Artificial Intelligence

CSE 4205/CSE-3201
Problems, Problem Spaces and Search
 Problem Solving
• We want:
– To automatically solve a problem
• We need:
– A representation of the problem
– Algorithms that use some strategy to solve the problem defined in
that representation
 Problem Representation
• General:
– State space: Set of all possible states for a given problem is known as
state space of the problem.
A problem is divided into a set of resolution steps from the initial state
to the goal state.
– Reduction to sub-problems: a problem is arranged into a hierarchy of
sub-problems.
 States
• A problem is defined by its elements and their relations.
• In each instant of the resolution of a problem, those elements have
specific descriptors (How to select them?) and relations.
• A state is a representation of those elements in a given moment.

• Two special states are defined:

– Initial state (starting point)
– Final state (goal state)
 State Modification: Successor Function
• A successor function is needed to move between different states.
• A successor function is a description of possible actions, a set of
operators.
– It is a transformation function on a state representation, which
convert it into another state.
 State Space
• We need to formulate a state space over which we perform search.

A state space consists of:

• A set of states
- The start state represents the initial problem
- Each state represents some configuration reachable from the start state
- Some states may be goal states (solutions)
• A set of operators
-Applying an operator to a state transforms it to another state in the state
space
 Problem Solution
• A path in the state space is a sequence of states connected by a sequence
of actions.
• A solution in the state space is a path from the initial state to a goal state
or, sometimes, just a goal state.
• Path/solution cost: function that assigns a numeric cost to each path.
• Solution quality is measured by the path cost function, and an optimal
solution has the lowest path cost among all solutions.
 Problem Description
• Components:
– State space
– Initial state
– Goal state (or the conditions it has to fulfill)
– Available actions (operators to change state)
– Restrictions (e.g., cost)
Example: 8-puzzle
 Example: 8-puzzle
• State space: configuration of the eight tiles on the board
• Initial state: any configuration
• Goal state: tiles in a specific order
• Operators or actions: “blank moves”
– Condition: the move is within the board
– Transformation: blank moves Left, Right, Up, or Down
• Solution will be a sequence of moves of the blank that transform the
initial state to goal state.

Here, our goal condition is satisfied by only a single state.

Example: n-queens
 Example: n-queens
• State space: configurations from 0 to n queens on the board with only one
queen per row and column
• Initial state: configuration without queens on the board
• Goal state: configuration with n queens such that no queen attacks any other
• Operators or actions: place a queen on the board
- Condition: the new queen is not attacked by any other already placed
- Transformation: place a new queen in a particular square of the board
• Solution: solution after fulfilling the criteria.
 Structure of the state space
• Data structures:
– Trees: only one path to a given node
– Graphs: several paths to a given node
• Operators: directed arcs between nodes
• The search process explores the state space.
• In the worst case all possible paths between the initial state and the
goal state are explored.
 To build a system to solve a problem
1. Define the problem precisely
2. Analyze the problem
3. Isolate and represent the task knowledge that is necessary to solve
the problem
4. Choose the best problem-solving techniques and apply it to the
particular problem.
 Defining the problem as State Space Search
• Search is a very important process in the solution of hard problems
for which no more direct techniques are available.
 Example: Romania
• On holiday in Romania; currently in
Arad.
• Flight leaves tomorrow from
Bucharest
• Formulate goal:
– be in Bucharest
• Formulate problem:
– states: various cities
– actions: drive between cities
• Find solution:
– sequence of cities, e.g., Arad,
Sibiu, Fagaras, Bucharest
 State-Space :Problem Formulation
A problem is defined by four items:

