M05.3 CONNECT THE MECHANISM
Use an estimate without confusing it with a guarantee
Uniform-cost search wasted time driving the wrong way. Give it a sense of direction, and meet A*, the 1968 algorithm behind route planners and game characters.
LESSON OVERVIEW13 min lesson
Lesson overview
Uniform-cost search wasted time driving the wrong way. Give it a sense of direction, and meet A*, the 1968 algorithm behind route planners and game characters.
What you’ll explore
- Heuristics estimate remaining cost; A* combines that estimate with cost already paid, and its guarantees depend on admissibility, consistency, and correct graph handling.
GO TO THE SOURCE
Original explanations, connected to the research.
Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach — authors’ materialsA Formal Basis for the Heuristic Determination of Minimum Cost Paths (Hart, Nilsson & Raphael, 1968)Suggest a correction
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