linked data, a feasible way is to align SDRule-L with Semantic Web languages, e.g. OWL. In order to achieve this, we propose to map dynamic rules into a combination of static rules and queries for detecting anomalies. In this paper, we will illustrate a model reification algorithm for automatically transforming SDRule-L models that contain dynamic rules into the ones containing static rules, which can be formalized in Description Logic.
Published as: Yan Tang Demey, Christophe Debruyne: SDRule-L: Managing Semantically Rich Business Decision Processes. EC-Web 2013: 59-67
Minmax Algorithm In Artificial Intelligence slidesSamiaAziz4
Mini-max algorithm is a recursive or backtracking algorithm that is used in decision-making and game theory. Mini-Max algorithm uses recursion to search through the game-tree.
Min-Max algorithm is mostly used for game playing in AI. Such as Chess, Checkers, tic-tac-toe, go, and various tow-players game. This Algorithm computes the minimax decision for the current state.
Artificial Intelligence: Introduction, Typical Applications. State Space Search: Depth Bounded
DFS, Depth First Iterative Deepening. Heuristic Search: Heuristic Functions, Best First Search,
Hill Climbing, Variable Neighborhood Descent, Beam Search, Tabu Search. Optimal Search: A
*
algorithm, Iterative Deepening A*
, Recursive Best First Search, Pruning the CLOSED and OPEN
Lists
P, NP, NP-Complete, and NP-Hard
Reductionism in Algorithms
NP-Completeness and Cooks Theorem
NP-Complete and NP-Hard Problems
Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP)
Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) - Approximation Algorithms
PRIMES is in P - (A hope for NP problems in P)
Millennium Problems
Conclusions
Artificial Intelligence: Introduction, Typical Applications. State Space Search: Depth Bounded
DFS, Depth First Iterative Deepening. Heuristic Search: Heuristic Functions, Best First Search,
Hill Climbing, Variable Neighborhood Descent, Beam Search, Tabu Search. Optimal Search: A
*
algorithm, Iterative Deepening A*
, Recursive Best First Search, Pruning the CLOSED and OPEN
Lists
This presentation discuses the following topics:
What is A-Star (A*) Algorithm in Artificial Intelligence?
A* Algorithm Steps
Why is A* Search Algorithm Preferred?
A* and Its Basic Concepts
What is a Heuristic Function?
Admissibility of the Heuristic Function
Consistency of the Heuristic Function
FellowBuddy.com is an innovative platform that brings students together to share notes, exam papers, study guides, project reports and presentation for upcoming exams.
We connect Students who have an understanding of course material with Students who need help.
Benefits:-
# Students can catch up on notes they missed because of an absence.
# Underachievers can find peer developed notes that break down lecture and study material in a way that they can understand
# Students can earn better grades, save time and study effectively
Our Vision & Mission – Simplifying Students Life
Our Belief – “The great breakthrough in your life comes when you realize it, that you can learn anything you need to learn; to accomplish any goal that you have set for yourself. This means there are no limits on what you can be, have or do.”
Like Us - https://www.facebook.com/FellowBuddycom
SDRule-L: Managing Semantically Rich Business Decision ProcessesChristophe Debruyne
Semantic Decision Rule Language (SDRule-L) is an extension to Object-Role Modelling language (ORM), which is one of the most popular fact based, graphical modelling languages for designing information systems. In this paper, we want to discuss how SDRule-L models can be formalized, analysed and applied in a business context. An SDRule-L model may contain static (e.g., data constraints) and dynamic rules (e.g., sequence of events). A reasoning engine is created for detecting inconsistency. When an SDRule-L model is used to manage linked data, a feasible way is to align SDRule-L with Semantic Web languages, e.g. OWL. In order to achieve this, we propose to map dynamic rules into a combination of static rules and queries for detecting anomalies. In this paper, we will illustrate a model reification algorithm for automatically transforming SDRule-L models that contain dynamic rules into the ones containing static rules, which can be formalized in Description Logic.
