An Analysis of ABSTRIPS

Abstract

ABSTRIPS was the first system to automate the construction of abstraction hierarchies for planning. Despite the seminal nature of this work, the method ABSTRIPS uses to construct abstraction. hierarchies is only described in vague terms, and there is no analysis of how the method works or when it will be effective. This paper fills this gap and presents a reconstruction and analysis of the algorithm used in ABSTRIPS. The analysis shows that the method for constructing abstractions implicitly assumes that the preconditions that are determined to be details will be independent. In those cases where the independence assumption fails to hold, ABSTRIPS can degrade the performance of the planner. The paper also compares the ABSTRIPS approach to generating abstractions to the one used in ALPINE Knoblock, 1990) and describes how ALPINE avoids the problem that arises in ABSTRIPS.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 1992
Accession Number
ADA269528

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  • Craig Knoblock

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  • University of Southern California

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