Uniform Cost Search is a graph traversal and search algorithm used to find the lowest-cost path from a starting node to a goal node in a weighted graph. It operates on the principle of exploring paths in increasing order of their cumulative cost, ensuring that the least expensive paths are explored first.

Key Features:

Optimality: UCS guarantees the shortest path solution if the cost of every step is non-negative.
Completeness: The algorithm will find a solution if one exists.
Data Structure: UCS uses a priority queue (or min-heap) to keep track of nodes based on their cumulative costs.