We prove a complexity dichotomy theorem for the eight-vertex model. For every setting of the parameters of the model, we prove that computing the partition function is either solvable in polynomial time or #P-hard. The dichotomy criterion is explicit. For tractability, we find some new classes of problems computable in polynomial time. For #P-hardness, we employ Möbius transformations to prove ...

Many real-world decision making tasks require us to choose among several expensive observations. In a sensor network, for example, it is important to select the subset of sensors that is expected to provide the highest reduction in uncertainty. It has been general practice to use heuristic-guided procedures for selecting observations. In this paper, we present the first efficient optimal algori...

We prove a complexity dichotomy theorem for the six-vertex model. For every setting of the parameters of the model, we prove that computing the partition function is either solvable in polynomial time or #P-hard. The dichotomy criterion is explicit.

The paper introduces mathematical models of a skid steered mobile platform for robotics. The platform consists of a rectangular steel construction with four wheels. Two banks of two drive wheels on each side are linked to two DC electrical motors via chain on sprocket drive and gearing. The two drive assemblies for the left and right banks are identical but they operate independently to steer t...

Epistemic protocol specifications allow programs, for settings in which multiple agents act with incomplete information, to be described in terms of how actions are related to what the agents know. They are a variant of the knowledge-based programs of Fagin et al [Distributed Computing, 1997], motivated by the complexity of synthesizing implementations in that framework. The paper proposes an a...

Formal and computational models of argument are ideally suited for education in ill-defined domains such as law, public policy, and science. Open-ended arguments play a central role in these areas but students of the domains may not have been taught an explicit model of argument. Computational models of argument may be ideally suited to act as argument tutors guiding students in the formation o...