Planning in a Hierarchy of Abstraction Spaces

A problem domain can be represented as a hierarchy of abstraction spaces in which successively finer levels of detail are introduced. The problem solver ABSTRIPS, a modification of STRIPS, can define an abstraction space hierarchy from the STRIPS representation of a problem domain, and it can utilize the hierarchy in solving problems. Examples of the system's performance are presented that demonstrate the significant increases in problem-solving power that this approach provides. Then some further Implications of the hierarchical planning approach are explored.Later journal article in Artificial Intelligence 5:115-135 (1974). Available for a fee. In IJCAI-73: THIRD INTERNATIONAL JOINT CONFERENCE ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, 20-23 August 1973, Stanford University Stanford, California.