Allen's Interval Algebra Makes the Difference

Allen's Interval Algebra constitutes a framework for reaso n-ing about temporal information in a qualitative manner. In p articular, it uses intervals, i.e., pairs of endpoints, on the timeline to represent entities corresponding to actions, events, or tasks, and bi nary relations such as precedes and overlaps to encode the possible configurations between those entities. Allen's calculus has found its way in m any academic and industrial applications that involve, most commo nly, planning and scheduling, temporal databases, and healthcare. I n this paper, we present a novel encoding of Interval Algebra using answer -set programming (ASP) extended by difference constraints, i.e., th e fragment abbreviated as ASP(DL), and demonstrate its performance vi a a preliminary experimental evaluation. Although our ASP encoding i s presented in the case of Allen's calculus for the sake of clarity, we sug gest that analogous encodings can be devised for other point-based ca lculi, too.