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A Framework for an Intelligent Problem Solver

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 A Framework for an Intelligent Problem Solver
Magdy Aboul-Ela
Computer & Information Systems Department
Sadat Academy for Management Sciences
P.O. Box 2222, Kournich-ElNile, El-Maadi, Cairo, Egypt

ABSTRACT: - This paper presents a proposed Framework for an Intelligent Problem Solver (IPS). This
framework is based on representing the problem state using a proposed representation, with a representation
language to represent the operators or rules that can be used to move from one state to another until reaching the
goal state. The system can solve the problem dynamically, by constructing a plan for solution. IPS can be
integrated with a complete intelligent environment for prediction, diagnosis, or Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS).
Some Examples of different Applications show how this framework is applied.

KEYWORDS: - Artificial Intelligence, Intelligent Tutoring Systems, Expert Systems, Problem Solver.

1. Introduction which it can be applied, is required. The word

The process of problem solving is described as
a search through a state space in which each
point corresponded to a situation that might
arise. The search started with an initial
situation and performed a sequence of
allowable operations until a situation
corresponding to a goal was reached.
However, for more complicated problem
domains, it becomes important to be able to
work on small pieces of a problem separately
and then to combine the partial solutions at the
end into a complete problem solution. The use
of methods that focuses on ways of
decomposing the original problem into
appropriate subparts and on ways of recording
and handling interactions among the subparts
as they are detected during the problem-
solving process is called planning. The word
planning refers to the process of computing
several steps of a problem-solving procedure
before executing any of them. The search
strategy that would make it possible to solve
the major parts of a problem first, then go
back, and solve the small problems that arises
in gluing the big pieces together, is known as
means-ends analysis. The means-ends analysis
process centers around the detection of
differences between the current state and the
goal state. Once such a difference is isolated,
an operator that can reduce the difference must
be found. However, perhaps that operator
cannot be applied to the current state. So a set
up of a sub-problem of getting to a state in
"operator" refers to some representation of an
action. An operator usually includes
information about what must be true in the
world before the action can take place, and
how the world is changed by the action. The
operator, which is an action representation is
represented as a procedure or function or
production rules, and used as tools or
constructors of a system. This paper presents a
framework for problem solver [9].
2. Problem State and
Operators Representation
The following grammar is designed for a
language to represent different aspects of
problem states. The grammar of this language
is based on the concepts of object oriented.
Each statement, or sentence, of this language
according to the grammar is a description of
problem state.
<State> :: <Object> .
< Object > ::
<Object-Name>
[:<Class-Name>]
[(<Attribute-List>)]
[<Object-Link>].
<Class-Link > :: <Link> < Object >
[& <Object-Link>] .
<Link> :: isa | has.
<Attribute-List> :: <Attribute-Name>

1
 (<Attribute-Values>)
<Object>
[; <Attribute-List>] .
<Attribute-Values> :: { [<Mode>] <Value>
[ , <Attribute-Values>] } |
{<Relation-To>
<Object >}|<Operator>.
<Relation-To> :: over | below | next-to |
behind |
front | include | greater |
smaller | in | Like | same-as
<Mode> :: Except | Not .
<Value> :: String of Characters
<Attribute-Name :: String of Characters
<Class-Name> :: String of Characters
The operators or rules are written according to
the following grammar:
| There are also a list of temporary area such as:
ObjectReg(i) , where ‘i’ is the index of the
area, and the Current-Index register, which
contains the index of the current object
register. The built-in functions such as
GetNextObject return the next object of the list
of object of the relevant class to the next object
register, but GotoFirstObject return the pointer
to the first object of the list. The function
GetNextRelevantOperator search the
operator/rules list for the next relevant one and
put it in the register OperatorReg. The function
ApplyRule applies the operator/rule on the
current state of the problem or situation.
Return True/False means the conditions of the
rules are applied true/false. A programming
function for a specific task can be integrated
and called for execution.

