cortex: thesis/cortex.org comparison

comparison thesis/cortex.org @ 465:e4104ce9105c

working on body/joints.

author	Robert McIntyre <rlm@mit.edu>
date	Fri, 28 Mar 2014 11:08:32 -0400
parents	8bf4bb02ed05
children	da311eefbb09

comparison

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-:8bf4bb02ed05
+:e4104ce9105c
 #+email: rlm@mit.edu
 #+description: Using embodied AI to facilitate Artificial Imagination.
 #+keywords: AI, clojure, embodiment
 #+LaTeX_CLASS_OPTIONS: [nofloat]
-* Empathy and Embodiment as problem solving strategies
+* COMMENT templates
+#+caption:
+#+caption:
+#+caption:
+#+caption:
+#+name: name
+#+begin_listing clojure
+#+begin_src clojure
+#+end_src
+#+end_listing
+#+caption:
+#+caption:
+#+caption:
+#+name: name
+#+ATTR_LaTeX: :width 10cm
+[[./images/Eve.jpg]]
+* COMMENT Empathy and Embodiment as problem solving strategies
 By the end of this thesis, you will have seen a novel approach to
 interpreting video using embodiment and empathy. You will have also
 seen one way to efficiently implement empathy for embodied
 creatures. Finally, you will become familiar with =CORTEX=, a system
 own. To this end, wherver I have had to make archetictural choices
 about =CORTEX=, I have chosen to give as much freedom to the user as
 possible, so that =CORTEX= may be used for things I have not
 forseen.
-** Simulation or Reality?
+** COMMENT Simulation or Reality?
 The most important archetictural decision of all is the choice to
 use a computer-simulated environemnt in the first place! The world
 is a vast and rich place, and for now simulations are a very poor
 reflection of its complexity. It may be that there is a significant
 time in the simulated world can be slowed down to accommodate the
 limitations of the character's programming. In terms of cost,
 doing everything in software is far cheaper than building custom
 real-time hardware. All you need is a laptop and some patience.
-** Because of Time, simulation is perferable to reality
+** COMMENT Because of Time, simulation is perferable to reality
 I envision =CORTEX= being used to support rapid prototyping and
 iteration of ideas. Even if I could put together a well constructed
 kit for creating robots, it would still not be enough because of
 the scourge of real-time processing. Anyone who wants to test their
 ideas in the real world must always worry about getting their
-algorithms to run fast enough to process information in real
+algorithms to run fast enough to process information in real time.
-time. The need for real time processing only increases if multiple
+The need for real time processing only increases if multiple senses
-senses are involved. In the extreme case, even simple algorithms
+are involved. In the extreme case, even simple algorithms will have
-will have to be accelerated by ASIC chips or FPGAs, turning what
+to be accelerated by ASIC chips or FPGAs, turning what would
-would otherwise be a few lines of code and a 10x speed penality
+otherwise be a few lines of code and a 10x speed penality into a
-into a multi-month ordeal. For this reason, =CORTEX= supports
+multi-month ordeal. For this reason, =CORTEX= supports
 /time-dialiation/, which scales back the framerate of the
-simulation in proportion to the amount of processing each
+simulation in proportion to the amount of processing each frame.
-frame. From the perspective of the creatures inside the simulation,
+From the perspective of the creatures inside the simulation, time
-time always appears to flow at a constant rate, regardless of how
+always appears to flow at a constant rate, regardless of how
 complicated the envorimnent becomes or how many creatures are in
 the simulation. The cost is that =CORTEX= can sometimes run slower
 than real time. This can also be an advantage, however ---
 simulations of very simple creatures in =CORTEX= generally run at
 40x on my machine!
-** Video game engines are a great starting point
+** COMMENT Video game engines are a great starting point
 I did not need to write my own physics simulation code or shader to
 build =CORTEX=. Doing so would lead to a system that is impossible
 for anyone but myself to use anyway. Instead, I use a video game
 engine as a base and modify it to accomodate the additional needs
 Finally, because video game engines support a large number of
 users, if I don't stray too far from the base system, other
 researchers can turn to this community for help when doing their
 research.
-** =CORTEX= is based on jMonkeyEngine3
+** COMMENT =CORTEX= is based on jMonkeyEngine3
 While preparing to build =CORTEX= I studied several video game
 engines to see which would best serve as a base. The top contenders
 were:
 movie WALL-E.
 #+caption: =EVE= from the movie WALL-E.  This body plan turns
 #+caption: out to be much better suited to my purposes than a more
 #+caption: human-like one.
+#+ATTR_LaTeX: :width 10cm
 [[./images/Eve.jpg]]
 =EVE='s body is composed of several rigid components that are held
 together by invisible joint constraints. This is what I mean by
 ``eve-like''. The main reason that I use eve-style bodies is for
 joints. Sections do not have to stay as one piece forever; they can
 be dynamically replaced with multiple sections to simulate
 splitting in two. This could be used to simulate retractable claws
 or =EVE='s hands, which are able to coalesce into one object in the
 movie.
+*** Solidifying/Connecting the body
+Importing bodies from =CORTEX= into blender involves encoding
+metadata into the blender file that specifies the mass of each
+component and the joints by which those components are connected. I
+do this in Blender in two ways. First is by using the ``metadata''
+field of each solid object to specify the mass. Second is by using
+Blender ``empty nodes'' to specify the position and type of each
+joint. Empty nodes have no mass, physical presence, or appearance,
+but they can hold metadata and have names. I use a tree structure
+of empty nodes to specify joints. There is a parent node named
+``joints'', and a series of empty child nodes of the ``joints''
+node that each represent a single joint.
+#+caption: View of the hand model in Blender showing the main ``joints''
+#+caption: node (highlighted in yellow) and its children which each
+#+caption: represent a joint in the hand. Each joint node has metadata
+#+caption: specifying what sort of joint it is.
+#+ATTR_LaTeX: :width 10cm
+[[./images/hand-screenshot1.png]]
 ** Eyes reuse standard video game components
 ** =CORTEX= brings complex creatures to life!
 ** =CORTEX= enables many possiblities for further research
-* Empathy in a simulated worm
+* COMMENT Empathy in a simulated worm
 Here I develop a computational model of empathy, using =CORTEX= as a
 base. Empathy in this context is the ability to observe another
 creature and infer what sorts of sensations that creature is
 feeling. My empathy algorithm involves multiple phases. First is
 deduce that the worm has six sides. Note that =learn-touch-regions=
 would work just as well even if the worm's touch sense data were
 completely scrambled. The cross shape is just for convienence. This
 example justifies the use of pre-defined touch regions in =EMPATH=.
-* Contributions
+* COMMENT Contributions
 In this thesis you have seen the =CORTEX= system, a complete
 environment for creating simulated creatures. You have seen how to
 implement five senses including touch, proprioception, hearing,
 vision, and muscle tension. You have seen how to create new creatues

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comparison thesis/cortex.org @ 465:e4104ce9105c