Professor Wheeler Ruml
How does a robot decide what to do? How does UPS route its trucks? How do telcos configure their networks? Algorithms for problems like these are some of the most fun in computer science and lie at the core of artificial intelligence and operations research. By the end of this graduate seminar, not only will you have read some of the current literature in this area, you will have pushed forward the frontier of knowledge. Note: although this is a graduate course, advanced undergraduates are welcome to talk with me about enrolling.
Official description: General techniques for solving shortest-path, constraint satisfaction, and combinatorial optimization problems, and their application in areas such as planning, robotics, and bioinformatics. Students read the scientific literature and prepare an original research contribution. Prereq: introductory AI or permission of the instructor.
Meeting time and place: In spring 2012, we will meet in Kingsbury N233, Tuesdays and Thursdays 3-4:30pm.
Wed May 16, 2pm: Final papers (1 hardcopy and an emailed PDF) due at Wheeler's office
Thu May 10, 1-3pm: final paper presentations (20 min talk + 15 min discussion each)
Tue May 8: Discussion of final papers (25 min each). Bring 3 copies of each of your reviews to class.
Thu May 3: Review version of final papers due - bring 4 hardcopies. No reading due. Status updates from those not in the class (12 min talk + 4 min discussion each), discussion of summer plans.
Tue May 1: proof number search (see email for URL, AIJ, 1994). If you want more, see checkers (IJCAI, 2005). Paper writing tips, LaTeX tips, how to give a talk, how to review a paper. See notes under `writing' on this page. The AAAI formatting templates and macros are here.
Thu Apr 26: depth-first vs breadth-first (AAAI, 1993)
Tue Apr 24: bidirectional search (JAIR, 1997). Also, 10-minute status updates.
Thu Apr 19: MCTS for Go (CACM, 20120)
Tue Apr 17: manipulation (JAIR, 2012)
Thu Apr 12: emergency landings (IAAI, 2009).
Tue Apr 10: LAO* (AIJ, 2001)
Thu Apr 5: planning and motion planning (ICRA, 2009)
Tue Apr 3: fast
marching (American Scientist, 1997). If you want, there's
another survey
here, the
original article here,
and some tutorials and
links here.
Thu Mar 29: Dr. Fill
(JAIR, 2011)
Tue Mar 27:
Sokoban
(AIJ, 2001)
Thu Mar 22:
real-time
search (IJCAI, 2011). Also, 10-minute status updates.
Tue Mar 20: stochastic EHC (JAIR, 2011)
Thu Mar 8: EES,
(IJCAI, 2011)
Tue Mar 6:
bootstrap
(AIJ, 2011)
Thu Mar 1:
dovetailing
(ICAPS, 2010)
Tue Feb
28: TDS
(IEEE Trans on Par and Dist Sys, 2002, link requires UNH network)
Thu Feb
23: Standley
(IJCAI, 2011)
Tue Feb 21: Wang
and Botea (JAIR, 2011)
Thu Feb
16: push
and swap (IJCAI, 2011)
Tue Feb
14: WHCA*
(AIIDE, 2005)
Thu Feb 9: planning
with PDBs (ECP, 2001)
Tue Feb 7: additive
PDBs (JAIR, 2004)
Thu Feb
2: search-based
planning (ICRA, 2010)
Tue Jan 31: RRT*
(IJRR, 2011; `full text' link probably requires being on the UNH
network for free access)
Thur Jan
26: ARA*
(NIPS, 2003)
Wed Jan 25: Here's the spring 2011 general
information handout. The one for spring 2012 will likely be
similar. You should already have
the Russell and
Norvig textbook (ideally the 3rd edition). You might also
want to review How to Read a
Paper and The Task of the
Referee.
Previous Years
The schedule from Spring 2011.
The schedule from Fall 2009.
The schedule from Fall 2008.