COS30019 - Introduction to AI Assignment 1

Assignment 1 – Tree Based Search

 Due 4:30pm Friday 22nd April 2022 (Week 7)
 Contributes 30% to your final subject result, subject to moderation if required.
 Individual.

For this assignment, you can choose either Option A or Option B:

1. For Option A, we would like to solve the NxM-Puzzle problem. You will be given a Java code base
allowing you to search for solutions of the NxN problem and your job is to understand how it works
and possibly extend this given program. You can only achieve a maximum of 80% if you choose this
option. Note that you can also re-implement the Java code in a language of your choice for this
option or you may not want to start with the provided code base and choose to implement everything
from scratch yourself.
2. For Option B, we would like to solve the Robot Navigation problem. You will write the whole program
from scratch.

This assignment requires you to work individually to get working tree based search algorithms.

OPTION A - Summary
We would like to implement tree-based search algorithms in software to search for solutions of the NxM-
Puzzle problem. Both informed and uninformed methods will be implemented to allow you to understand
how these methods work. You will be given a Java code base that implements several search algorithms
(BFS and GBFS) to search for solutions of the NxN-Puzzle problem. Your tasks are to:
1. Gain a good understanding of how search methods work in this particular problem by generating many
different tests cases to see how these problems can be solved;
2. Extend the given code base to allow other search algorithms to be implemented, such as DFS and A*;
3. Further extensions are possible:
a. Can you extend the given code base to implement other search methods such as iterative
deepening depth-first search or IDA*?
b. The provided code base is not very efficient (especially the BFS search method), can you find a
way to improve its performance? How much does your improved version gain in terms of
performance?
c. The given code base only works for the NxN-Puzzles, can you extend it to work with any NxM-
Puzzles? Note that if N≠M, the given code base will not work;

Note that, eventually your implementation will be tested on a standard Microsoft Windows 10 system (i.e.,
please choose a computer from Swinburne computer labs and put your program there and make sure that it
runs without any further modification to the system configuration).

The NxM-Puzzle Problem

In the lectures you have seen the 8-puzzle problem. The N-Puzzle problem (or, sliding puzzle, sliding tile
puzzle) is a generalisation of the 8-puzzle problem where N=3, 8, 15, … You are referred to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sliding_puzzle and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifteen_puzzle for informal
descriptions of the problem. The 8-puzzle can also be viewed as a 3x3-puzzle as each side of the puzzle
grid has 3 cells. As a generalisation of the 3x3-puzzle problem, we can have NxM-puzzle problems where
N and M are positive integers and N is not necessarily equal to M and there is one blank cell. For instance,
the following 5x3 puzzle consists of cells labelled by numbers 1..14 on a 5x3 grid and the blank cells labelled
by number 0.

Page 1 of 7
COS30019 - Introduction to AI Assignment 1

1 2 3
5 11 6
4 13 9
8 12
7 10 14

The above configuration will be represented by the following sequence (with the number 0 representing the
empty cell):

1 2 3 5 11 6 4 13 9 8 0 12 7 10 14

File Format: The problems are stored in simple text files with the following format:
 First line contains a string NxM: N representing the number of rows of the puzzle and M
represents the number of columns of the puzzle. For example, if the first line is 5x3 then the
puzzle has 5 rows and 3 columns.
 The next two lines represent the start-configuration and the end-configuration, respectively, of the
puzzle your program is supposed to solve.
 We will only be interested in search algorithms. Therefore, you can assume that the problem files will
contain valid configurations. For instance, if NxM=3x4 then you don’t have to worry that the problem
file will contain a cell labelled by number 12.

Search Algorithms
The following are standard tree-based search algorithms (covered in the lectures):

Search Type Description Method

Uninformed
depth-first search Select one option, try it, go back when there are no more options DFS
breadth-first search Expand all options one level at a time BFS
Informed
greedy best-first Use only the cost to reach the goal from the current node to GBFS
evaluate the node
A* (“A Star”) Use both the cost to reach the goal from the current node and AS
the cost to reach this node to evaluate the node

Note1: When all else is equal, the child nodes of an expanded node N should be expanded according to
the following order: the agent should try to move the empty cell UP before attempting LEFT, before
attempting DOWN, before attempting RIGHT, in that order. Furthermore, when all else is equal, the two
nodes N1 and N2 on two different branches of the search tree should be expanded according to the
chronological order: if node N1 is added BEFORE node N2 then N1 is expanded BEFORE node N2.
You are given a Java code base implementing BFS and GBFS for the NxN-Puzzle. You can start learning
about search algorithms by playing with this code base. Try to create many test cases to gain an
understanding of how search algorithms work. You will find that this code base is NOT perfect. It is quite
slow. It does NOT follow the instruction in Note1 above (see the TODO in the code). Part of your job is to
improve this code base.

