580 research outputs found
Algebraic Properties of Qualitative Spatio-Temporal Calculi
Qualitative spatial and temporal reasoning is based on so-called qualitative
calculi. Algebraic properties of these calculi have several implications on
reasoning algorithms. But what exactly is a qualitative calculus? And to which
extent do the qualitative calculi proposed meet these demands? The literature
provides various answers to the first question but only few facts about the
second. In this paper we identify the minimal requirements to binary
spatio-temporal calculi and we discuss the relevance of the according axioms
for representation and reasoning. We also analyze existing qualitative calculi
and provide a classification involving different notions of a relation algebra.Comment: COSIT 2013 paper including supplementary materia
Algebraic foundations for qualitative calculi and networks
A qualitative representation is like an ordinary representation of a
relation algebra, but instead of requiring , as
we do for ordinary representations, we only require that , for each in the algebra. A constraint
network is qualitatively satisfiable if its nodes can be mapped to elements of
a qualitative representation, preserving the constraints. If a constraint
network is satisfiable then it is clearly qualitatively satisfiable, but the
converse can fail. However, for a wide range of relation algebras including the
point algebra, the Allen Interval Algebra, RCC8 and many others, a network is
satisfiable if and only if it is qualitatively satisfiable.
Unlike ordinary composition, the weak composition arising from qualitative
representations need not be associative, so we can generalise by considering
network satisfaction problems over non-associative algebras. We prove that
computationally, qualitative representations have many advantages over ordinary
representations: whereas many finite relation algebras have only infinite
representations, every finite qualitatively representable algebra has a finite
qualitative representation; the representability problem for (the atom
structures of) finite non-associative algebras is NP-complete; the network
satisfaction problem over a finite qualitatively representable algebra is
always in NP; the validity of equations over qualitative representations is
co-NP-complete. On the other hand we prove that there is no finite
axiomatisation of the class of qualitatively representable algebras.Comment: 22 page
What is a Qualitative Calculus? A General Framework
What is a qualitative calculus? Many qualitative spatial and temporal calculi arise from a set of JEPD (jointly exhaustive and pairwise disjoint) relations: a stock example is Allen's calculus, which is based on thirteen basic relations between interval
Case Adaptation with Qualitative Algebras
This paper proposes an approach for the adaptation of spatial or temporal
cases in a case-based reasoning system. Qualitative algebras are used as
spatial and temporal knowledge representation languages. The intuition behind
this adaptation approach is to apply a substitution and then repair potential
inconsistencies, thanks to belief revision on qualitative algebras. A temporal
example from the cooking domain is given. (The paper on which this extended
abstract is based was the recipient of the best paper award of the 2012
International Conference on Case-Based Reasoning.
A survey of qualitative spatial representations
Representation and reasoning with qualitative spatial relations is an important problem in artificial intelligence and has wide applications in the fields of geographic information system, computer vision, autonomous robot navigation, natural language understanding, spatial databases and so on. The reasons for this interest in using qualitative spatial relations include cognitive comprehensibility, efficiency and computational facility. This paper summarizes progress in qualitative spatial representation by describing key calculi representing different types of spatial relationships. The paper concludes with a discussion of current research and glimpse of future work
Qualitative constraint satisfaction problems : algorithms, computational complexity, and extended framework
University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.Qualitative Spatial and Temporal Reasoning (QSTR) is a subfield of artificial intelligence that represents and reasons with spatial/temporal knowledge in a qualitative way. In the past three decades, researchers have proposed dozens of relational models (known as qualitative calculi), including, among others, Point Algebra (PA) and Interval Algebra (IA) for temporal knowledge, Cardinal Relation Algebra (CRA) and Cardinal Direction Calculus (CDC) for directional spatial knowledge, and the Region Connection Calculus RCC-5/RCC-8 for topological spatial knowledge. Relations are used in qualitative calculi for representing spatial/temporal information (e.g. Germany is to the east of France) and constraints (e.g. the to-be-established landfill should be disjoint from any lake).
The reasoning tasks in QSTR are formalised via the qualitative constraint satisfaction problem (QCSP). As the central reasoning problem in QCSP, the consistency problem (which decides the consistency of a number of constraints in certain qualitative calculi) has been extensively investigated in the literature. For PA, IA, CRA, and RCC-5/RCC-8, the consistency problem can be solved by composition-based reasoning. For CDC, however, composition-based reasoning is incomplete, and the consistency problem in CDC remains challenging.
Previous works in QCSP assume that qualitative constraints only concern completely unknown entities. Therefore, constraints about landmarks (i.e., fixed entities) cannot be properly expressed. This has significantly restricted the usefulness of QSTR in real-world applications.
The main contributions of this thesis are as follows.
(i) The composition-based method is one of the most important reasoning methods in QSTR. This thesis designs a semi-automatic algorithm for generating composition tables for general qualitative calculi. This provides a partial answer to the challenge proposed by Cohn in 1995.
