Exactly What is the Wumpus World Problem?

On a search for treasure, a hero must confront many dangers and enemies. From bottomless pits to grotesque monsters, our protagonist will have to use cunning, intellect, and logic to attain his wealth. Now comes the question: can an artificial agent be created to solve this task?

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The hero will begin on the bottom left of a checkered grid. His objective will be to proceed across the board, one square at a time, to find the treasure, then return to his starting position. Along the way it will receive signals to indicate what could be lurking in the adjacent squares; a "breeze" warns of a pit, a "stench" indicates a Wumpus, and a "glitter" means that there is gold nearby.

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Our artificial agent must secure the gold without walking into a pit or getting killed by the Wumpus. Both threats are stationary, so the agent must be able to use the input signals to identify the locations of the pits and Wumpus and plan its route accordingly. A more skillfully crafted agent, by aligning itself correctly, should be able to kill the Wumpus as well.