Published as: Yan Tang Demey, Christophe Debruyne: SDRule-L: Managing Semantically Rich Business Decision Processes. EC-Web 2013: 59-67
Introduction to Max-SAT and Max-SAT EvaluationMasahiro Sakai
The slides for my talk on Feb. 27 2014 at ZIB.
Abstract:
Maximum Satisfiability (Max-SAT) and its weighted variants are optimization extension of Boolean Satisfiability (SAT), and it is interesting that technologies from both AI/CP community and OR community are employed to solve Max-SAT problems.
In this talk, I present brief introduction of SAT/Max-SAT problems, some of solving approaches, and my experience of submitting SCIP and my own SAT-based solver "toysat" to the Max-SAT Evaluation 2013; the annual Max-SAT solver competition. After that, I would like to have a discussion on submitting SCIP to the upcoming Max-SAT Evaluation 2014.
Slide set presented for the Wireless Communication module at Jacobs University Bremen, Fall 2015.
Teacher: Dr. Stefano Severi, assistant: Andrei Stoica
Detecting paraphrases using recursive autoencodersFeynman Liang
Presentation on deep learning applied to natural language processing, presented at University of Cambridge Machine Learning Group's Research and Communication Club 2-11-2015 meeting.
Sachpazis:Terzaghi Bearing Capacity Estimation in simple terms with Calculati...Dr.Costas Sachpazis
Terzaghi's soil bearing capacity theory, developed by Karl Terzaghi, is a fundamental principle in geotechnical engineering used to determine the bearing capacity of shallow foundations. This theory provides a method to calculate the ultimate bearing capacity of soil, which is the maximum load per unit area that the soil can support without undergoing shear failure. The Calculation HTML Code included.
Overview of the fundamental roles in Hydropower generation and the components involved in wider Electrical Engineering.
This paper presents the design and construction of hydroelectric dams from the hydrologist’s survey of the valley before construction, all aspects and involved disciplines, fluid dynamics, structural engineering, generation and mains frequency regulation to the very transmission of power through the network in the United Kingdom.
Author: Robbie Edward Sayers
Collaborators and co editors: Charlie Sims and Connor Healey.
(C) 2024 Robbie E. Sayers
Student information management system project report ii.pdfKamal Acharya
Our project explains about the student management. This project mainly explains the various actions related to student details. This project shows some ease in adding, editing and deleting the student details. It also provides a less time consuming process for viewing, adding, editing and deleting the marks of the students.
Welcome to WIPAC Monthly the magazine brought to you by the LinkedIn Group Water Industry Process Automation & Control.
In this month's edition, along with this month's industry news to celebrate the 13 years since the group was created we have articles including
A case study of the used of Advanced Process Control at the Wastewater Treatment works at Lleida in Spain
A look back on an article on smart wastewater networks in order to see how the industry has measured up in the interim around the adoption of Digital Transformation in the Water Industry.
Saudi Arabia stands as a titan in the global energy landscape, renowned for its abundant oil and gas resources. It's the largest exporter of petroleum and holds some of the world's most significant reserves. Let's delve into the top 10 oil and gas projects shaping Saudi Arabia's energy future in 2024.
Industrial Training at Shahjalal Fertilizer Company Limited (SFCL)MdTanvirMahtab2
This presentation is about the working procedure of Shahjalal Fertilizer Company Limited (SFCL). A Govt. owned Company of Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation under Ministry of Industries.
Cosmetic shop management system project report.pdfKamal Acharya
Buying new cosmetic products is difficult. It can even be scary for those who have sensitive skin and are prone to skin trouble. The information needed to alleviate this problem is on the back of each product, but it's thought to interpret those ingredient lists unless you have a background in chemistry.
Instead of buying and hoping for the best, we can use data science to help us predict which products may be good fits for us. It includes various function programs to do the above mentioned tasks.