• initial state e.g., "at Arad“

• actions or successor function : Given a particular state s, action(s) returns the set
of actions is applicable in s. For example, from the state In(Arad), the applicable
actions are {Go(sibiu), Go(Timisoara), GO(Zerind)
• goal test, (or goal state)
e.g., x = "at Bucharest”, Checkmate(x)
• path cost (additive)
– e.g., sum of distances, number of actions executed, etc.
– c(x,a,y) is the step cost, assumed to be ≥ 0
• A solution is a sequence of actions leading from the initial
state to a goal state.
 Defining Search Problems
• A statement of a Search problem has 4 components
– 1. A set of states
– 2. A set of “operators” which allow one to get from one state to another
– 3. A start state S
– 4. A set of possible goal states, or ways to test for goal states
– 4a. Cost path
• A solution consists of
– a sequence of operators which transform S into a goal state G
 Water Jug Problem
• You are given two jugs, a 4-litre one and a 3-litre one.
• Neither has any measuring markers on it.
• There is a pump that can be used to fill the jugs with water.
• How can you get exactly 2 liters of water into 4-litre jug.
 State Space Search: Water Jug Problem
• State: (x, y) where, x = 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 y = 0, 1, 2, 3
• Start state: (0, 0).
• Goal state: (2, n) for any n.
• Attempting to end up in a goal state.
Production Rules for Water Jug Problem
Production Rules for Water Jug Problem
 State Space Search: Water Jug Problem
1. Current state = (0, 0)
2. Loop until reaching the goal state (2, 0)
- Apply a rule whose left side matches the current state
- Set the new current state to be the resulting state
(0, 0)
(0, 3)
(3, 0)
(3, 3)
(4, 2)
(0, 2)
(2, 0)
 To Solve Water Jug Problem
• Required a control structure that loops
through a simple cycle in which some rule
whose left side matches the current state is
chosen the appropriate change to the state
is made as described in the corresponding
right side, and the resulting state is checked
to see if it corresponds to goal state.
Try it: Measuring Problem– Water Jug Problem!

• Problem: Using these three buckets, measure 7 liters of water.

Measuring Problem!
Measuring Problem!
 State Space Tree
• State space tree is a tree constructed from all of the possible states of
the problem as nodes, connected via state transitions from some
initial state as root to some terminated state as leaf.

• If the entire state space representations for a problem is given, it is

possible to trace the path from initial state to the goal state and
identify the sequence of operators necessary for doing it.
State Space Tree for Water-Jug Problem
 Sum of subsets
• Problem:
Given n positive integers w1, ... wn and a positive integer S. Find all subsets
of w1, ... wn that sum to S.

• Example:
n=3, S=6, and w1=2, w2=4, w3=6

• Solutions:
{2,4} and {6}
 Sum of subsets
• We will assume a binary state space tree.

• The nodes at depth 1 are for including (yes, no) item 1, the nodes at
depth 2 are for item 2, etc.

• The left branch includes wi, and the right branch excludes wi.
• The nodes contain the sum of the weights included so far.
Sum of subset Problem:State Space Tree
w1 = 2, w2 = 4, w3 = 6 and S = 6

0
yes no

i1 2 0

yes no yes no

i2 6 2 4 0

yes no yes no yes no yes no

i3 12 6 8 2 10 4 6 0

The sum of the included integers is stored at the node.

 Backtracking
• Definition: We call a node nonpromising if it cannot lead to a feasible (or
optimal) solution, otherwise it is promising.

• Main idea: Backtracking consists of doing a DFS of the state space tree,
checking whether each node is promising and if the node is non-
promising backtracking to the node’s parent.
 Backtracking
• The state space tree consisting of expanded nodes only is called the
pruned state space tree.
• The following slide shows the pruned state space tree for the sum of
subsets example.
• There are only 15 nodes in the pruned state space tree.
• The full state space tree has 31 nodes.
A Pruned State Space Tree (find all solutions)
w1 = 3, w2 = 4, w3 = 5, w4 = 6; S = 13

0
3 0

3 0
4 0 4 0

7 3 4 0

5 0 5 0 5 0

12 7 8 3 9 4
6 0

13 7

Sum of subsets problem

 Farmer River Crossing Problem
• A farmer with his wolf, goat and cabbage come to the edge of a river.
They all want to cross the river. There is a boat at the rivers edge, but
only the farmer can row, the boat can carry two things at a time. If
the wolf is ever left alone with the goat, the wolf will eat the goat.
Similarly, if the goat is left alone with the cabbage, the goat will eat
the cabbage.
Solution
Sequence of Steps
State Space Representation
Missionaries and Cannibals Problem
Missionaries and Cannibals Problem