(ii) Schockaert et al. (2008) extend the RCC models interpreted in Euclidean topologies to the fuzzy context and show that composition-based reasoning is sufficient to solve fuzzy QCSP, where 31 composition rules are used. This thesis first shows that only six of the 31 composition rules are necessary, and then introduces a method which consistently fuzzifies any classical RCC models. This thesis also proposes a polynomial algorithm for realizing solutions of consistent fuzzy RCC constraints.
(iii) Composition-based reasoning is incomplete for solving QCSP over the CDC. This thesis provides a cubic algorithm which for the first time solves the consistency problem of complete basic CDC networks, and further shows that the problem becomes NP-complete if the networks are allowed to be incomplete. This draws a sharp boundary between the tractable and intractable subclasses of the CDC.
(iv) This thesis proposes a more general and more expressive QCSP framework, in which a variable is allowed to be a landmark (i.e., a fixed object), or to be chosen among several landmarks. The computational complexity of the consistency problems in the new framework is then investigated, covering all qualitative calculi mentioned above. For basic networks, the consistency problem remains tractable for Point Algebra, but becomes NP-complete for all the remaining qualitative calculi. A special case in which a variable is either a landmark or is totally unknown has also been studied.
(v) A qualitative network is minimal if it cannot be refined without changing its solution set. Unlike the assumptions in the literature, this thesis shows that computing a solution of minimal networks is NP-complete for (partially ordered) PA, CRA, IA, and RCC-5/RCC-8. As a by-product, it has also been proved that determining the minimality of networks in these qualitative calculi is NP-complete
A Logic of East and West
We propose a logic of east and west (LEW) for points in 1D Euclidean space. It formalises primitive direction relations: east (E), west (W) and indeterminate east/west (Iew). It has a parameter τ ∈ ℕ>1, which is referred to as the level of indeterminacy in directions. For every τ ∈ ℕ>1, we provide a sound and complete axiomatisation of LEW, and prove that its satisfiability problem is NP-complete. In addition, we show that the finite axiomatisability of LEW depends on τ: if τ = 2 or τ = 3, then there exists a finite sound and complete axiomatisation; if τ > 3, then the logic is not finitely axiomatisable. LEW can be easily extended to higher-dimensional Euclidean spaces. Extending LEW to 2D Euclidean space makes it suitable for reasoning about not perfectly aligned representations of the same spatial objects in different datasets, for example, in crowd-sourced digital maps.</p
An overview of Shitada vis-à-vis Gingivitis
The structures which hold the tooth in proper position are called as “Periodontium” comprising of gingiva, periodontal ligament, cementum and alveolar bone. It is like the stem of the tree or bony skeleton of a human; because it bears the responsibilities of giving full support to the tooth.The disease conditions like Shitada-Gingivitis will lead to tooth mortality by altering the contour and position of it. The general prevalence of Gingivitis (Inflammation of Gingiva) is 50% and incidence in Indian population is 45%. Shitada is an early stage of periodontal disease. It is caused by vitiated Kapha and Rakta which produces spontaneous bleeding from dark, slimy and soft gums with offensive odour and gum recession. In this study an effort is made to understand the concept of Shitada mentioned in Ayurveda with special reference to Gingivitis
Connecting qualitative spatial and temporal representations by propositional closure
This paper establishes new relationships between existing qualitative spatial and temporal representations. Qualitative spatial and temporal representation (QSTR) is concerned with abstractions of infinite spatial and temporal domains, which represent configurations of objects using a finite vocabulary of relations, also called a qualitative calculus. Classically, reasoning in QSTR is based on constraints. An important task is to identify decision procedures that are able to handle constraints from a single calculus or from several calculi. In particular the latter aspect is a longstanding challenge due to the multitude of calculi proposed. In this paper we consider propositional closures of qualitative constraints which enable progress with respect to the longstanding challenge. Propositional closure allows one to establish several translations between distinct calculi. This enables joint reasoning and provides new insights into computational complexity of individual calculi. We conclude that the study of propositional languages instead of previously considered purely relational languages is a viable research direction for QSTR leading to expressive formalisms and practical algorithms
A Class of df-consistencies for Qualitative Constraint Networks
International audienceIn this paper, we introduce a new class of local consis- tencies, called °f-consistencies, for qualitative constraint networks. Each consistency of this class is based on weak composition (°) and a mapping f that provides a covering for each relation. We study the connections ex- isting between some properties of mappings f and the relative inference strength of °f-consistencies. The con- sistency obtained by the usual closure under weak com- position is shown to be the weakest element of the class, and new promising perspectives are shown to be opened by °f-consistencies stronger than weak composition. We also propose a generic algorithm that allows us to com- pute the closure of qualitative constraint networks un- der any "well-behaved" consistency of the class. The experimentation that we have conducted on qualitative constraint networks from the Interval Algebra shows the interest of these new local consistencies, in particular for the consistency problem
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