An attempt towards a general representation paradigm for spatial reasoning

A first attempt towards a general representation paradigm for spatial reasoning is proposed. It is based on a previous general object representation that has been successfully applied to collision detection, find-path and motion planning. In this paper two main ideas are presented: a proposal for a first level in a general spatial representation for objects is discussed, and a spherical reference system is introduced that leads to a plausible representation in 3D for reasoning about relations between objects that involve orientation, distance and size considerations. The object representation is adequate to represent simply and efficiently some important spatial concepts, it makes the relevant objects and relations explicit, it suppresses irrelevant details, it is concise and it is fast. The application of the representation to spatial reasoning is discussed for some fundamental spatial concepts. The spherical reference system proves to be appropriate as a framework on which a qualitative description of object interactions is built in terms of their positions relative to the agent. Finally, the problem of reasoning about motion is also discussed