Satisfying constraint sets through convex envelopes

Authors: Santos, Eugene¹; Santos, Eunice E.²; Kim, Keumjoo¹

Source: Journal of Experimental & Theoretical Artificial Intelligence, Volume 18, Number 3, September 2006 , pp. 413-432(20)

Publisher: Taylor and Francis Ltd

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Abstract:

In this article, we present a general representation for constraint satisfaction problems with disjunctive relations called cluster constraint systems (CCS). For this representation, we develop a novel and simple approach for solving CCSs using convex envelopes . These envelopes can be used to decompose the feasible space of the CCS through convex approximations. We explore interval reasoning as a case study of CCS. Our experimental results demonstrate that such CCS can be effectively and efficiently solved through convex enveloping with very modest branching requirements in comparison to other generic as well as specialized algorithms for interval reasoning. In fact, convex enveloping solves significantly more cases and more efficiently than other methods used in our test bed.

Keywords: Constraint satisfaction; Algorithms; Convex envelopes; Interval reasoning

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09528130600926082

Affiliations: 1: Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA 2: Department of Computer Science, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA

Publication date: 2006-09-01

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