Reasoning about Locations in Theory and Practice

Abstract

Locational reasoning plays an important role in many applications of AI problem-solving systems, yet has remained a relatively unexplored area of research. This paper addresses both theoretical and practical issues relevant to reasoning about locations. We define several theories of location designed for use in various settings, along with a sound and complete belief revision calculus for each that maintains a STRIPS-style database of locational facts. Techniques for the efficient operationalization of the belief revision rules in planning frameworks are presented. These techniques were developed during application of the location theories to several large-scale planning tasks within the Sipe planning framework.