Scribd
Upload
76 views8 pages

6.2 Means-Ends Analysis

Means-Ends Analysis (MEA) is a problem-solving technique in artificial intelligence that combines forward and backward search strategies to address complex problems. The process involves evaluating the differences between the current and goal states, applying operators to reduce these differences, and may involve creating subgoals when operators cannot be applied directly. MEA was introduced by Allen Newell and Herbert A. Simon in 1961 and is particularly useful for controlling search in problem-solving scenarios.

Uploaded by

Bablu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
76 views8 pages

6.2 Means-Ends Analysis

Means-Ends Analysis (MEA) is a problem-solving technique in artificial intelligence that combines forward and backward search strategies to address complex problems. The process involves evaluating the differences between the current and goal states, applying operators to reduce these differences, and may involve creating subgoals when operators cannot be applied directly. MEA was introduced by Allen Newell and Herbert A. Simon in 1961 and is particularly useful for controlling search in problem-solving scenarios.

Uploaded by

Bablu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 8

6.

Means-Ends Analysis
 We have studied the strategies which can reason either in forward or
backward, but a mixture of the two directions is appropriate for solving a
complex and large problem.
 Such a mixed strategy, make it possible that first to solve the major part of a
problem and then go back and solve the small problems arise during
combining the big parts of the problem. Such a technique is called Means-
Ends Analysis.
 Means-Ends Analysis is problem-solving techniques used in Artificial
intelligence for limiting search in AI programs.
 It is a mixture of Backward and forward search technique.
 The MEA technique was first introduced in 1961 by Allen Newell, and
Herbert A. Simon in their problem-solving computer program, which was
named as General Problem Solver (GPS).
 The MEA analysis process centered on the evaluation of the difference
between the current state and goal state.
How means-ends analysis Works:

 The means-ends analysis process can be applied


recursively for a problem.

 It is a strategy to control search in problem-solving.

 Following are the main Steps which describes the working


of MEA technique for solving a problem.

1.First, evaluate the difference between Initial State and final


State.

2.Select the various operators which can be applied for each


difference.

3.Apply the operator at each difference, which reduces the


difference between the current state and goal state.
Operator Subgoaling:

• In the MEA process, we detect the differences between the current


state and goal state.
• Once these differences occur, then we can apply an operator to
reduce the differences.
• But sometimes it is possible that an operator cannot be applied to
the current state.
• So we create the subproblem of the current state, in which
operator can be applied, such type of backward chaining in which
operators are selected, and then sub goals are set up to establish
the preconditions of the operator is called Operator Subgoaling.
Algorithm for Means-Ends Analysis
 Let's we take Current state as CURRENT and Goal State as GOAL,
then following are the steps for the MEA algorithm.
Step 1: Compare CURRENT to GOAL, if there are no differences
between both then return Success and Exit.

Step 2: Else, select the most significant difference and reduce it by


doing the following steps until the success or failure occurs.
a. Select a new operator O which is applicable for the current
difference, and if there is no such operator, then signal failure.
b. Attempt to apply operator O to CURRENT. Make a description
of two states.
i) O-Start, a state in which O’s preconditions are satisfied.
ii) O-Result, the state that would result if O were applied In O-
start.
c. If
(FIRST-PART ← MEA (CURRENT, O-START)
And
(LAST-PART ← MEA (O-Result, GOAL), are successful,
then signal Success and return the result of combining FIRST-
 The above-discussed algorithm is more suitable for a simple
problem and not adequate for solving complex problems.

Example of Mean-Ends Analysis:

 Let's take an example where we know the initial state and


goal state as given below. In this problem, we need to get
the goal state by finding differences between the initial state
and goal state and applying operators.
Solution:

 To solve the above problem, we will first find the


differences between initial states and goal states, and for
each difference, we will generate a new state and will apply
the operators. The operators we have for this problem are:

• Move
• Delete
• Expand
1. Evaluating the initial state: In the first step, we will
evaluate the initial state and will compare the initial and
Goal state to find the differences between both states.
2. Applying Delete operator: As we can check the first difference is
that in goal state there is no dot symbol which is present in the initial
state, so, first we will apply the Delete operator to remove this dot.

3. Applying Move Operator: After applying the Delete operator,


the new state occurs which we will again compare with goal state.
After comparing these states, there is another difference that is the
square is outside the circle, so, we will apply the Move Operator.
4. Applying Expand Operator: Now a new state is
generated in the third step, and we will compare this state
with the goal state. After comparing the states there is still
one difference which is the size of the square, so, we will
apply Expand operator, and finally, it will generate the goal
state.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy