Merging Qualitative Constraint Networks in a Piecewise Fashion

We address the problem of merging qualitative constraints networks (QCNs). We point out a merging algorithm which computes a consistent QCN representing a global view of the input set of (possibly conflicting) QCNs. This algorithm is generic in the sense that it does not depend on a specific qualitative formalism. The efficiency of our method comes from the fact that it merges locally the constraints of the input QCNs bearing on the same pairs of variables. We define several constraint merging operators in a way to ensure that the induced QCNs merging operator satisfies some expected properties from a logical standpoint.