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Time-series constraints: Improvements and application in CP and MIP contexts

  • Ekaterina Arafailova
  • , Nicolas Beldiceanu
  • , Rémi Douence
  • , Pierre Flener
  • , María Andreína Francisco Rodríguez
  • , Justin Pearson
  • , Helmut Simonis
  • IMT Atlantique
  • Uppsala University

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingsConference proceedingpeer-review

Abstract

A checker for a constraint on a variable sequence can often be compactly specified by an automaton, possibly with accumulators, that consumes the sequence of values taken by the variables; such an automaton can also be used to decompose its specified constraint into a conjunction of logical constraints. The inference achieved by this decomposition in a CP solver can be boosted by automatically generated implied constraints on the accumulators, provided the latter are updated in the automaton transitions by linear expressions. Automata with non-linear accumulator updates can be automatically synthesised for a large family of time-series constraints. In this paper, we describe and evaluate extensions to those techniques. First, we improve the automaton synthesis to generate automata with fewer accumulators. Second, we decompose a constraint specified by an automaton with accumulators into a conjunction of linear inequalities, for use by a MIP solver. Third, we generalise the implied constraint generation to cover the entire family of time-series constraints. The newly synthesised automata for time-series constraints outperform the old ones, for both the CP and MIP decompositions, and the generated implied constraints boost the inference, again for both the CP and MIP decompositions. We evaluate CP and MIP solvers on a prototypical application modelled using time-series constraints.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationIntegration of AI and OR Techniques in Constraint Programming - 13th International Conference, CPAIOR 2016, Proceedings
EditorsClaude-Guy Quimper
PublisherSpringer Verlag
Pages18-34
Number of pages17
ISBN (Print)9783319339535
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016
Event13th International Conference on Integration of Artificial Intelligence and Operations Research Techniques in Constraint Programming, CPAIOR 2016 - Banff, Canada
Duration: 29 May 20161 Jun 2016

Publication series

NameLecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
Volume9676
ISSN (Print)0302-9743
ISSN (Electronic)1611-3349

Conference

Conference13th International Conference on Integration of Artificial Intelligence and Operations Research Techniques in Constraint Programming, CPAIOR 2016
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityBanff
Period29/05/161/06/16

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