In his recent papers, entitled Intelligence without Representation and Intelligence without Reason, Brooks argues for mobile robots as the foundation of AI research. The article proposes real-world software environments, such as operating systems or databases, as a complementary substrate for intelligent-agent research and considers the relative advantages of software environments as test beds for AI. Brooks's mobile robots tug AI toward a bottom-up focus in which the mechanics of perception and mobility mingle inextricably with or even supersede core AI research. In contrast, the softbots (software robots) I advocate facilitate the study of classical AI problems in real-world (albeit, software) domains.

The second annual Robot Competition and Exhibition sponsored by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence was held in Washington D.C. on 13-15 July 1993 in conjunction with the Eleventh National Conference on Artificial Intelligence. This article describes the robots that placed first and second in each event and compares their strategies and their resulting successes and difficulties.

In his model, requirements needs, it must be able to represent is done unintentionally; a problem for filling system knowledge solver attempting to solve a gaps also direct explanation generation what these needs are. Ram proposed problem simply stores a trace of its by guiding retrieval and revision representations that include processing without attention to its of explanations during case-based the desired knowledge (possibly partially future relevance. However, Ng's previously explanation construction (Leake specified) and the reason that mentioned studies show that 1992). In the context of analogical the knowledge is sought. Leake for a different class of task, learning mapping, Thagard pointed out that focused on the representation of the goals have a strong effect on the goals, semantic constraints, and syntactic knowledge required to resolve anomalies learning performance of human constraints all affect analogical (which depends on a vocabulary learners. A future question is to identify mapping (Holyoak and Thagard 1989) of anomaly characterization structures the limits of goal-driven processing and the retrieval of potential analogs to describe the information in human learners.

They government contacts indicated the Bonnie Dorr has volunteered to serve also hope to increase the submissions importance of forming a mission as symposium cochair.

This project has entered into a joint agreement agreements with Nestor Inc. (Providence, will involve simulating fires in buildings with software giant Microsoft Corp. R.I.) to institute pilot projects and assessing how a VR system as the first step toward installing (Redmond, Wash.) that will enable Planet is an expert system that individual cardholders and banks provides strategic and detailed planning against losses due to fraud, making for financial audits. It produces Bank Bandeirantes (Sao Paulo, Brazil) use of neural networks to learn a cardholder's risk assessments for a variety of financial has teamed up with another Brazilian pattern of credit card use. Venus is a flowcharting tool analysis expert system that operates in Cal.) will team up with VRl Entertainment for auditors who specialize in auditing real-time. The intelligent system has Inc. (Boulder, Colo.) to computer systems running deliver virtual reality to the home via helped the bank experience dramatic SIRIUS (SWIFT's Intelligent examines in detail a P 1 the key AI technologies: telecommunications operators Contact Lionheart Publishing system supervises the 150 switches Inc,2555 Cumberland Parkway, an event manager and hypertext Suite 299, Atlanta, GA 30339, (404) 434-manuals, and fields hundreds of telephone and 350 connections that make up 2187, FAX: (404) 432-6969. Wash.) have teamed up to develop Intelligent Alarming, which integrates Metropolitan Federal Bank (Edina, Mitek Systems (San Diego, Cal.) has industrial automation software Minn.) has deployed an automated completed a test phase for an automatic with an expert system.

Celite corporation and Andersen Consulting have developed an advanced approach to traditional software development called the application software factory (ASF)." The approach is an integration of technology and total quality "management" techniques that includes the use of an expert system to guide module design and perform "module programming." The expert system component is called the knowledge-based design assistant and its inclusion in the ASF methodology" has significantly reduced module development time, training time, and module and communication errors.

Although the economic results of PDEC's green engineering techniques are only beginning to come in, they are nonetheless compelling. In addition, as green engineering grows in practice, the outset for the entire life cycle of new jobs in remanufacturing have been applied to a product, designing for component and recycling will be created. The consortium is currently Common Lisp. It plots a cost curve A pioneering consortium at engaged in two major development that represents the effort put into Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is activities: (1) green indicators that are disassembly, testing, repair and using AI, combined with operations measures of environmental compatibility remanufacturing, quality assurance, research, environmental science, and (2) tools that use the green and product design changes that public policy, and other disciplines, indicators to help designers make allow for recovery. It also plots a to build tools for green engineering.

The methodological underpinnings of AI are slowly changing. Benchmarks, test beds, and controlled experimentation are becoming more common. Although we are optimistic that this change can solidify the science of AI, we also recognize a set of difficult issues concerning the appropriate use of this methodology. We discuss these issues as they relate to research on agent design. We survey existing test beds for agents and argue for appropriate caution in their use. We end with a debate on the proper role of experimental methodology in the design and validation of planning agents.

In his recent papers, entitled Intelligence without Representation and Intelligence without Reason, Brooks argues for mobile robots as the foundation of AI research. This article argues that even if we seek to investigate complete agents in real-world environments, robotics is neither necessary nor sufficient as a basis for AI research. The article proposes real-world software environments, such as operating systems or databases, as a complementary substrate for intelligent-agent research and considers the relative advantages of software environments as test beds for AI. First, the cost, effort, and expertise necessary to develop and systematically experiment with software artifacts are relatively low. Second, software environments circumvent many thorny but peripheral research issues that are inescapable in physical environments. Brooks's mobile robots tug AI toward a bottom-up focus in which the mechanics of perception and mobility mingle inextricably with or even supersede core AI research. In contrast, the softbots (software robots) I advocate facilitate the study of classical AI problems in real-world (albeit, software) domains. For example, the UNIX softbot under development at the University of Washington has led us to investigate planning with incomplete information, interleaving planning and execution, and a host of related high-level issues.

To support the goal of allowing users to record and retrieve information, this paper describes an interactive note-taking system for pen-based computers with two distinctive features. First, it actively predicts what the user is going to write. Second, it automatically constructs a custom, button-box user interface on request. The system is an example of a learning-apprentice software- agent. A machine learning component characterizes the syntax and semantics of the user's information. A performance system uses this learned information to generate completion strings and construct a user interface. Description of Online Appendix: People like to record information. Doing this on paper is initially efficient, but lacks flexibility. Recording information on a computer is less efficient but more powerful. In our new note taking softwre, the user records information directly on a computer. Behind the interface, an agent acts for the user. To help, it provides defaults and constructs a custom user interface. The demonstration is a QuickTime movie of the note taking agent in action. The file is a binhexed self-extracting archive. Macintosh utilities for binhex are available from mac.archive.umich.edu. QuickTime is available from ftp.apple.com in the dts/mac/sys.soft/quicktime.