Temporal Logical Filtering – Preliminary Results

In this paper we provide algorithms for determining the belief state of an agent, i.e., its knowledge about the state of the world. We describe our domains using a logical action language that allows nondeterministic actions and partial observability. Our algorithms update an initial belief state with every execution of an action and when collecting observations. This iterative updating process is called logical filtering. Our algorithms are computationally superior to current methods that are used in nondeterministic planning. Several classes of dynamic systems that we identify allow particularly efficient filtering. In some cases our algorithms compute the filtering of action/observation sequences of arbitrary length efficiently while maintaining compact representation of belief states over time. Other cases allow efficient approximation of the belief state under reasonable conditions. Some of the properties of domains that we identify can be used to launch further investigation into efficient projection, execution monitoring, planning and diagnosis.