{"ID":2839475,"CreatedAt":"2026-06-01T04:54:23.091178241Z","UpdatedAt":"2026-06-01T04:54:23.091178241Z","DeletedAt":null,"paper_url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.15274","arxiv_id":"2511.15274","title":"Behavior Trees vs Executable Ontologies: a Comparative Analysis of Robot Control Paradigms","abstract":"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.","short_abstract":"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...","url_abs":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.15274","url_pdf":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2511.15274v1","authors":"[\"Alexander Boldachev\"]","published":"2025-11-19T09:38:01Z","proceeding":"cs.RO","tasks":"[\"cs.RO\",\"cs.AI\",\"cs.FL\"]","methods":"[]","has_code":false}