Search Results

Documents authored by Comin, Carlo


Document
On Restricted Disjunctive Temporal Problems: Faster Algorithms and Tractability Frontier

Authors: Carlo Comin and Romeo Rizzi

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 120, 25th International Symposium on Temporal Representation and Reasoning (TIME 2018)


Abstract
In 2005 T.K.S. Kumar studied the Restricted Disjunctive Temporal Problem (RDTP), a restricted but very expressive class of Disjunctive Temporal Problems (DTPs). An RDTP comes with a finite set of temporal variables, and a finite set of temporal constraints each of which can be either one of the following three types: (t_1) two-variable linear-difference simple constraint; (t_2) single-variable disjunction of many interval constraints; (t_3) two-variable disjunction of two interval constraints only. Kumar showed that RDTPs are solvable in deterministic strongly polynomial time by reducing them to the Connected Row-Convex (CRC) constraints satisfaction problem, also devising a faster randomized algorithm. Instead, the most general form of DTPs allows for multi-variable disjunctions of many interval constraints and it is NP-complete. This work offers a deeper comprehension on the tractability of RDTPs, leading to an elementary deterministic strongly polynomial time algorithm for them, significantly improving the asymptotic running times of all the previous deterministic and randomized solutions. The result is obtained by reducing RDTPs to the Single-Source Shortest Paths (SSSP) and the 2-SAT problem (jointly), instead of reducing to CRCs. In passing, we obtain a faster (quadratic time) algorithm for RDTPs having only {t_1, t_2}-constraints and no t_3-constraint. As a second main contribution, we study the tractability frontier of solving RDTPs blended with Hyper Temporal Networks (HyTNs), a disjunctive strict generalization of Simple Temporal Networks (STNs) based on hypergraphs: we prove that solving temporal problems having only t_2-constraints and either only multi-tail or only multi-head hyperarc-constraints lies in NP cap co-NP and admits deterministic pseudo-polynomial time algorithms; on the other hand, problems having only t_3-constraints and either only multi-tail or only multi-head hyperarc-constraints turns out strongly NP-complete.

Cite as

Carlo Comin and Romeo Rizzi. On Restricted Disjunctive Temporal Problems: Faster Algorithms and Tractability Frontier. In 25th International Symposium on Temporal Representation and Reasoning (TIME 2018). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 120, pp. 10:1-10:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2018)


Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{comin_et_al:LIPIcs.TIME.2018.10,
  author =	{Comin, Carlo and Rizzi, Romeo},
  title =	{{On Restricted Disjunctive Temporal Problems: Faster Algorithms and Tractability Frontier}},
  booktitle =	{25th International Symposium on Temporal Representation and Reasoning (TIME 2018)},
  pages =	{10:1--10:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-089-7},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2018},
  volume =	{120},
  editor =	{Alechina, Natasha and N{\o}rv\r{a}g, Kjetil and Penczek, Wojciech},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.TIME.2018.10},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-97751},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.TIME.2018.10},
  annote =	{Keywords: Restricted Disjuctive Temporal Problems, Simple Temporal Networks, Hyper Temporal Networks, Consistency Checking, Single-Source Shortest-Paths, 2-SAT}
}
Document
Incorporating Decision Nodes into Conditional Simple Temporal Networks

Authors: Massimo Cairo, Carlo Combi, Carlo Comin, Luke Hunsberger, Roberto Posenato, Romeo Rizzi, and Matteo Zavatteri

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 90, 24th International Symposium on Temporal Representation and Reasoning (TIME 2017)


Abstract
A Conditional Simple Temporal Network (CSTN) augments a Simple Temporal Network (STN) to include special time-points, called observation time-points. In a CSTN, the agent executing the network controls the execution of every time-point. However, each observation time-point has a unique propositional letter associated with it and, when the agent executes that time-point, the environment assigns a truth value to the corresponding letter. Thus, the agent observes but, does not control the assignment of truth values. A CSTN is dynamically consistent (DC) if there exists a strategy for executing its time-points such that all relevant constraints will be satisfied no matter which truth values the environment assigns to the propositional letters. Alternatively, in a Labeled Simple Temporal Network (Labeled STN) - also called a Temporal Plan with Choice - the agent executing the network controls the assignment of values to the so-called choice variables. Furthermore, the agent can make those assignments at any time. For this reason, a Labeled STN is equivalent to a Disjunctive Temporal Network. This paper incorporates both of the above extensions by augmenting a CSTN to include not only observation time-points but also decision time-points. A decision time-point is like an observation time-point in that it has an associated propositional letter whose value is determined when the decision time-point is executed. It differs in that the agent - not the environment - selects that value. The resulting network is called a CSTN with Decisions (CSTND). This paper shows that a CSTND generalizes both CSTNs and Labeled STNs, and proves that the problem of determining whether any given CSTND is dynamically consistent is PSPACE-complete. It also presents algorithms that address two sub-classes of CSTNDs: (1) those that contain only decision time-points; and (2) those in which all decisions are made before execution begins.

Cite as

Massimo Cairo, Carlo Combi, Carlo Comin, Luke Hunsberger, Roberto Posenato, Romeo Rizzi, and Matteo Zavatteri. Incorporating Decision Nodes into Conditional Simple Temporal Networks. In 24th International Symposium on Temporal Representation and Reasoning (TIME 2017). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 90, pp. 9:1-9:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2017)


Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{cairo_et_al:LIPIcs.TIME.2017.9,
  author =	{Cairo, Massimo and Combi, Carlo and Comin, Carlo and Hunsberger, Luke and Posenato, Roberto and Rizzi, Romeo and Zavatteri, Matteo},
  title =	{{Incorporating Decision Nodes into Conditional Simple Temporal Networks}},
  booktitle =	{24th International Symposium on Temporal Representation and Reasoning (TIME 2017)},
  pages =	{9:1--9:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-052-1},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2017},
  volume =	{90},
  editor =	{Schewe, Sven and Schneider, Thomas and Wijsen, Jef},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.TIME.2017.9},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-79155},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.TIME.2017.9},
  annote =	{Keywords: Conditional Simple Temporal Networks with Decisions, Dynamic Consistency, SAT Solver, Hyper Temporal Networks, PSPACE}
}
Questions / Remarks / Feedback
X

Feedback for Dagstuhl Publishing


Thanks for your feedback!

Feedback submitted

Could not send message

Please try again later or send an E-mail