Heuristic Function

Heuristic functions are estimations used to guide search algorithms towards optimal solutions in computationally complex problems, primarily aiming to improve efficiency by reducing the search space explored. Current research focuses on learning these functions automatically, employing techniques like deep neural networks, reinforcement learning, and graph transformers, often within the context of specific algorithms such as A* and its variants. This research is significant because efficiently finding optimal or near-optimal solutions is crucial across diverse fields, from robotics and computational biology to AI planning and automated theorem proving, with improved heuristics directly translating to faster and more effective problem-solving.