Artificial Intelligence

Problem solving by searching

Problem Solving by Searching

Search Methods :
informed (Heuristic) search
Using problem specific knowledge
to aid searching
 Without incorporating
Search
knowledge into searching,
one can have no bias (i.e. a everywhere!!
preference) on the search
space.

 Without a bias, one is forced

to look everywhere to find the
answer. Hence, the
complexity of uninformed
search is intractable.

3
 Using problem specific knowledge
to aid searching
 With knowledge, one can search the state space as if he was
given “hints” when exploring a maze.
 Heuristic information in search = Hints
 Leads to dramatic speed up in efficiency.

B C D E
Search only
F G H I J
in this
subtree!! K L M N

O 4
 More formally, why heuristic
functions work?
 In any search problem where there are at most b choices
at each node and a depth of d at the goal node, a naive
search algorithm would have to, in the worst case, search
around O(bd) nodes before finding a solution
(Exponential Time Complexity).

 Heuristics improve the efficiency of search algorithms

by reducing the effective branching factor from b to
(ideally) a low constant b* such that
 1 =< b* << b

5
 Heuristic Functions
 A heuristic function is a function f(n) that gives an estimation on the
“cost” of getting from node n to the goal state – so that the node with
the least cost among all possible choices can be selected for expansion
first.

 Three approaches to defining f:

 f measures the value of the current state (its “goodness”)

 f measures the estimated cost of getting to the goal from the current state:
 f(n) = h(n) where h(n) = an estimate of the cost to get from n to a goal

 f measures the estimated cost of getting to the goal state from the current
state and the cost of the existing path to it. Often, in this case, we
decompose f:
 f(n) = g(n) + h(n) where g(n) = the cost to get to n (from initial state)

6
 Approach 1: f Measures the Value of
the Current State

 Usually the case when solving optimization problems

 Finding a state such that the value of the metric f is optimized

 Often, in these cases, f could be a weighted sum of a set of

component values:

 N-Queens
 Example: the number of queens under attack …

 Data mining
 Example: the “predictive-ness” (a.k.a. accuracy) of a rule discovered

7
 Approach 2: f Measures the Cost to
the Goal

A state X would be better than a state Y if the

estimated cost of getting from X to the goal is
lower than that of Y – because X would be closer
to the goal than Y

• 8–Puzzle
h1: The number of misplaced tiles
(squares with number).
h2: The sum of the distances of the tiles
from their goal positions.

8
 Approach 3: f measures the total cost of the
solution path (Admissible Heuristic
Functions)
 A heuristic function f(n) = g(n) + h(n) is admissible if h(n) never
overestimates the cost to reach the goal.
 Admissible heuristics are “optimistic”: “the cost is not that much …”
 However, g(n) is the exact cost to reach node n from the initial state.
 Therefore, f(n) never over-estimate the true cost to reach the goal
state through node n.
 Theorem: A search is optimal if h(n) is admissible.
 I.e. The search using h(n) returns an optimal solution.
 Given h2(n) > h1(n) for all n, it’s always more efficient to use h2(n).
 h2 is more realistic than h1 (more informed), though both are optimistic.

9
 Traditional informed search
strategies
 Greedy Best first search
 “Always chooses the successor node with the best f value”
where f(n) = h(n)
 We choose the one that is nearest to the final state among
all possible choices

 A* search
 Best first search using an “admissible” heuristic function f
that takes into account the current cost g
 Always returns the optimal solution path
10
Informed Search Strategies

Best First Search

 An implementation of Best
First Search
function BEST-FIRST-SEARCH (problem, eval-fn)
returns a solution sequence, or failure

queuing-fn = a function that sorts nodes by eval-fn

return GENERIC-SEARCH (problem,queuing-fn)