<Operator> :: Where:
<Operator-Name>: :: means defined by
[<Class-Name> <...> for non-terminal,
(<Built-in-Function>) | […] for option,
<Object-Register> {…} must be included,
(<Built-in-Function>)] | for OR
{if {<Operator> | <Expression-List>
}
then { <Operator> | <Action>} |
{While <Expression-List> do (
3. Meta Knowledge
{<Operator> | <Action>}}) |
<Action> }. Meta knowledge component is responsible of
<Action> :: <Action-Name> all data, information, and rules, which describe
( <Expression-List>) | the state, the operators and the interrelation
Return(<BooleanValue>) | between them. As examples, check the data
<Operator> | types, and the matching between them, the
<Programming Function> difference table for means-ends analysis, and
<Expression-List> :: {<Object-Name> | the relation between the classes, objects, and
<Object-Register> | their attributes. The knowledge of text
<Class-Name)} generation from the problem states and the
(Attribute-Name ) applied operators can be included for interface.
<Expression-Operator>
<Attribute-values>
[& <Expression-List>] }| 4. Internal Structure
<Class-Name>
(<Built-in-Function>). The internal representation of the system is
<Expression-Operator> :: based on object-oriented paradigm according
!= | = | < | > | has | + | - | * | / to the description of the problem state and the
<Operator-Name> :: String of Characters operators using the representation language.
<Action-Name> :: String of Characters
<Built-in-Function> :: GetNextObject | An object index associated with their relevant
SaveObject | RemoveObject | classes and attributes, in addition to the
GotoFirstObject
<Programming Function> :: Operator index. A stack of the solution path,
Call of Programming Function which include all used operators, which must
<Object-Register> :: be run in sequence to reach from initial state to
ObjectReg(<index>). goal state, associated to a list of all problem
<index> :: number states from initial state to goal state for
<BooleanValue> :: True | False evaluation and explanation.

2
 Position (X(5),Y(15),Z (3) ),
Cell21: Cell (Depth(7), Color(2),Type(10),
Position (X(5),Y(15),Z (8) ) ,
List of Problem States Cell31:Cell (Depth(6),Color(1),Type(15) ),
Position (X(5),Y(15),Z (15) ),
Cell19:Cell (Depth(7),Color(1),Type(15),
Position (X(13),Y(17),Z (5) ) ,
Initial Current Goal Cell29:Cell (Depth(13), Color(2),Type(10),
State State State Position( X(13),Y(17),Z (12) ),
(Vector1: Vector (
Operators Object Vector1Depth(18),
Stack Index Cell11, Cell21, Cell31 ),
(Vector2:Vector (
Vector2Depth(20),
Operators & Cell19, Cell29 ),
Rules Meta Plane1:Plane ( Cell11, Cell19, C ell31 )
base Knowledge ).

Difference As example of the operators and rules that are

Table Registers associated with this problem, consider the
List situation of filling the cells between two
matching types of cells at different vectors,
Fig. 1. Internal Structure of the and the following sample of the scenario of
System solving the problem:

Connect-Vectors:
Vector(GetNextObject)
5. Examples Vector(GetNextObject)
Connect-Cells:
In the following examples, we will see how While ( ObjectReg(1) (GetNextObject) != null
this framework can be applied for different &
applications. Each of this application is ObjectReg(2) (GotoFirstObject))
developed before using a specific and different do
framework for the relevant domain. All (
While ( ObjectReg(2) (GetNextObject) != null)
do
5.1. Soil Characteristics Prediction (
Match-Cell:
One of the most important components of geo- If ObjectReg(3) (Color) = ObjectReg(4)
technical design is the prediction of site (Color) &
characteristics from site investigation ObjectReg(3) (Type) = ObjectReg(4) (Type)
information in the form of borehole logs and Then
correlation of this information. The Problem Fill-Cells-On-Plane:
State represented as 3D Array, which if (Get-Cells-On-Plane:
corresponds to the site or region of ground. (Call mathematical programming
function to determine the
Each cells of the Array, representing a associated
predefined scale, hold the features of soil of cells on the relevant plane ) )
the represented part of site. The borehole is then
represented as vector, where each layer of the temp-reg = Current-Index
While(ObjectReg(temp-reg)
borehole corresponding to number of elements (GetNextObject) != null )
of the vector [5]. do
(
The Problem State represents Element or Cell ObjectReg((current-index) (Color) =
of Array, grouping them in Vectors, Polygons, ObjectReg(3) (Color),
ObjectReg((current-index) (Type) =
Planes, and a list of each group. Consider the
ObjectReg(3) (Type)
following initial state of the problem:
)
)).
Site1: Site (
Area (4000) ,
Cell11 :Cell (Depth (5),Color(1),Type(20),

3

Fig. 2. Cross Section of the Site
Object in X direction
5.2. Automated Legal Reasoning
Legal Reasoning is the thinking process
adopted by lawyers when they apply legal
rules to a new case and draw legal conclusion.
When it has been determined whether, or not,
the problematic set of facts fall under the
applicable law, and the legal interpretative
process is completed, then the legal conclusion
is reasoned automatically [6].
Consider the following example for a factory
has the following state representation, and we
want to see if this factory violate the
environment law or not, and if yes what are the
procedures which must be followed to fix the
situation.
Factory1: Factory (
Location (near-sea),
Far-from-City (25KM),
Pollutant-type(Liquid, Gas, Not Solid),
Pollutant-Drainage (Sea),
Has-permission (No),
Violate-Environment-Law(No) ).
The relevant article of law for this situation is:
Check-Law-Violation:
Factory(GetNextObject)
While (ObjectReg(1) (Violate-
Environment-Law) = Yes )
Do (
GetNextRelevantOperator
ApplyRule)
Make-advice).
After the execution of this operator, the
operator register will contain the article of the
law, which has the following meaning:
It is forbidden for any factory to drain the
liquid or gas pollutant in the sea without
having permission from ministry of
agriculture, and must be far from city with a
distance greater than 30 km.
The representation structure of this article in
the knowledge base is:
Article52:
If Factory (Far-From-City) < 30KM
& Factory (Pollutant-drainage) = Sea &
Factory(Pollutant-Type) = Gas,
Liquid & Factory (Has-Permission) = No
Then
Factory (Violate-Environment-Law) = Yes.
When matching Object-name with class-name,
it will be accepted if the object is an instance
of this class. When applying the rule, the
attribute Violate-Environment-Law will be
changed to yes.
The next step “ while loop” will search on
another article for this situation. To fix this
situation, the system will search on the
possible operators, which can improve or solve
the problem. Make advice operator will collect
the violated conditions and check the
possibility of changes.
5.3. IPS for ITS
As a component of ITS [1], [2], IPS can
evaluate student answer or provide answer
answers or explanation and can help in the
different components of ITS. For the case of
Algebra Problems [4], [8]; The problems state
representation can be as following:
SecondOrderEquation: Equation (
SecondeOrderVar(X),
SecondOrderCoeff(3),
FirstOrderVar(X),
FirstOrderCoeff(2),
Constant(-7)
EquationForm(3X^2+2X-7=0),
Root1(X1),
Root1(X2),
Goal(Find(Root)).
The operators and rules, which are applied to
solve this problem:
Solve-Second-Order-Equation:
if
Equation(SecondOrderCoeff)*
Equation(SecondeOrderVar)^2+
Equation(FirstOrderCoeff)*
Equation(FirstOrderVar)+
Equation(Constant)
Then
4
 Equation(Root1)=
(- Equation(FirstOrderCoeff)+
(Equation(FirstOrderCoeff)^2-
4*Equation(SecondOrderCoeff)
* Equation(Constant))^0.5)/
(2*Equation(SecondOrderCoeff)),
Root2=
(- Equation(FirstOrderCoeff)-
(Equation(FirstOrderCoeff)^2-
4*Equation(SecondOrderCoeff)
* Equation(Constant))^0.5)/
(2*Equation(SecondOrderCoeff)).
The operators’ list at the stack will be:
Find(Root)
ApplyRule(Solve-Second-Order-Equation)
6. Conclusions
This paper shows a description of a framework
for an intelligent problem solver (IPS). The
proposed IPS is generic and independent of the
domain, i.e. it can be applied for different
applications and domain such as problem
solving, prediction, diagnosis, and ITS. The
meta-knowledge is used to describe the
meaning of the attributes and the relation
between the objects, in addition to the meaning
of the operator and when it can be used.
In the next step, this IPS will be applied on
different applications for enhancement, and to
be integrated with a complete intelligent
environment. The planning technique is used
to solve the problems using the proposed state
representation and the operators/rules, which
are written in the proposed representation
language, and then converted to the internal
representation of the system. An easy
interface can be added to support interaction
with the user to define the different
knowledge.
References:
[1] Aboul-Ela, Magdy; Khamis, AbdelAziz;
and ElLeathy, Tamer;“Teaching Arabic for
Non- Arabic Speakers: Framework for
ITS”, International Conference on
Education and Information Systems:
Technologies and Applications
EISTA’03, Orlando, Florida, USA, July
31 - August 1-2, 2003.
[2] Abdel-Wahab, Sayed; and Aboul-Ela,
Magdy; “Intelligent Tutoring System for
Geography”, International Conference on
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Education and Information Systems:
Technologies and Applications EISTA’03,
Orlando, Florida, USA, July 31 - August
1-2, 2003.
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Magdy. "Intelligent Tutoring System:
Representation, Modeling, and Planning".
Work Shop for using Information
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