The Railroad Crossing Problem: An Experiment with Instantaneous Actions and Immediate Reactions

TL;DR

This paper presents an evolving algebra solution to the railroad crossing problem, exploring agents that perform instantaneous actions in continuous time, especially those that fire immediately upon being enabled.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach using evolving algebra to model instantaneous actions in continuous time for the railroad crossing problem.

Findings

Successful modeling of agents firing immediately when enabled

Demonstrates the feasibility of continuous-time instantaneous actions

Provides a foundation for further research in real-time agent systems

Abstract

We give an evolving algebra solution for the well-known railroad crossing problem and use the occasion to experiment with agents that perform instantaneous actions in continuous time and in particular with agents that fire at the moment they are enabled.