A new approach to the interactive resolution of configuration problems in virtual environments

Intelligent Virtual Environments integrate AI techniques with 3D real-time environments. As such, they can support interactive problem solving, provided the underlying AI techniques can produce solutions within a time frame matching that of user interaction. In this paper, we describe an intelligent virtual environment based on Constraint Logic Programming (CLP), integrated in a real-time 3D graphic environment. We have developed an event-based approach through which user interaction can be converted in real-time into appropriate solver queries which are then translated back into automatic reconfigurations of the Virtual Environment (VE). Additionally, this framework supports the interactive exploration of the solution space in which alternative solutions (configurations) can be found. We demonstrate the system behaviour on a configuration example. This example illustrates how solutions can be interactively refined by the user through direct manipulation of objects in the VE and how the interactive search of alternative solutions in the VE is supported by these type of systems