Data file handling has been effectively used in the program.
The automated cosmetic shop management system should deal with the automation of general workflow and administration process of the shop. The main processes of the system focus on customer's request where the system is able to search the most appropriate products and deliver it to the customers. It should help the employees to quickly identify the list of cosmetic product that have reached the minimum quantity and also keep a track of expired date for each cosmetic product. It should help the employees to find the rack number in which the product is placed.It is also Faster and more efficient way.
CFD Simulation of By-pass Flow in a HRSG module by R&R Consult.pptxR&R Consult
CFD analysis is incredibly effective at solving mysteries and improving the performance of complex systems!
Here's a great example: At a large natural gas-fired power plant, where they use waste heat to generate steam and energy, they were puzzled that their boiler wasn't producing as much steam as expected.
R&R and Tetra Engineering Group Inc. were asked to solve the issue with reduced steam production.
An inspection had shown that a significant amount of hot flue gas was bypassing the boiler tubes, where the heat was supposed to be transferred.
R&R Consult conducted a CFD analysis, which revealed that 6.3% of the flue gas was bypassing the boiler tubes without transferring heat. The analysis also showed that the flue gas was instead being directed along the sides of the boiler and between the modules that were supposed to capture the heat. This was the cause of the reduced performance.
Based on our results, Tetra Engineering installed covering plates to reduce the bypass flow. This improved the boiler's performance and increased electricity production.
It is always satisfying when we can help solve complex challenges like this. Do your systems also need a check-up or optimization? Give us a call!
Work done in cooperation with James Malloy and David Moelling from Tetra Engineering.
More examples of our work https://www.r-r-consult.dk/en/cases-en/
Hybrid optimization of pumped hydro system and solar- Engr. Abdul-Azeez.pdffxintegritypublishin
Advancements in technology unveil a myriad of electrical and electronic breakthroughs geared towards efficiently harnessing limited resources to meet human energy demands. The optimization of hybrid solar PV panels and pumped hydro energy supply systems plays a pivotal role in utilizing natural resources effectively. This initiative not only benefits humanity but also fosters environmental sustainability. The study investigated the design optimization of these hybrid systems, focusing on understanding solar radiation patterns, identifying geographical influences on solar radiation, formulating a mathematical model for system optimization, and determining the optimal configuration of PV panels and pumped hydro storage. Through a comparative analysis approach and eight weeks of data collection, the study addressed key research questions related to solar radiation patterns and optimal system design. The findings highlighted regions with heightened solar radiation levels, showcasing substantial potential for power generation and emphasizing the system's efficiency. Optimizing system design significantly boosted power generation, promoted renewable energy utilization, and enhanced energy storage capacity. The study underscored the benefits of optimizing hybrid solar PV panels and pumped hydro energy supply systems for sustainable energy usage. Optimizing the design of solar PV panels and pumped hydro energy supply systems as examined across diverse climatic conditions in a developing country, not only enhances power generation but also improves the integration of renewable energy sources and boosts energy storage capacities, particularly beneficial for less economically prosperous regions. Additionally, the study provides valuable insights for advancing energy research in economically viable areas. Recommendations included conducting site-specific assessments, utilizing advanced modeling tools, implementing regular maintenance protocols, and enhancing communication among system components.
Immunizing Image Classifiers Against Localized Adversary Attacksgerogepatton
This paper addresses the vulnerability of deep learning models, particularly convolutional neural networks
(CNN)s, to adversarial attacks and presents a proactive training technique designed to counter them. We
introduce a novel volumization algorithm, which transforms 2D images into 3D volumetric representations.
When combined with 3D convolution and deep curriculum learning optimization (CLO), itsignificantly improves
the immunity of models against localized universal attacks by up to 40%. We evaluate our proposed approach
using contemporary CNN architectures and the modified Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR-10
and CIFAR-100) and ImageNet Large Scale Visual Recognition Challenge (ILSVRC12) datasets, showcasing
accuracy improvements over previous techniques. The results indicate that the combination of the volumetric
input and curriculum learning holds significant promise for mitigating adversarial attacks without necessitating
adversary training.