Command Line Operation

The given program operates DOS command-line interface which can be brought up in Windows 10 by typing
cmd into the search box at the Start button. Below is how to run the given program from DOS command
line:

> nPuzzler <filename> <method>

Page 2 of 7
COS30019 - Introduction to AI Assignment 1

You can try the program with the given file N-puzzle-test.txt and the two provided search methods
BFS and GBFS. If you test it with a NxM-puzzle (e.g., the given file NM-puzzle-test.txt), it won’t work.

Report
You must include a single Report (between 5 and 10 pages, either in Microsoft Word or in PDF) with your
work with the following details:
 Student Details: Your full student name and student ID.
 Instructions: Basic instructions of how to use your program (if any).
 Features/Bugs/Missing: Include a list of the features you have implemented. Clearly state if a
required feature has not been implemented. Failure to do this will result in penalties. Include a list of
any known bugs.
 Acknowledgements/Resources: Include in your report a list of the resources you have used to
create your work. A simple list of URL's is not enough. Include with each entry a basic description of
how the person or website assisted you in your work.
 Discussion: A full description of the problem, the solution and other findings you may want to
include about your research ideas and results. In particular, you have to include a section on your
understanding of how the given program solves the problem using tree search. In this section,
you need to provide at least one example (based on a data file you created) so that you can draw
the search trees that the given program traverses when finding a solution of the problem. If
you write extra code to extend the given program, please describe them as well.
 Notes: Anything else you want to tell the marker, such as how to use the GUI version of your
program, and something particular about your implementation.

Marking Scheme & Submission

You must submit your work via the online assignment collection system ESP https://esp.swin.edu.au/

Create a single zip file with your code and a working version of your program. Do not use deep folder
hierarchies. The upload limit to ESP will be 100 MB. Please consult early if you have a large binary/package
for some. You must also include your report in your submission. If you have generated some data files to
gain your understanding of these search algorithms AND your report refers to these data files, please include
these data files as well.

Standard late penalties apply - 10% for each day late, more than 5 days late is 0%.

Marking Scheme
Requirements (or equivalent sections)
Mark
If you can extend the program and get DFS work well 10
If you can extend the program and get A* work well 10
If you can extend the program and get some other informed search method work well 10
If you can extend the program and get it work with NxM-Puzzles OR you can find a way 15
to improve the performance of the program (you only need to do one of them).
Report: Clear and provide sufficient information (e.g., providing a clear example) about 35
your understanding of how tree-based search works.
Clear explanation of the algorithms you implement and how you implement them.
Total 80
You need to follow good programming practice (e.g., well-designed, well-structure codes Up to
with clear and helpful comments). Failure to do so get penalty. -20

Page 3 of 7
COS30019 - Introduction to AI Assignment 1

OPTION B - Summary
You need to implement tree-based search algorithms in software (from scratch) to search for solutions to the
Robot Navigation problem. Both informed and uninformed methods will be required. You will also need to
do some self-learning to learn several search methods (not covered in the lectures).

Implementation
You are welcome to implement your software using any of the following languages; Java or C++/C#. You
must gain permission before using anything else. Assignment work will be tested on a standard
Microsoft Windows 10 system.

