Robots And Search Algorithms: Real World Applications For Students

Frequently in the Computer Science curriculum we introduce topics in an abstract fashion in which the abstraction seems perfectly straightforward as well as easily implementable to students. Such is the topic of search. Generally, the topic of search is introduced to students as early as the data structures course where the student is introduced to various algorithms for the search of tree structures. In this light, students understand and are able to implement search as an abstract method of information retrieval. However, in this paper we describe a project in which students implement one kind of goal-based agent called a problem-solving agent. The development and implementation of this agent required the construction of a search process to find solutions to real-world physical problems.