1. Artificial Intelligence
1: Constraint Satis-
faction problems
Lecturer: Tom Lenaerts
Institut de Recherches Interdisciplinaires et de
Développements en Intelligence Artificielle
(IRIDIA)
Université Libre de Bruxelles
2. TLo (IRIDIA) 2October 13, 2015
Outline
CSP?
Backtracking for CSP
Local search for CSPs
Problem structure and decomposition
3. TLo (IRIDIA) 3October 13, 2015
Constraint satisfaction
problems
What is a CSP?
Finite set of variables V1, V2, …, Vn
Finite set of constrainsC1, C2, …, Cm
Nonemtpy domain of possible values for each variable
DV1, DV2, … DVn
Each constraint Ci limits the values that variables can
take, e.g., V1 ≠ V2
A state is defined as an assignment of values to some or
all variables.
Consistent assignment: assignment does not not violate
the constraints.
4. TLo (IRIDIA) 4October 13, 2015
Constraint satisfaction
problems
An assignment is complete when every value is
mentioned.
A solution to a CSP is a complete assignment that
satisfies all constraints.
Some CSPs require a solution that maximizes an
objective function.
Applications: Scheduling the time of observations on the
Hubble Space Telescope, Floor planning, Map coloring,
Cryptography
5. TLo (IRIDIA) 5October 13, 2015
CSP example: map coloring
Variables: WA, NT, Q, NSW, V, SA, T
Domains: Di={red,green,blue}
Constraints:adjacent regions must have different colors.
E.g. WA ≠ NT (if the language allows this)
E.g. (WA,NT) ≠ {(red,green),(red,blue),(green,red),…}
6. TLo (IRIDIA) 6October 13, 2015
CSP example: map coloring
Solutions are assignments satisfying all constraints, e.g.
{WA=red,NT=green,Q=red,NSW=green,V=red,SA=blue,T=green}
7. TLo (IRIDIA) 7October 13, 2015
Constraint graph
CSP benefits
Standard representation pattern
Generic goal and successor functions
Generic heuristics (no domain
specific expertise).
Constraint graph = nodes are variables, edges show constraints.
Graph can be used to simplify search.
e.g. Tasmania is an independent subproblem.
8. TLo (IRIDIA) 8October 13, 2015
Varieties of CSPs
Discrete variables
Finite domains; size d ⇒O(dn
) complete assignments.
E.g. Boolean CSPs, include. Boolean satisfiability (NP-complete).
Infinite domains (integers, strings, etc.)
E.g. job scheduling, variables are start/end days for each job
Need a constraint language e.g StartJob1 +5 ≤ StartJob3.
Linear constraints solvable, nonlinear undecidable.
Continuous variables
e.g. start/end times for Hubble Telescope observations.
Linear constraints solvable in poly time by LP methods.
9. TLo (IRIDIA) 9October 13, 2015
Varieties of constraints
Unary constraints involve a single variable.
e.g. SA ≠ green
Binary constraints involve pairs of variables.
e.g. SA ≠ WA
Higher-order constraints involve 3 or more variables.
e.g. cryptharithmetic column constraints.
Preference (soft constraints) e.g. red is better than green
often representable by a cost for each variable assignment
→ constrained optimization problems.
11. TLo (IRIDIA) 11October 13, 2015
CSP as a standard search
problem
A CSP can easily expressed as a standard search
problem.
Incremental formulation
Initial State: the empty assignment {}.
Successor function: Assign value to unassigned
variable provided that there is not conflict.
Goal test: the current assignment is complete.
Path cost: as constant cost for every step.
12. TLo (IRIDIA) 12October 13, 2015
CSP as a standard search
problem
This is the same for all CSP’s !!!
Solution is found at depth n (if there are n variables).
