# APTree: Extended Behavior Trees for Adaptive and Scalable Automated Robotic Task Planning in Construction

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.18523 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2610.18523/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 17 of its 62 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 13 Oct 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 17 of 17)

- [Behavior Trees in Robotics and AI: An Introduction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1709.00084/) (2017)
- [The LAMA Planner: Guiding Cost-Based Anytime Planning with Landmarks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1401.3839/) (2014)
- [A Survey of Behavior Trees in Robotics and AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.05842/) (2020)
- [Towards Blended Reactive Planning and Acting using Behavior Trees](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1611.00230/) (2016)
- [Representing Robot Task Plans as Robust Logical-Dynamical Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1908.01896/) (2019)
- [BTGenBot: Behavior Tree Generation for Robotic Tasks with Lightweight LLMs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.12761/) (2024)
- [Behavior Trees and State Machines in Robotics Applications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.04211/) (2022)
- [Behavior Trees in Action: A Study of Robotics Applications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.06256/) (2020)
- [PlanSys2: A Planning System Framework for ROS2](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.00376/) (2021)
- [Comparison between Behavior Trees and Finite State Machines](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.16137/) (2024)
- [Allen's Interval Algebra Makes the Difference](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1909.01128/) (2019)
- [MyPDDL: Tools for efficiently creating PDDL domains and problems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2008.11069/) (2020)
- [Behavior Trees with Dataflow: Coordinating Reactive Tasks in Lingua Franca](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.09185/) (2024)
- [A Framework for Learning Behavior Trees in Collaborative Robotic Applications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.11026/) (2023)
- [Adaptive Manipulation using Behavior Trees](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.14634/) (2024)
- [A Behavior Tree-inspired programming language for autonomous agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.08654/) (2024)
- [Multi-Robot Task Planning for Multi-Object Retrieval Tasks with Distributed On-Site Knowledge via Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.12838/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Task planning for robots in off-site construction prefabrication is primarily manual, leading to planning inefficiencies and reluctance to adopt robotic solutions. Existing approaches provide limited support for scalable, modular automated task planning and localized runtime replanning. This paper proposes APTree, a model-driven framework that integrates automated task planning with modular task execution using behavior trees as the execution model. APTree repeatedly applies and coordinates heterogeneous symbolic planners to automatically generate and compose modular task plans at runtime. To support this approach, we develop a domain-specific language for the formal specification and validation of task plans, together with a compatible execution engine. We evaluate APTree on the real-world livMatS Biomimetic Shell pavilion, where it models the construction robotic fabrication domain, detects injected specification and planning errors at design time and runtime, and automatically generates large-scale task plans by coordinating three symbolic planners across numerous planning modules. A machine-checked formal analysis further shows that composed execution and local replanning are safe under explicitly stated assumptions, including planner soundness and non-interference of generated plans, providing practitioners with explicit conditions for dependable plan composition. APTree thus enables construction practitioners to leverage automated task planning without requiring detailed knowledge of symbolic planning techniques or APTree's internal implementation.