Heuristic search and combinatorial optimization are currently very active areas of research. For example, researchers investigate how to search in real-time, how to search with limited (possibly external) memory, how to solve sequences of similar search problems faster than with isolated searches, how to improve the runtime of the searches over time, how to trade-off between the runtime and memory consumption of the search and the resulting solution quality, and how to focus the searches with sophisticated heuristics such as pattern databases. Their results are published in different conferences such as IJCAI, AAAI, ICAPS, NIPS, ICRA, and IROS. The International Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS) is meant to bring these researchers together to exchange their ideas and cross-fertilize the field. Thus, in addition to seeking separate answers to questions like how to design more accurate memory-based heuristics, more I/O-efficient disk-based search algorithms, or more efficient clause-learning strategies, the symposium will stimulate thoughts on combining various techniques originated from different areas of search.
SoCS is targeting researchers in all fields that use combinatorial search, including artificial intelligence, robotics, constraint programming, operations research and bioinformatics. The symposium's scope includes both complete and incomplete methods. Work discussing a specific application domain (for example, robotic motion planning, constraint programming, planning, ...) is welcomed, as long as the emphasis is on the search strategy employed and a serious effort is made to suggest how the ideas might be relevant in another domain.
Relevant Topics
- Analysis of search algorithms
- Continuous problem solving
- External-memory and parallel search
- Incremental and active learning in search
- Meta-reasoning and search
- Methodology and critiques of current practice
- Model-based search
- Meta-reasoning and search
- Random vs systematic search strategy selection
- Pattern databases
- Portfolios of search algorithms
- Real-time search
- Search focus in goal-directed problem solving
- Search space discretization for continuous state-space problems
- Self-configuring and self-tuning algorithms
- Time, memory, and solution quality tradeoffs
- ... and all other topics related to combinatorial search and path planning
Attendence will be limited to those who have either a regular
technical paper (AAAI style, 6 pages preferred, 8 pages maximum) or
short research statement (2 pages maximum) accepted. Papers will be
carefully peer-reviewed by multiple reviewers and low-quality or
off-topic papers will not be accepted.
Because SoCS does not have a formal proceedings, submissions that have already appeared or been accepted at other venues are welcome. However, we ask that authors note such prior publication on their submissions and we will give preference for oral presentation at SoCS (as opposed to poster presentation) to new work. We also wish to encourage the submission of non-standard papers, such as thoughtful critiques of the field, historical perspectives and analyses, methodological contributions, and insightful reports on new and demanding applications.
If you are interested in SoCS, please join the search-list on google groups. We gratefully acknowledge funding for the symposium series in 2007 from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
SoCS 2009 is organized in cooperation with SARA 2009 (the Symposium on Abstraction,
Reformulation, and Approximation). SARA is focussed on abstraction,
while SoCS is focussed on search. The last day of SARA and the first full
day of SoCS (July 9) will be an overlap day on the use of abstraction in
search. It will be possible to register for either or both symposia.
Tentative Dates
- Technical paper submission deadline
- April 4, 2009
- Technical paper notification date
- April 18
- Statement of interest submission deadline
- May 4
- Statement of interest notification date
- May 6
- Registration deadline
- May 8
- SoCS symposium starts
- July 8: bus leaves LAX, stops at ONT, arrives at Lake Arrowhead for dinner
- SoCS ends
- July 10: bus to Pasadena leaves Lake Arrowhead after dinner
Program Committee
- Adi Botea (NICTA)
- Blai Bonet (Universidad Simon Bolivar)
- Ariel Felner (Ben-Gurion University)
- Eric Hansen (Mississippi State University)
- Malte Helmert (Albert-Ludwigs-Universitat Freiburg)
- Robert Holte (University of Alberta)
- Maxim Lihkachev (University of Pennsylvania)
- Michela Milano (Universita di Bologna)
- Nathan Sturtevant (University of Alberta)
- Patrik Haslum (NICTA)
- Bart Selman (Cornell University)
- Sheila McIlraith (University of Toronto)
- Stefan Edelkamp (Technische Universitat Dortmund)
- Susan Epstein (Hunter College, CUNY)
- Youssef Hamadi (Microsoft Research, Cambridge)
- Weixiong Zhang (Washington University in St Louis)
Organizers
Contact Email