Hence depth first search can be used.
Path is irrelevant, so complete state representation can
also be used.
Branching factor b at the top level is nd.
b=(n-l)d at depth l, hence n!dn
leaves (only dn
complete
assignments).
13. TLo (IRIDIA) 13October 13, 2015
Commutativity
CSPs are commutative.
The order of any given set of actions has no effect
on the outcome.
Example: choose colors for Australian territories
one at a time
[WA=red then NT=green] same as [NT=green then
WA=red]
All CSP search algorithms consider a single variable
assignment at a time ⇒ there are dn
leaves.
14. TLo (IRIDIA) 14October 13, 2015
Backtracking search
Cfr. Depth-first search
Chooses values for one variable at a time and
backtracks when a variable has no legal values
left to assign.
Uninformed algorithm
No good general performance (see table p. 143)
15. TLo (IRIDIA) 15October 13, 2015
Backtracking search
function BACKTRACKING-SEARCH(csp) return a solution or failure
return RECURSIVE-BACKTRACKING({} , csp)
function RECURSIVE-BACKTRACKING(assignment, csp) return a solution or failure
if assignment is complete then return assignment
var ← SELECT-UNASSIGNED-VARIABLE(VARIABLES[csp],assignment,csp)
for each value in ORDER-DOMAIN-VALUES(var, assignment, csp) do
if value is consistent with assignment according to CONSTRAINTS[csp] then
add {var=value} to assignment
result ← RRECURSIVE-BACTRACKING(assignment, csp)
if result ≠ failure then return result
remove {var=value} from assignment
return failure
20. TLo (IRIDIA) 20October 13, 2015
Improving backtracking efficiency
Previous improvements → introduce heuristics
General-purpose methods can give huge gains in
speed:
Which variable should be assigned next?
In what order should its values be tried?
Can we detect inevitable failure early?
Can we take advantage of problem structure?
21. TLo (IRIDIA) 21October 13, 2015
Minimum remaining values
var ← SELECT-UNASSIGNED-VARIABLE(VARIABLES[csp],assignment,csp)
A.k.a. most constrained variable heuristic
Rule: choose variable with the fewest legal moves
Which variable shall we try first?
22. TLo (IRIDIA) 22October 13, 2015
Degree heuristic
Use degree heuristic
Rule: select variable that is involved in the largest number of
constraints on other unassigned variables.
Degree heuristic is very useful as a tie breaker.
In what order should its values be tried?
23. TLo (IRIDIA) 23October 13, 2015
Least constraining value
Least constraining value heuristic
Rule: given a variable choose the least constraing value i.e. the one
that leaves the maximum flexibility for subsequent variable
assignments.
24. TLo (IRIDIA) 24October 13, 2015
Forward checking
Can we detect inevitable failure early?
And avoid it later?
Forward checking idea: keep track of remaining legal values for
unassigned variables.
Terminate search when any variable has no legal values.
25. TLo (IRIDIA) 25October 13, 2015
Forward checking
Assign {WA=red}
Effects on other variables connected by constraints with WA
NT can no longer be red
SA can no longer be red
26. TLo (IRIDIA) 26October 13, 2015
Forward checking
Assign {Q=green}
Effects on other variables connected by constraints with WA
NT can no longer be green
NSW can no longer be green
SA can no longer be green
MRV heuristic will automatically select NT and SA next, why?
27. TLo (IRIDIA) 27October 13, 2015
Forward checking
If V is assigned blue
Effects on other variables connected by constraints with WA
SA is empty
NSW can no longer be blue
FC has detected that partial assignment is inconsistent with the constraints
and backtracking can occur.
40. TLo (IRIDIA) 40October 13, 2015
Constraint propagation
Solving CSPs with combination of heuristics plus forward checking
is more efficient than either approach alone.
FC checking propagates information from assigned to unassigned
variables but does not provide detection for all failures.
NT and SA cannot be blue!