12
Informed Search Strategies

Greedy Search
eval-fn: f(n) = h(n)
 Greedy Search
Start State Heuristic: h(n)
A 75
118 A 366
140 B B 374
C
111 C 329
E
D 80 99 D 244
E 253
G F
F 178
97 G 193
H 211 H 98
101 I 0
I
Goal f(n) = h (n) = straight-line distance heuristic
14
 Greedy Search
Start State Heuristic: h(n)
A 75
118 A 366
140 B B 374
C
111 C 329
E
D 80 99 D 244
E 253
G F
F 178
97 G 193
H 211 H 98
101 I 0
I
Goal f(n) = h (n) = straight-line distance heuristic
15
 Greedy Search
Start State Heuristic: h(n)
A 75
118 A 366
140 B B 374
C
111 C 329
E
D 80 99 D 244
E 253
G F
F 178
97 G 193
H 211 H 98
101 I 0
I
Goal f(n) = h (n) = straight-line distance heuristic
16
 Greedy Search
Start State Heuristic: h(n)
A 75
118 A 366
140 B B 374
C
111 C 329
E
D 80 99 D 244
E 253
G F
F 178
97 G 193
H 211 H 98
101 I 0
I
Goal f(n) = h (n) = straight-line distance heuristic
17
 Greedy Search
Start State Heuristic: h(n)
A 75
118 A 366
140 B B 374
C
111 C 329
E
D 80 99 D 244
E 253
G F
F 178
97 G 193
H 211 H 98
101 I 0
I
Goal f(n) = h (n) = straight-line distance heuristic
18
 Greedy Search
Start State Heuristic: h(n)
A 75
118 A 366
140 B B 374
C
111 C 329
E
D 80 99 D 244
E 253
G F
F 178
97 G 193
H 211 H 98
101 I 0
I
Goal f(n) = h (n) = straight-line distance heuristic
19
 Greedy Search
Start State Heuristic: h(n)
A 75
118 A 366
140 B B 374
C
111 C 329
E
D 80 99 D 244
E 253
G F
F 178
97 G 193
H 211 H 98
101 I 0
I
Goal f(n) = h (n) = straight-line distance heuristic
20
 Greedy Search
Start State Heuristic: h(n)
A 75
118 A 366
140 B B 374
C
111 C 329
E
D 80 99 D 244
E 253
G F
F 178
97 G 193
H 211 H 98
101 I 0
I
Goal f(n) = h (n) = straight-line distance heuristic
21
 Greedy Search
Start State Heuristic: h(n)
A 75
118 A 366
140 B B 374
C
111 C 329
E
D 80 99 D 244
E 253
G F
F 178
97 G 193
H 211 H 98
101 I 0
I
Goal f(n) = h (n) = straight-line distance heuristic
22
 Greedy Search
Start State Heuristic: h(n)
A 75
118 A 366
140 B B 374
C
111 C 329
E
D 80 99 D 244
E 253
G F
F 178
97 G 193
H 211 H 98
101 I 0
I
Goal f(n) = h (n) = straight-line distance heuristic
23
Greedy Search: Tree Search
Start
A

24
Greedy Search: Tree Search
Start
A 75
118

[329] 140 [374] B

C

[253] E

25
Greedy Search: Tree Search
Start
A 75
118

[329] 140 [374] B

C

[253] E
80 99

[193] [178]
G F
[366] A

26
Greedy Search: Tree Search
Start
A 75
118

[329] 140 [374] B

C

[253] E
80 99

[193] [178]
G F
[366] A
211

[253] E I [0]

Goal

27
 Greedy Search: Tree Search
Start
A 75
118

[329] 140 [374] B

C

[253] E
80 99

[193] [178]
G F
[366] A
211

[253] E I [0]

Goal
Path cost(A-E-F-I) = 253 + 178 + 0 = 431
28
dist(A-E-F-I) = 140 + 99 + 211 = 450
 Greedy Search: Optimal ?
Start State Heuristic: h(n)
A 75
118 A 366
140 B B 374
C
111 C 329
E
D 80 99 D 244
E 253
G F
F 178
97 G 193
H 211 H 98
101 I 0
I
Goal f(n) = h (n) = straight-line distance heuristic
dist(A-E-G-H-I) =140+80+97+101=418 29
 Greedy Search: Complete ?
Start State Heuristic: h(n)
A 75
118 A 366
140 B B 374
C
111 ** C 250
E
D 80 99 D 244
E 253
G F
F 178
97 G 193
H 211 H 98
101 I 0
I
Goal f(n) = h (n) = straight-line distance heuristic
30
Greedy Search: Tree Search
Start
A

31
Greedy Search: Tree Search
Start
A 75
118

[250] 140 [374] B

C

[253] E

32
 Greedy Search: Tree Search
Start
A 75
118

[250] 140 [374] B

C

[253] E
111
[244] D

33
 Greedy Search: Tree Search
Start
A 75
118

[250] 140 [374] B

C

[253] E
111
[244] D

Infinite Branch !
[250] C

34
 Greedy Search: Tree Search
Start
A 75
118

[250] 140 [374] B

C

[253] E
111
[244] D

Infinite Branch !
[250] C

[244] D

35
 Greedy Search: Tree Search
Start
A 75
118

[250] 140 [374] B

C

[253] E
111
[244] D

Infinite Branch !
[250] C

[244] D

36
 Greedy Search: Time and
Space Complexity ?
Start
A 75
118 • Greedy search is not optimal.
140 B
C
111
• Greedy search is incomplete
E
without systematic checking of
D 80 99
repeated states.
G F
• In the worst case, the Time
97
and Space Complexity of
H 211
Greedy Search are both O(bm)
101
I Where b is the branching factor and
Goal
m the maximum path length
37
Informed Search Strategies

A* Search
eval-fn: f(n)=g(n)+h(n)
A* (A Star)
 Greedy Search minimizes a heuristic h(n) which is an
estimated cost from a node n to the goal state. Greedy
Search is efficient but it is not optimal nor complete.

 Uniform Cost Search minimizes the cost g(n) from the

initial state to n. UCS is optimal and complete but not
efficient.

 New Strategy: Combine Greedy Search and UCS to get an

efficient algorithm which is complete and optimal.

