ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the search techniques used in Artificial Intelligence (AI) programs. AI technology provides techniques for developing computer programs for carrying out a variety of tasks, simulating the intelligent way of problem solving by humans. Though the domains are different and also the methods, AI technology provide a set of formalisms to represent the problems and also the techniques for solving them. Design solutions of engineering systems can be visualised as a symbol structure with collection of instances that are related to one another in some manner. The two important aspects to be considered to make the computer programs simulate intelligent problem solving are precise definition of the problem and systematic problem-solving techniques. All AI problems use knowledge to solve each task during problem solving and the solution process uses a control strategy to carry out the solution. Production systems provide appropriate structures for performing and describing search processes.