Constraint propagation repeatedly enforces constraints locally
41. TLo (IRIDIA) 41October 13, 2015
Arc consistency
X → Y is consistent iff
for every value x of X there is some allowed y
SA → NSW is consistent iff
SA=blue and NSW=red
42. TLo (IRIDIA) 42October 13, 2015
Arc consistency
X → Y is consistent iff
for every value x of X there is some allowed y
NSW → SA is consistent iff
NSW=red and SA=blue
NSW=blue and SA=???
Arc can be made consistent by removing blue from NSW
43. TLo (IRIDIA) 43October 13, 2015
Arc consistency
Arc can be made consistent by removing blue from NSW
RECHECK neighbours !!
Remove red from V
44. TLo (IRIDIA) 44October 13, 2015
Arc consistency
Arc can be made consistent by removing blue from NSW
RECHECK neighbours !!
Remove red from V
Arc consistency detects failure earlier than FC
Can be run as a preprocessor or after each assignment.
Repeated until no inconsistency remains
45. TLo (IRIDIA) 45October 13, 2015
Arc consistency algorithm
function AC-3(csp) return the CSP, possibly with reduced domains
inputs: csp, a binary csp with variables {X1, X2, …, Xn}
local variables: queue, a queue of arcs initially the arcs in csp
while queue is not empty do
(Xi, Xj) ← REMOVE-FIRST(queue)
if REMOVE-INCONSISTENT-VALUES(Xi, Xj) then
for each Xk in NEIGHBORS[Xi ] do
add (Xi, Xj) to queue
function REMOVE-INCONSISTENT-VALUES(Xi, Xj) return true iff we remove a value
removed ← false
for each x in DOMAIN[Xi] do
if no value y in DOMAIN[Xi] allows (x,y) to satisfy the constraints between Xi and Xj
then delete x from DOMAIN[Xi]; removed ← true
return removed
46. TLo (IRIDIA) 46October 13, 2015
K-consistency
Arc consistency does not detect all inconsistencies:
Partial assignment {WA=red, NSW=red} is inconsistent.
Stronger forms of propagation can be defined using the
notion of k-consistency.
A CSP is k-consistent if for any set of k-1 variables and
for any consistent assignment to those variables, a
consistent value can always be assigned to any kth
variable.
E.g. 1-consistency or node-consistency
E.g. 2-consistency or arc-consistency
E.g. 3-consistency or path-consistency
47. TLo (IRIDIA) 47October 13, 2015
K-consistency
A graph is strongly k-consistent if
It is k-consistent and
Is also (k-1) consistent, (k-2) consistent, … all the way
down to 1-consistent.
This is ideal since a solution can be found in time O(nd)
instead of O(n2
d3
)
YET no free lunch: any algorithm for establishing n-
consistency must take time exponential in n, in the worst
case.
48. TLo (IRIDIA) 48October 13, 2015
Further improvements
Checking special constraints
Checking Alldif(…) constraint
E.g. {WA=red, NSW=red}
Checking Atmost(…) constraint
Bounds propagation for larger value domains
Intelligent backtracking
Standard form is chronological backtracking i.e. try different
value for preceding variable.
More intelligent, backtrack to conflict set.
Set of variables that caused the failure or set of previously assigned
variables that are connected to X by constraints.
Backjumping moves back to most recent element of the conflict set.
Forward checking can be used to determine conflict set.
