The Nicole Project: Current Status
Current Status
Cognitive Architecture: Memory-Based Opportunistic Reasoning
The current theoretical core of the Nicole Project is
memory-based opportunistic reasoning, a
theory of how an agent operating in a complex,
changing environment could flexibly and continuously remember
the past and use those remindings opportunistically to chart a
course of processing. This theory has three components: a
theory of memory which allows anytime and asynchronous
retrieval based on the agent's context, a theory of case-based
problem solving that uses integration mechanisms to incorporate
new information at any point during problem solving, and a
theory of metacontrol based on an utility-based search through
a space of task networks.
A more complete description of the MBOR theory is available either
as an HTML document
or in postscript format as:
Tools and Systems: Nicole0.4.alpha
The MBOR theory is implemented in a system called NICOLE , which is
divided into three sub-modules: the memory system MOORE, the
case-based reasoner MPA, and the metacontroller TASKSTORM.
The core components of NICOLE - the knowledge representation system
CRYSTAL and the memory system TASKSTORM - are used outside of the
NICOLE system itself in the ISAAC science-fiction story understanding
system.
Evaluation: Computational Models of the Utility Problem.
To evaluate this theory, we propose a methodology based on
computational models of artificial intelligence systems which
allows both algorithmic and performance analyses of the systems
in question. This theory allows the evaluation of the NICOLE
system over a wide space of design decisions, domain
characteristics and problem distributions, allowing us to
evaluate both the system as a whole and the contributions of
various components of the system to its overall
performance.
Direct academic correspondence to:
Anthony G. Francis, Jr.
AI / Cognitive-Science Group
College of Computing
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0280
Phone: (404) 853-9381, (404) 853-9372 fax
E-mail: centaur@cc.gatech.edu
For more information, try `finger'
or contact me directly via e-mail to centaur@cc.gatech.edu.
Last Modified: August 10, 1995 by Anthony Francis (centaur@cc.gatech.edu)