Resource allocation in model-based planning systems

Model-based planning systems are able to produce plans as sequences of activities in a short space of time. They perform well in industrial domains characterised by product and action complexity, by virtue of their inherent symbolic models of the industrial domain. Models typically comprise product and work breakdown structures, and planning is performed efficiently through reasoning about interrelationships existing within such a knowledge-rich description of products and processes. Resources too can be represented as a symbolic model, but the actual allocation to plan activities can be complex. The author describes some research into various methods of resource allocation and makes some statements about potential directions. >