49. TLo (IRIDIA) 49October 13, 2015
Local search for CSP
Use complete-state representation
For CSPs
allow states with unsatisfied constraints
operators reassign variable values
Variable selection: randomly select any conflicted
variable
Value selection: min-conflicts heuristic
Select new value that results in a minimum number of
conflicts with the other variables
50. TLo (IRIDIA) 50October 13, 2015
Local search for CSP
function MIN-CONFLICTS(csp, max_steps) return solution or failure
inputs: csp, a constraint satisfaction problem
max_steps, the number of steps allowed before giving up
current ← an initial complete assignment for csp
for i = 1 to max_steps do
if current is a solution for csp then return current
var ← a randomly chosen, conflicted variable from VARIABLES[csp]
value ← the value v for var that minimizes CONFLICTS(var,v,current,csp)
set var = value in current
return faiilure
51. TLo (IRIDIA) 51October 13, 2015
Min-conflicts example 1
Use of min-conflicts heuristic in hill-climbing.
h=5 h=3 h=1
52. TLo (IRIDIA) 52October 13, 2015
Min-conflicts example 2
A two-step solution for an 8-queens problem using min-conflicts
heuristic.
At each stage a queen is chosen for reassignment in its column.
The algorithm moves the queen to the min-conflict square breaking
ties randomly.
53. TLo (IRIDIA) 53October 13, 2015
Problem structure
How can the problem structure help to find a solution quickly?
Subproblem identification is important:
Coloring Tasmania and mainland are independent subproblems
Identifiable as connected components of constrained graph.
Improves performance
54. TLo (IRIDIA) 54October 13, 2015
Problem structure
Suppose each problem has c variables out of a total of n.
Worst case solution cost is O(n/c dc
), i.e. linear in n
Instead of O(d n
), exponential in n
E.g. n= 80, c= 20, d=2
280
= 4 billion years at 1 million nodes/sec.
4 * 220
= .4 second at 1 million nodes/sec
55. TLo (IRIDIA) 55October 13, 2015
Tree-structured CSPs
Theorem: if the constraint graph has no loops then CSP can be
solved in O(nd 2
) time
Compare difference with general CSP, where worst case is
O(d n
)
56. TLo (IRIDIA) 56October 13, 2015
Tree-structured CSPs
In most cases subproblems of a CSP are connected as a tree
Any tree-structured CSP can be solved in time linear in the number of
variables.
Choose a variable as root, order variables from root to leaves such that
every node’s parent precedes it in the ordering.
For j from n down to 2, apply REMOVE-INCONSISTENT-VALUES(Parent(Xj),Xj)
For j from 1 to n assign Xj consistently with Parent(Xj )
57. TLo (IRIDIA) 57October 13, 2015
Nearly tree-structured CSPs
Can more general constraint graphs be reduced to trees?
Two approaches:
Remove certain nodes
Collapse certain nodes
58. TLo (IRIDIA) 58October 13, 2015
Nearly tree-structured CSPs
Idea: assign values to some variables so that the remaining variables
form a tree.
Assume that we assign {SA=x} ← cycle cutset
And remove any values from the other variables that are
inconsistent.
The selected value for SA could be the wrong one so we have to
try all of them
59. TLo (IRIDIA) 59October 13, 2015
Nearly tree-structured CSPs
This approach is worthwhile if cycle cutset is small.
Finding the smallest cycle cutset is NP-hard
Approximation algorithms exist
This approach is called cutset conditioning.
60. TLo (IRIDIA) 60October 13, 2015
Nearly tree-structured CSPs
Tree decomposition of the
constraint graph in a set of
connected subproblems.
Each subproblem is solved
independently
Resulting solutions are combined.
Necessary requirements:
Every variable appears in ar
least one of the subproblems.
If two variables are connected
in the original problem, they
must appear together in at
least one subproblem.
If a variable appears in two
subproblems, it must appear in
eacht node on the path.
61. TLo (IRIDIA) 61October 13, 2015
Summary
CSPs are a special kind of problem: states defined by values of a
fixed set of variables, goal test defined by constraints on variable
values
Backtracking=depth-first search with one variable assigned per node
Variable ordering and value selection heuristics help significantly
Forward checking prevents assignments that lead to failure.
Constraint propagation does additional work to constrain values and
detect inconsistencies.
The CSP representation allows analysis of problem structure.
Tree structured CSPs can be solved in linear time.
Iterative min-conflicts is usually effective in practice.