Constraint-based Attribute and Interval Planning

Abstract

In this paper we describe Constraint-based Attribute and Interval Planning (CAIP), a paradigm for representing and reasoning about plans. The paradigm enables the description of planning domains with time, resources, concurrent activities, mutual exclusions among sets of activities, disjunctive preconditions and conditional effects. We provide a theoretical foundation for the paradigm, based on temporal intervals and attributes. We then show how the plans are naturally expressed by networks of constraints, and show that the process of planning maps directly to dynamic constraint reasoning. In addition, we de ne compatibilities, a compact mechanism for describing planning domains. We describe how this framework can incorporate the use of constraint reasoning technology to improve planning. Finally, we describe EUROPA, an implementation of the CAIP framework.