ContactPerson: bharat@cse.buffalo.edu
Remote host: castor.cse.buffalo.edu
### Begin Citation ### Do not delete this line ###
%R 2004-05
%U /projects/bharat/paper.ps
%A Raux R.J. and Jayaraman B.
%T Modeling Dynamic Systems with Constrained Objects
%D February 29, 2004
%I Department of Computer Science and Engineering, SUNY Buffalo
%K constraints, objects, dynamic system, state change, temporal constraints
%X This paper examines the application of constrained objects for 
modeling dynamic systems.  A dynamic system is one whose state  
changes with time.   A constrained object is an object whose internal  
state is governed by a set of (declarative) constraints.  When 
a complex system is modeled as a set of constrained objects, the  
resultant behavior is deduced through a process of constraint satisfaction. 
In previous research, we explored the paradigm of constrained objects  
for modeling the steady-state behavior of systems. In this paper, we  
present extensions that allow time-depedent behavior to be modeled 
as well.  A key feature of our proposed approach is that of a time-series 
variable whose values are in accordance with specified constraints.  
We provide examples from diverse domains (AC circuits, hydrological 
modeling, and sensor networks) to illustrate our approach.  We are 
developing a prototype that includes a compiler that translates Cob  
programs into Sicstus Prolog Objects with CLP(R) constraints.