Medenčević created the PANSim software as a bachelor's thesis. He is being assisted with the project by Jakub Meda and Lukáš Chrpa from the Department of Industrial Informatics of the Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics, CTU (CIIRC CTU). PANSim documentation and codes are available on GitLab.
“PANSim converts artificial intelligence decision-making into an interactive graphical simulation. It focuses on the area of so-called symbolic artificial intelligence, which instead of statistical learning works with explicit modeling of the environment and planning of individual steps. The user can watch step by step how the agent evaluates the situation, reacts to changes in the surrounding environment and searches for a safe path to the goal. Thanks to this, it is much easier to detect errors in the algorithm, understand its reasoning and further improve the entire system,” Medenčević summarized.
“It is not just about the graphics themselves. The visual form allows a much better understanding of what is actually happening during the decision-making process. Thanks to this, the developer quickly recognizes why the agent behaved in a certain way and where the algorithm needs to be adjusted,” added Med.
This can be demonstrated with a simple situation: A frog must cross a pond and collect all the coins. However, finding the shortest path is not enough – some water lilies may disappear below the surface at any moment. The agent must therefore continuously reassess its options and react to random changes in the environment. The second scenario simulates autonomous underwater vehicles that must safely respond to the movement of ships above the surface during the mission. In addition, the team requires the agent to have a guarantee of success, which distinguishes the techniques developed by the team from traditional ones using machine learning algorithms.