A problem solving system employing a formal approach to means

The thesis describes the theory and design of a general problem-solving system. The system uses a single general heuristic based on a formal definition of differences within the framework of means/ends analysis and employs tree search during problem solution. A comparison is made with two other systems using means/ends analysis. The conditions under which the system is capable of solving problems are investigated and the efficiency of the system is considered. The system has solved a variety of problems of varying complexity and the difference heuristic appears comparatively accurate for goal-directed search within certain limits

Intelligent Products in Supply/Demand Networks: Steps to Developing a Simulation Environment for Concept Evaluation

Supply/Demand networks are undergoing rapid changes with the increasing use of dynamic rather than static information. This paper discusses the idea of intelligent products as both producers and consumers of dynamic information, before describing research in progress to develop a suitable simulation environment for experimenting with the intelligent product concept. The research will briefly consider the potential of a new Microsoft parallel programming environment (Axum) as a development tool