Chapter-5

Planning, Learning and Expert Systes

by
Dr.G.Sucharitha
PLANNING
• The word planning refers to the process of computing several steps
of a problem solving procedure before executing any of them.
• When we describe computer problem-solving behavior, the
distinction between planning and doing fades a bit since rarely can
the computer actually do much of anything besides plan.
PLANNING
• Planning is an important part of Artificial Intelligence which deals
with the tasks and domains of a particular problem. Planning is
considered the logical side of acting.
• Everything we humans do is with a definite goal in mind, and all
our actions are oriented towards achieving our goal. Similarly,
Planning is also done for Artificial Intelligence.
• For example, Planning is required to reach a particular destination.
It is necessary to find the best route in Planning, but the tasks to be
done at a particular time and why they are done are also very
important.
• That is why Planning is considered the logical side of acting. In
other words, Planning is about deciding the tasks to be performed
by the artificial intelligence system and the system's functioning
under domain-independent conditions.
What is a Plan?
• We require domain description, task specification, and goal
description for any planning system. A plan is considered a
sequence of actions, and each action has its preconditions that must
be satisfied before it can act and some effects that can be positive
or negative.
• So, we have Forward State Space Planning
(FSSP) and Backward State Space Planning (BSSP) at the basic
level.
Forward State Space Planning (FSSP)
• FSSP behaves in the same way as forwarding state-space
search. It says that given an initial state S in any domain,
we perform some necessary actions and obtain a new state
S' (which also contains some new terms), called a
progression. It continues until we reach the target
position. Action should be taken in this matter.

• Disadvantage: Large branching factor

• Advantage: The algorithm is Sound
Backward State Space Planning (BSSP)
• BSSP behaves similarly to backward state-space search. In this, we
move from the target state g to the sub-goal g, tracing the previous
action to achieve that goal. This process is called regression (going
back to the previous goal or sub-goal). These sub-goals should also
be checked for consistency. The action should be relevant in this
case.
• Disadvantages: not sound algorithm (sometimes inconsistency can
be found)
• Advantage: Small branching factor (much smaller than FSSP)
• So for an efficient planning system, we need to combine the
features of FSSP and BSSP, which gives rise to target stack
planning which will be discussed in the next article.
What is planning in AI?
• Planning in artificial intelligence is about decision-making
actions performed by robots or computer programs to
achieve a specific goal.
• Execution of the plan is about choosing a sequence of tasks
with a high probability of accomplishing a specific task.
Block-world planning problem
Actions (Operations) done by ROBOT
Contd..
Components of a Planning System
Advanced Problem Solving Approaches
Choose Rules to Apply
Apply Rules
Detecting a Solution
• A planning system has succeeded in finding a solution to a
problem when it has found a sequence of operators which
transforms the initial problem state into the goal state.
How will it be known that it has been done so?
• In simple problem solving systems this question is easily
answered by matching the state descriptions with the goal.
• In a complex problem, the entire states are not represented
explicitly but rather are described by a set of relevant
properties. So, the solution depends on the way which state
descriptions are represented. For any representational
scheme which is used, it must be possible to reason with
representation to discover whether one matches another.
Contd..
• Any knowledge representation, and reasoning method
or combination of available methods can be used to
discover when a solution has been found. Predicate
logic because of its deductive mechanism proves to
be a useful representable technique. A triangular table
is another representable scheme.
Detecting Dead Ends
• As a planning system is searching for a sequence of
operators to solve a particular problem, it must be able to
detect when it is exploring a path that can never lead to a
solution (or at least appears unlikely to lead to one).

• The same reasoning mechanisms that can be used to detect

a solution can often be used for detecting a dead end.
Goal Stack Planning
• Goal Stack Planning (in short GSP) is the one of the simplest
planning algorithm that is designed to handle problems having
compound goals.
• It utilizes STRIP as a formal language for specifying and
manipulating the world with which it is working. This approach
uses a Stack for plan generation.
• For example, to perform the STACK(X,Y) operation i.e. to Stack
Block X on top of Block Y, No other block should be on top of Y
(CLEAR(Y)) and the Robot Arm should be holding the Block X
(HOLDING(X)). Once the operation is performed, these predicates
will cease to be true, thus they are included in DELETE.
Contd..
Learning
Rote Learning
 Rote learning is a learning technique which
focuses on memorization. The major practice
involved in rote learning is learning by repetition
by which students commit information to memory
in a highly structured way.
 The idea is that one will be able to quickly recall
the meaning of the material the more one repeats
it. Rote methods are routinely used when quick
memorization is required, such s learning one's
lines in a play or memorizing a telephone number.
LEARNING BY TAKING ADVICE

• A computer can do very little without a program for it to run. When a

programmer writes a series of instructions into a computer, a
rudimentary kind of learning is taking .place