The Interval Reduction Strategy for Monitoring Cupcake Problems
Paul R. Cohen, Marc S. Atkin, Eric A. Hansen · The MIT Press eBooks · 1994
Monitoring is the process by which agents assess their environments. Most AI applications rely on periodic monitoring, but for a large class of problems this is inefficient. The interval reduction monitoring strategy is better. It also appears in humans and artificial agents when they are given the same set of monitoring problems. We implemented two genetic algorithms to evolve monitoring strategies and a dynamic programming algorithm to find an optimum strategy. We also developed a simple mathematical model of monitoring. We tested all these strategies in simulations, and we tested human strategies in a "video game." Interval reduction always emerged. Environmental factors such as error and monitoring costs had the same qualitative effects on the strategies, irrespective of their genesis. Interval reduction appears to be a general monitoring strategy. 1 Introduction All embedded agents must monitor. Monitoring means seeing how plans are progressing, checking how much progress has b...