Incremental algorithms for managing temporal constraints

Abstract

This paper addresses the problem of efficiently updating a network of temporal constraints when constraints are removed from or added to an existing network. Such processing tasks are important in many AI applications requiring a temporal reasoning module. First we analyze the relationship between shortest-paths algorithms for directed graphs and arc-consistency techniques. Then we focus on a subclass of STP for which we propose new fast incremental algorithms for consistency checking and for maintaining the feasible times of the temporal variables.