Using Causal Rules In Planning

Abstract

Reasoning about actions necessarily involves tracking the truth of assertions about the world over time. The SIPE planning system retains the efficiency of the STRIPS assumption for this while enhancing expressive power by allowing the specification of a causal theory. Separation of knowledge about causality from knowledge about actions relieves operators of much of their representational burden and allows them to be applicable in a wide range of contexts. The implementation of causal rules is described, together with examples and evaluations of the system’s expressive power and efficiency.