A general programming language for unified planning and control

摘要

This paper presents a method for embedding predictive search techniques within a general-purpose programming language. We focus on using this language to program the behavior of a real-time control system. Our goal is the ability to write complex programs that can be interpreted by both a real-time controller and an associated planner. The language provides an expressive action representation which captures the procedural complexities of practical control programs, yet can still be projected by a search-based planner. To support integration with the real-time controller, the planner can provide useful advice when it is interrupted after an arbitrary amount of computation. The system provides a unified approach since the planner and the controller share identical data structures and algorithms for interpreting a shared action representation. This unified representation facilitates very tight integration between the planner and the controller.