39
A* (A Star)
 A* uses a heuristic function which
combines g(n) and h(n): f(n) = g(n) + h(n)

 g(n) is the exact cost to reach node n from

the initial state.

 h(n) is an estimation of the remaining cost

to reach the goal.
40
A* (A Star)

g(n)

f(n) = g(n)+h(n) n

h(n)

41
 A* Search
Start State Heuristic: h(n)
A 75
118 A 366
140 B B 374
C
111 C 329
E
D 80 99 D 244
E 253
G F
F 178
97 G 193
H 211 H 98
101 I 0
I
Goal f(n) = g(n) + h (n)
g(n): is the exact cost to reach node n from the initial state. 42
A* Search: Tree Search
A Start

43
A* Search: Tree Search
A Start

118 75
140

E [393] B [449]
[447] C

44
A* Search: Tree Search
A Start

118 75
140

E [393] B [449]
[447] C
80 99

[413] G F [417]

45
A* Search: Tree Search
A Start

118 75
140

E [393] B [449]
[447] C
80 99

[413] G F [417]

97
[415] H

46
A* Search: Tree Search
A Start

118 75
140

E [393] B [449]
[447] C
80 99

[413] G F [417]

97
[415] H

101
Goal I [418]

47
A* Search: Tree Search
A Start

118 75
140

E [393] B [449]
[447] C
80 99

[413] G F [417]

97
[415] H I [450]

101
Goal I [418]

48
A* Search: Tree Search
A Start

118 75
140

E [393] B [449]
[447] C
80 99

[413] G F [417]

97
[415] H I [450]

101
Goal I [418]

49
A* Search: Tree Search
A Start

118 75
140

E [393] B [449]
[447] C
80 99

[413] G F [417]

97
[415] H I [450]

101
Goal I [418]

50
A* with f() not Admissible

h() overestimates the cost to

reach the goal state
 A* Search: h not admissible !
Start State Heuristic: h(n)
A 75
118 A 366
140 B B 374
C
111 C 329
E
D 80 99 D 244
E 253
G F
F 178
97 G 193
H 211 H 138
101 I 0
I
Goal f(n) = g(n) + h (n) – (H-I) Overestimated
g(n): is the exact cost to reach node n from the initial state. 52
A* Search: Tree Search
A Start

53
A* Search: Tree Search
A Start

118 75
140

E [393] B [449]
[447] C

54
A* Search: Tree Search
A Start

118 75
140

E [393] B [449]
[447] C
80 99

[413] G F [417]

55
A* Search: Tree Search
A Start

118 75
140

E [393] B [449]
[447] C
80 99

[413] G F [417]

97
[455] H

56
A* Search: Tree Search
A Start

118 75
140

E [393] B [449]
[447] C
80 99

[413] G F [417]

97
[455] H Goal I [450]

57
 A* Search: Tree Search
A Start

118 75
140

E [393] B [449]
[447] C
80 99

[473] D [413] G F [417]

97
[455] H Goal I [450]

58
 A* Search: Tree Search
A Start

118 75
140

E [393] B [449]
[447] C
80 99

[473] D [413] G F [417]

97
[455] H Goal I [450]

59
 A* Search: Tree Search
A Start

118 75
140

E [393] B [449]
[447] C
80 99

[473] D [413] G F [417]

97
[455] H Goal I [450]

60
 A* Search: Tree Search
A Start

118 75
140

E [393] B [449]
[447] C
80 99

[473] D [413] G F [417]

97
[455] H Goal I [450]

A* not optimal !!!

61
A* Algorithm

A* with systematic checking for

repeated states …
A* Algorithm
1. Search queue Q is empty.
2. Place the start state s in Q with f value h(s).
3. If Q is empty, return failure.
4. Take node n from Q with lowest f value.
(Keep Q sorted by f values and pick the first element).
5. If n is a goal node, stop and return solution.
6. Generate successors of node n.
7. For each successor n’ of n do:
a) Compute f(n’) = g(n) + cost(n,n’) + h(n’).
b) If n’ is new (never generated before), add n’ to Q.
c) If node n’ is already in Q with a higher f value, replace it
with current f(n’) and place it in sorted order in Q.
End for
8. Go back to step 3.
63
 A* Search: Analysis
Start •A* is complete except if there is an
118
A 75 infinity of nodes with f < f(G).

C 140 B •A* is optimal if heuristic h is

111 admissible.
E
D 80 99 •Time complexity depends on the
quality of heuristic but is still
G F
exponential.
97
•For space complexity, A* keeps all
H 211
nodes in memory. A* has worst
101
case O(bd) space complexity, but an
I
Goal iterative deepening version is
possible (IDA*). 64
When to Use Search
Techniques
 The search space is small, and
 There are no other available techniques, or
 It is not worth the effort to develop a more
efficient technique

 The search space is large, and

 There is no other available techniques, and
 There exist “good” heuristics

65
 Conclusions
 Frustration with uninformed search led to the idea
of using domain specific knowledge in a search so
that one can intelligently explore only the relevant
part of the search space that has a good chance of
containing the goal state. These new techniques
are called informed (heuristic) search strategies.

 Even though heuristics improve the performance

of informed search algorithms, they are still time
consuming especially for large size instances.
66