Automated Modeling of Moving Physical Systems

초록

We describe a new method which uses first principles to automatically create models and simulators for spatially complex motions. This method extends existing modeling work by: (1) explicit handling of vector quantities and frames of reference; (2) simultaneous handling of multiple equations (algebraic or differential, linear or nonlinear); and (3) declarative, algorithm-neutral representation of physics knowledge. The method has been implemented in a working program called {\sc Oracle} and tested in the domains of mechanical devices and sailboats. Experimental results show that {\sc Oracle} is capable of generating correct models of several different types of physical systems if enough domain knowledge is available.