The Robot Navigation Problem

In the lectures you have seen the Robot Navigation problem: The environment is an NxM grid (where N > 1
and M > 1) with a number of walls occupying some cells (marked as grey cells). The robot is initially located
in one of the empty cells (marked as a red cell) and required to find a path to visit one of the designated
cells of the grid (marked as green cells). For instance, the following is one possible environment:

Assume that the cells of the grid are located by their coordinates with the leftmost top cell being considered
to be at the coordinate (0, 0). A wall is a rectangle whose leftmost top corner occupies a cell (x,y) and whose
width (w) and height (h) capture its size. For instance, the above environment can be expressed by the
following specification:
[5,11] // The grid has 5 rows and 11 columns
(0,1) // initial state of the agent – coordinates of the red cell
(7,0) | (10,3) // goal states for the agent – coordinates of the green cells
(2,0,2,2) // the square wall has the leftmost top corner occupies cell (2,0) and is 2 cells wide and 2 cell high
(8,0,1,2)
(10,0,1,1)
(2,3,1,2)
(3,4,3,1)
(9,3,1,1)
(8,4,2,1)

File Format: The problems are stored in simple text files with the following format:
 First line contains a pair of numbers [N,M] – the number of rows and the number of columns of the
grid, enclosed in square brackets.
 Second line contains a pair of numbers (x1,y1)– the coordinates of the current location of the agent,
the initial state.
 Third line contains a sequence of pairs of numbers separated by |; these are the coordinates of the
goal states: (xG1,yG1) | (xG2,yG2) | … | (xGn,yGn), where n ≥ 1.

Page 4 of 7
COS30019 - Introduction to AI Assignment 1
 The subsequent lines represent the locations of the walls: The tuple (x,y,w,h) indicates that the
leftmost top corner of the wall occupies cell (x,y) with a width of w cells and a height of h cells.
 We will only be interested in search algorithms. Therefore, you can assume that the problem files will
contain valid configurations. For instance, if N=5 and M = 11 then you don’t have to worry that the
agent is initially located at coordinates (15, 3).

Search Algorithms
The following describe a number of tree based search algorithms. DFS, BFS, GBFS and AS have been
covered in the lectures and the tutorials. CUS1 and CUS2 are two algorithms you may learn by yourself
(from the textbook, from the Internet or any other sources).
NOTE1: The objective is to reach one of the green cells.
NOTE2: When all else is equal, nodes should be expanded according to the following order: the agent
should try to move UP before attempting LEFT, before attempting DOWN, before attempting RIGHT, in that
order. Furthermore, when all else is equal, the two nodes N1 and N2 on two different branches of the search
tree should be expanded according to the chronological order: if node N1 is added BEFORE node N2 then N1
is expanded BEFORE node N2.

Search Type Description Method

Uninformed
depth-first search Select one option, try it, go back when there are no more options DFS
breadth-first search Expand all options one level at a time BFS
Informed
greedy best-first Use only the cost to reach the goal from the current node to GBFS
evaluate the node
A* (“A Star”) Use both the cost to reach the goal from the current node and AS
the cost to reach this node to evaluate the node
Custom
Your search strategy 1 An uninformed method to find a path to reach the goal. CUS1
Your search strategy 2 An informed method to find a shortest path (with least moves) CUS2
to reach the goal.

Command Line Operation

Your program needs to operate from a DOS command-line interface to support batch testing. A DOS
command-line interface can be brought up in Windows 7/8/10 by typing cmd into the search box at the Start
button. However, please ensure that your program works on Windows 10 because we will be testing your
program on Windows 10. This can be accomplished with a simple DOS .bat (batch) file if needed. Below are
the three different arguments formats you need to support. Note the unique argument count for each.

C:\Assignments> search <filename> <method>

where search is your .exe file or a .bat (batch) file that calls your program with the parameters.

Standard output needs to be in the following format

filename method number_of_nodes

path

where number_of_nodes is the number of nodes in search tree, and path is either a message “No
solution found.” (when your program can not find a solution) or a sequence of moves in the solution that
brings you from the start-configuration to the end-configuration. Line breaks are ignored (so use them if you
want to).

For instance, a valid (and incomplete) path from the current configuration in the above example could be:

> right; down; right; right; right; right; …

Report file
You must also include a report which has to be either in Microsoft Word or in PDF whose name is your
student ID (for example, 1234567.PDF) containing your report. The aim of this report is for you to summarise

Page 5 of 7
COS30019 - Introduction to AI Assignment 1
your understanding of the problem, to introduce the search algorithms used in your assignment (including
the standard ones), to discuss how you implemented them. You’ll also need to compare and discuss your
strategies, in particular the custom strategies developed, using data obtained by running your software.

