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Extending the constraint propagation of intervals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 February 2009

Allen C. Ward ,
Tomás Lozano-Pérez  and
Warren P. Seering
Allen C. Ward
Affiliation:
Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, U.S.A.
Tomás Lozano-Pérez
Affiliation:
Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, U.S.A.
Warren P. Seering
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, U.S.A.
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Abstract

We show that the usual notion of constraint propagation is but one of a number of similar inferences useful in quantitative reasoning about physical objects. These inferences are expressed formally as rules for the propagation of ‘labeled intervals’ through equations. We prove the rules' correctness and illustrate their utility for reasoning about objects (such as motors or transmissions) which assume a continuum of different states. The inferences are the basis of a ‘mechanical design compiler’, which has correctly produced detailed designs from ‘high level’ descriptions for a variety of power transmission and temperature sensing systems.

Type
Research Article
Information
AI EDAM , Volume 4 , Issue 1 , February 1990 , pp. 47 - 54
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

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