Behavior Trees vs Executable Ontologies: a Comparative Analysis of Robot Control Paradigms

Fuente: arXiv
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Autore principale: Boldachev, Alexander
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Boldachev, Alexander
author_facet Boldachev, Alexander
contents This paper compares two distinct approaches to modeling robotic behavior: imperative Behavior Trees (BTs) and declarative Executable Ontologies (EO), implemented through the boldsea framework. BTs structure behavior hierarchically using control-flow, whereas EO represents the domain as a temporal, event-based semantic graph driven by dataflow rules. We demonstrate that EO achieves comparable reactivity and modularity to BTs through a fundamentally different architecture: replacing polling-based tick execution with event-driven state propagation. We propose that EO offers an alternative framework, moving from procedural programming to semantic domain modeling, to address the semantic-process gap in traditional robotic control. EO supports runtime model modification, full temporal traceability, and a unified representation of data, logic, and interface - features that are difficult or sometimes impossible to achieve with BTs, although BTs excel in established, predictable scenarios. The comparison is grounded in a practical mobile manipulation task. This comparison highlights the respective operational strengths of each approach in dynamic, evolving robotic systems.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_15274
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Behavior Trees vs Executable Ontologies: a Comparative Analysis of Robot Control Paradigms
Boldachev, Alexander
Robotics
Artificial Intelligence
Formal Languages and Automata Theory
This paper compares two distinct approaches to modeling robotic behavior: imperative Behavior Trees (BTs) and declarative Executable Ontologies (EO), implemented through the boldsea framework. BTs structure behavior hierarchically using control-flow, whereas EO represents the domain as a temporal, event-based semantic graph driven by dataflow rules. We demonstrate that EO achieves comparable reactivity and modularity to BTs through a fundamentally different architecture: replacing polling-based tick execution with event-driven state propagation. We propose that EO offers an alternative framework, moving from procedural programming to semantic domain modeling, to address the semantic-process gap in traditional robotic control. EO supports runtime model modification, full temporal traceability, and a unified representation of data, logic, and interface - features that are difficult or sometimes impossible to achieve with BTs, although BTs excel in established, predictable scenarios. The comparison is grounded in a practical mobile manipulation task. This comparison highlights the respective operational strengths of each approach in dynamic, evolving robotic systems.
title Behavior Trees vs Executable Ontologies: a Comparative Analysis of Robot Control Paradigms
topic Robotics
Artificial Intelligence
Formal Languages and Automata Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.15274