Report Details: The report must be between 8 and 12 pages (excluding cover page and TOC).
• Student Details: Your full student name and student ID.
• Table of contents (TOC).
• Instructions: Basic instructions of how to use your program. You can also include a note containing
anything else you want to tell the marker, such as how to use the GUI version of your program, and
something particular about your implementation.
• Introduction: Introduce the Robot navigation Problem, basic graph and tree concepts and other
related terminology that may be needed later in your report. (Hint: using a glossary)
• Search Algorithms: Present and discuss the qualities of the search algorithms used in your
assignment. Which algorithms are better and why? Use data collected to support your points.
• Implementation: Briefly present how each search program was implemented. Class diagram and
flow charts (pseudo code) are all suitable. Point out and briefly discuss differences in implementation
or approach. Note important references.
• Features/Bugs/Missing: Include a list of the features you have implemented. Clearly state if a
required feature has not been implemented. Failure to do this will result in penalties. Include a list of
any known bugs. Also, anything else you want to tell the marker, such as how to use the GUI version
of your program, and something particular about your implementation.
• Research: If you managed to do some additional research to improve the program in some ways
(see a number of ideas for research initiatives), please report it here.
• Conclusion: Conclude with a discussion about the best type of search algorithm you would use for
this type of problem. Include thoughts about how you could improve performance.
• Acknowledgements/Resources: Include in your report a list of the resources you have used to
create your work. A simple list of URL's is not enough. Include with each entry a basic description of
how the person or website assisted you in your work.
• References: Cite the sources you referred to in your Assignment (implementation, report, etc.)

Tips:
• All figures and tables need to be properly captioned with sensible descriptions.
• Report presentation should include header/footer information (pages numbers, etc.)

Marking Scheme & Submission

You must submit your work via the online assignment collection system ESP https://esp.swin.edu.au/

Create a single zip file with your code and a working version of your program. Do not use deep folder
hierarchies. Do not include the data files (we have them). The upload limit to ESP will be 10 MB. Please
consult early if you have a large binary/package for some.

Standard late penalties apply - 10% for each day late, more than 5 days late is 0%.

Marking Scheme
Requirements (or equivalent sections)
(if you do well, you can get up to 110% for Assignment 1) Mark
If you get A* (AS) work well 20
If you get Breadth-First Search (BFS) work well 15
For each of the 4 methods depth-first search (DFS), greedy best-first search (GBFS), 8(x4)
CUS1 and CUS2, if you can get it work well
Report: Clear and provide sufficient information about your programs and your 18
algorithm/solution.
If you show some initiatives in researching about the problem and solutions, or carrying 15
out extensive tests to provide interesting data about the algorithms, or getting some
clever optimization, etc. with a well-written report to demonstrate these initiatives
Total 100
You need to follow good programming practice (e.g., well-designed, well-structure Up to
codes with clear and helpful comments). Failure to do so get penalty. -20

Page 6 of 7
COS30019 - Introduction to AI Assignment 1

Ideas for research initiatives

- Can you modify your program so that the robot will visit ALL green cells with the SHORTEST path?
Please include in your report the challenges you had to overcome to address this requirement and
how you solved them.
- Can you extend your program to allow the robot to have four additional actions jump_up(n),
jump_down(n), jump_left(n), and jump_right(n); where n is the number of squares the robot jumps
to (i.e., when n = 1 then jump_x(1) is the same as moving to the direction x). The action jump_x(n)
allows the robot to jump over the obstacles with the exponential cost: The cost of jump_x(n) should
be: 2(n-1). For example, the cost of jump_x(4) is 8. Can you compare the optimal solutions when the
robot is allowed to use the actions jump_x() and when it is not allowed to? If you choose this option,
please make sure that this extension comes with a command-line argument so that the default
option of your program is still for the original problem files we will use to test your program.
- In addition to the mandatory command-line-based user interface, can you build a GUI to display the
environment and how the algorithm is trying to find the solution? This option should also include a
visualizer to show the changes happening to the search tree.
- Can you produce comprehensive test suites to ensure that as many bugs as possible can be caught?
Can you automate the test case generation? Your test automation technique should also include
data collection and report generation.

Note: You don’t have to realise too many ideas  Choose one idea and execute it very well, and you can
get the 15 marks awarded for doing a research initiative.

Page 7 of 7