Solving WCSP by Extraction of Minimal Unsatisfiable Cores

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel approach for solving Weighted Constraint Satisfaction Problems (WCSP) by extracting and relaxing Minimal Unsatisfiable Cores, offering both incomplete and complete algorithms to improve solution efficiency.

Contribution

It presents a new method integrating minimal unsatisfiable core extraction and relaxation, differing from traditional cost transfer and branch-and-bound techniques.

Findings

The greedy algorithm provides faster, approximate solutions.

The complete algorithm guarantees optimal solutions.

Experimental results show improved efficiency over existing methods.

Abstract

Usual techniques to solve WCSP are based on cost transfer operations coupled with a branch and bound algorithm. In this paper, we focus on an approach integrating extraction and relaxation of Minimal Unsatisfiable Cores in order to solve this problem. We decline our approach in two ways: an incomplete, greedy, algorithm and a complete one.