Controller Synthesis for Timeline-based Games

TL;DR

This paper introduces a method for synthesizing controllers in timeline-based games, extending planning systems to handle nondeterminism and providing a concrete approach to strategy implementation.

Contribution

It presents the first concrete approach for controller synthesis in timeline-based games, addressing the gap in implementing winning strategies.

Findings

Proves the complexity of strategy existence is 2EXPTIME-complete

Provides a novel synthesis method for controllers in timeline-based games

Extends planning systems to handle nondeterminism effectively

Abstract

In the timeline-based approach to planning, originally born in the space sector, the evolution over time of a set of state variables (the timelines) is governed by a set of temporal constraints. Traditional timeline-based planning systems excel at the integration of planning with execution by handling temporal uncertainty. In order to handle general nondeterminism as well, the concept of timeline-based games has been recently introduced. It has been proved that finding whether a winning strategy exists for such games is 2EXPTIME-complete. However, a concrete approach to synthesize controllers implementing such strategies is missing. This paper fills this gap, outlining an approach to controller synthesis for timeline-based games.