Visualisation of combinatoric search algorithms

Introduction

How can computers do intelligent things like playing board games??? In our little project we study the various algorithms used in these games. The goal is to visualize the algorithms in a graphical environment. This way, you will be able to SEE how computers think..., Play..., Work...

Ons verslag (Nederlands)

Project verslag

Connect 4 --- JAVA Version available.

This is the first attempt. There is no visualisation of the algorithm yet, but you can play Connect 4 against the machine!!! This first example we used to study the graphical language, origin of UNIX computers, TCL/TK. You can download a free version for Windows (even the source code) at:

http://www.sunlabs.com/research/tcl

If you want to try out our program, here's the source:

Connect 4 - Source

I've made a JAVA version of the Connect 4 program too. Try it at:

Connect 4 - Java game

The program is based on an algorithm created by Renaat Debaene. You can download the free source from:

Renaat Debaene

PuzzleManiac --- JAVA Version available.

The program

Puzzle Maniac is all about Puzzles.
It shows a number of bricks. A brick is composed of several little cubes put together making up one entity.
The problem is now to place all those entities together so that it makes up a square (That's the only shape in this version of Puzzle Maniac). It is allowed to rotate the entities and even turn them around.
Solving such a puzzle is one hell of a problem to do it yourself. Lucky for you there are still these things called computers. The purpose of this program is to present some algorithms to solve this problem and visualise these algorithms. So this program is a bless for mankind :-) because it helps people to understand the often complicated algorithms to solve combinatoric search problems like the problem presented here. Combinatoric search algoritms are only a small part of the vaste world of Artificial Intelligence which somehow is becoming quite improtant.
We hope you'll enjoy this program altough it's merely a demonstration program. And demonstrate is all it will ever do.
Have fun.

The algorithms

You can start the JAVA program by clicking on one of the next links...

Naive The most stupid algorithm for solving block-puzzles in action
Naive no Doubles Some improvement. No double rotations allowed in this game
Coroutining Much more intelligend. No towers of bricks anymore
Space Checking No small 'holes' in the puzzle anymore... (Under Construction)
Smart One This is algorithm is a genius...

All the algorithms except for the last one are written by H. Vandecasteele.

The speed of the different algorithms can be evaluated in the next Graph

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