Mercurial > cortex
comparison thesis/cortex.org @ 485:ac953b562eab
completed first draft.
author | Robert McIntyre <rlm@mit.edu> |
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date | Sat, 29 Mar 2014 16:22:49 -0400 |
parents | f60a457e65a8 |
children | 6d460ac3f5d0 |
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484:f60a457e65a8 | 485:ac953b562eab |
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364 - I built =EMPATH=, which uses =CORTEX= to identify the actions of | 364 - I built =EMPATH=, which uses =CORTEX= to identify the actions of |
365 a worm-like creature using a computational model of empathy. | 365 a worm-like creature using a computational model of empathy. |
366 | 366 |
367 * Building =CORTEX= | 367 * Building =CORTEX= |
368 | 368 |
369 I intend for =CORTEX= to be used as a general purpose library for | 369 I intend for =CORTEX= to be used as a general-purpose library for |
370 building creatures and outfitting them with senses, so that it will | 370 building creatures and outfitting them with senses, so that it will |
371 be useful for other researchers who want to test out ideas of their | 371 be useful for other researchers who want to test out ideas of their |
372 own. To this end, wherver I have had to make archetictural choices | 372 own. To this end, wherver I have had to make archetictural choices |
373 about =CORTEX=, I have chosen to give as much freedom to the user as | 373 about =CORTEX=, I have chosen to give as much freedom to the user as |
374 possible, so that =CORTEX= may be used for things I have not | 374 possible, so that =CORTEX= may be used for things I have not |
2356 #+caption: The hand then uses its muscles to launch the cube! | 2356 #+caption: The hand then uses its muscles to launch the cube! |
2357 #+name: integration | 2357 #+name: integration |
2358 #+ATTR_LaTeX: :width 16cm | 2358 #+ATTR_LaTeX: :width 16cm |
2359 [[./images/integration.png]] | 2359 [[./images/integration.png]] |
2360 | 2360 |
2361 ** =CORTEX= enables many possiblities for further research | 2361 ** COMMENT =CORTEX= enables many possiblities for further research |
2362 | 2362 |
2363 Often times, the hardest part of building a system involving | |
2364 creatures is dealing with physics and graphics. =CORTEX= removes | |
2365 much of this initial difficulty and leaves researchers free to | |
2366 directly pursue their ideas. I hope that even undergrads with a | |
2367 passing curiosity about simulated touch or creature evolution will | |
2368 be able to use cortex for experimentation. =CORTEX= is a completely | |
2369 simulated world, and far from being a disadvantage, its simulated | |
2370 nature enables you to create senses and creatures that would be | |
2371 impossible to make in the real world. | |
2372 | |
2373 While not by any means a complete list, here are some paths | |
2374 =CORTEX= is well suited to help you explore: | |
2375 | |
2376 - Empathy :: my empathy program leaves many areas for | |
2377 improvement, among which are using vision to infer | |
2378 proprioception and looking up sensory experience with imagined | |
2379 vision, touch, and sound. | |
2380 - Evolution :: Karl Sims created a rich environment for | |
2381 simulating the evolution of creatures on a connection | |
2382 machine. Today, this can be redone and expanded with =CORTEX= | |
2383 on an ordinary computer. | |
2384 - Exotic senses :: Cortex enables many fascinating senses that are | |
2385 not possible to build in the real world. For example, | |
2386 telekinesis is an interesting avenue to explore. You can also | |
2387 make a ``semantic'' sense which looks up metadata tags on | |
2388 objects in the environment the metadata tags might contain | |
2389 other sensory information. | |
2390 - Imagination via subworlds :: this would involve a creature with | |
2391 an effector which creates an entire new sub-simulation where | |
2392 the creature has direct control over placement/creation of | |
2393 objects via simulated telekinesis. The creature observes this | |
2394 sub-world through it's normal senses and uses its observations | |
2395 to make predictions about its top level world. | |
2396 - Simulated prescience :: step the simulation forward a few ticks, | |
2397 gather sensory data, then supply this data for the creature as | |
2398 one of its actual senses. The cost of prescience is slowing | |
2399 the simulation down by a factor proportional to however far | |
2400 you want the entities to see into the future. What happens | |
2401 when two evolved creatures that can each see into the future | |
2402 fight each other? | |
2403 - Swarm creatures :: Program a group of creatures that cooperate | |
2404 with each other. Because the creatures would be simulated, you | |
2405 could investigate computationally complex rules of behavior | |
2406 which still, from the group's point of view, would happen in | |
2407 ``real time''. Interactions could be as simple as cellular | |
2408 organisms communicating via flashing lights, or as complex as | |
2409 humanoids completing social tasks, etc. | |
2410 - =HACKER= for writing muscle-control programs :: Presented with | |
2411 low-level muscle control/ sense API, generate higher level | |
2412 programs for accomplishing various stated goals. Example goals | |
2413 might be "extend all your fingers" or "move your hand into the | |
2414 area with blue light" or "decrease the angle of this joint". | |
2415 It would be like Sussman's HACKER, except it would operate | |
2416 with much more data in a more realistic world. Start off with | |
2417 "calisthenics" to develop subroutines over the motor control | |
2418 API. This would be the "spinal chord" of a more intelligent | |
2419 creature. The low level programming code might be a turning | |
2420 machine that could develop programs to iterate over a "tape" | |
2421 where each entry in the tape could control recruitment of the | |
2422 fibers in a muscle. | |
2423 - Sense fusion :: There is much work to be done on sense | |
2424 integration -- building up a coherent picture of the world and | |
2425 the things in it with =CORTEX= as a base, you can explore | |
2426 concepts like self-organizing maps or cross modal clustering | |
2427 in ways that have never before been tried. | |
2428 - Inverse kinematics :: experiments in sense guided motor control | |
2429 are easy given =CORTEX='s support -- you can get right to the | |
2430 hard control problems without worrying about physics or | |
2431 senses. | |
2432 | |
2363 * COMMENT Empathy in a simulated worm | 2433 * COMMENT Empathy in a simulated worm |
2364 | 2434 |
2365 Here I develop a computational model of empathy, using =CORTEX= as a | 2435 Here I develop a computational model of empathy, using =CORTEX= as a |
2366 base. Empathy in this context is the ability to observe another | 2436 base. Empathy in this context is the ability to observe another |
2367 creature and infer what sorts of sensations that creature is | 2437 creature and infer what sorts of sensations that creature is |