problems many times faster than the best current planning systems. Although stochastic methods have been shown to be very e ective on a wide range of scheduling problems, this is the rst demonstration of its power on truly challenging classical planning instances. This work also provides a new perspective

-related methods, showing how they provide a unifying framework for modeling many classes of planning problems studied in AI. It also describes structural properties of MDPs that, when exhibited by particular classes of problems, can be exploited in the construction of optimal or approximately optimal policies

A numerical algorithm integrating the 3N Cartesian equations of motion of a system of N points subject to holonomic constraints is formulated. The relations of constraint remain perfectly fulfilled at each step of the trajectory despite the approximate character of numerical integration. The method

gutton~gte.com Dyna is an AI architecture that integrates learning, planning, and reactive execution. Learning methods are used in Dyna both for compiling planning results and for updating a model of the effects of the agent's actions on the world. Planning is incremental and can use

describe a particular case of such methods for interfaces whose speed depends only on local position. The technique works by coupling work on entropy conditions for interface motion, the theory of viscosity solutions for Hamilton-Jacobi equations and fast adaptive narrow band level set methods

This paper presents a unique real-time obstacle avoidance approach for manipulators and mobile robots based on the artificial potential field concept. Collision avoidance, tradi-tionally considered a high level planning problem, can be effectively distributed between different levels of control, al

The goal of this article is to review the state-of-the-art tracking methods, classify them into different categories, and identify new trends. Object tracking, in general, is a challenging problem. Difficulties in tracking objects can arise due to abrupt object motion, changing appearance patterns

The factorization method described in this series of reports requires an algorithm to track the motion of features in an image stream. Given the small inter-frame displacement made possible by the factorization approach, the best tracking method turns out to be the one proposed by Lucas and Kanade

to use ad hoc transformations to handle data at the extreme values of zero and one. We also offer some new, robust specification tests by nesting the logit or probit function in a more general functional form. We apply these methods to a data set of employee participation rates in 401 (k) pension plans.

We devise new numerical algorithms, called PSC algorithms, for following fronts propagating with curvature-dependent speed. The speed may be an arbitrary function of curvature, and the front also can be passively advected by an underlying flow. These algorithms approximate the equations of motion