CS4341 Introduction to Artificial Intelligence. A97
SYLLABUS

Department of Computer Science
Worcester Polytechnic Institute

CLASS MEETING:

Mon, Tu, Th, Fri 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.
Classroom AK219

INSTRUCTOR:

Prof. Carolina Ruiz
ruiz@cs.wpi.edu
Office: FL 232
Phone Number: (508) 831-5640
Office Hours:
Mon. 2:30 - 3:30 pm
Th. 3:00 - 4:00 pm, or by appointment

TEACHING ASSISTANT:

Ming Li
mingli@wpi.edu
Room: FL 243
Office Hours:
Mon. 10:00 - 11:00 am
Tu. 11:00 - 12:00 am
Wed. 10:00 - 11:00 am
Fr. 3:00 - 4:00 pm

Messages sent to cs4341_ta@cs.wpi.edu reach both the instructor and the TA.

TEXTBOOK(S):

RECOMMENDED BACKGROUND:

CS 2136 (Paradigms of Computation) and CS 2223 (Algorithms). CS 3133 (Foundations of Computer Science) would be helpful, but is not assumed. Familiarity with Lisp or Scheme is assumed.

GRADES:

Exam 1 25%
Exam 2 25%
Project 30%
Quizzes 10%
Homework 10%
Class Participation Extra Points

AVERAGE GRADES SO FAR:

Average
Pop Quiz 8.75 / 10
Quiz 1 8.89 / 10
Quiz 2 6.97 / 10
Hw 1 96.2 / 100
Hw 2 73.87/ 100
Exam 1 78.3/ 100

EXAMS

There will be a total of 2 exams. Each exam will cover the material presented in class since the beginning of the term. In particular, the final exam is cumulative. Exam 1 is scheduled for Tuesday Sept. 23 and Exam 2 is scheduled for Tuesday Oct. 14. Both will be in-class, closed-book exams.

PROJECT

There will be one term project consisting of developing and implementing a Lisp program that plays Go-moku. Go-moku, also known as "five in a row", is a board game similar to tic-tac-toe but on a larger board. In this game, two players (one of them being your computer program) take turns putting marks on the board. The player who first gets 5 of his/her marks in a row wins. Students are expected to organize themselves into groups of 3 for the term project. The programs implemented by the different groups will play against each other in a tournament. One partial and one final project report are required. Code documentation must follow the Departmental Documentation Standard (see http://www.cs.wpi.edu/Help/documentation-standard.html).

QUIZZES

Quizzes will be given at the beginning of every Monday class. Each quiz will cover the material of the previous week. Additional pop quizzes may be given as well.

HOMEWORK

Several short computer assignments as well as written exercises will be assigned throughout the term.

CLASS PARTICIPATION

Students are expected to read the material assigned to each class in advance. Class participation will add extra points to students' grades.

CLASS MAILING LIST

The mailing list for this class is:
cs4341@cs.wpi.edu
You MUST subscribe to the mailing list by sending the following one-line email message to majordomo@cs.wpi.edu:
subscribe cs4341

CLASS WEB PAGES

The web pages for this class are located at: http://www.cs.wpi.edu/~ruiz/Courses/cs4341_A97/ Announcements will be posted on the web pages and/or the class mailing list, and so you are urged to check your email and the class web pages frequently.

ADDITIONAL SUGGESTED REFERENCES

The following additional references complement and/or supplement the material contained in the required textbook. I have listed them in decreasing order of interest according to my preferences. In particular, the first one listed is my favorite one.
  1. S. Russell, P. Norvig. "Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach". Prentice Hall, 1995.

  2. T. Dean, J. Allen, Y. Aloimonos. "Artificial Intelligence: Theory and Practice" The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company, Inc. 1995.

  3. S. L. Tanimoto. "The Elements of Artificial Intelligence Using Common Lisp" Computer Science Press 1990.

  4. E. Rich and K. Knight. "Artificial Intelligence" Second edition McGraw Hill 1991.

  5. P. Norvig "Paradigms of Artificial Intelligence Programming: Case Studies in Common Lisp" Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 1992.

  6. M. Ginsberg "Essentials of Artificial Intelligence" Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 1993.

  7. G. F. Luger and W. A. Stubblefield "Artificial Intelligence Structures and Strategies for Complex Problem Solving" Second edition Benjamin Cummings, 1993.

  8. M.R. Genesereth and N. Nilsson, "Logical Foundations of Artificial Intelligence" Morgan Kaufmann, 1987.

WARNING:

Small changes to this syllabus may be made during the course of the term.