Mercurial > cortex

     1 Dear Professor Winston,

     2 

     3 I've finished the first part of my project, building a framework for

     4 virtual sensate creatures; I would like your help evaluating what I've

     5 done so far, and deciding what to do next.

     6 

     7 For the work I've done so far, I compiled the results into short

     8 articles that explain how I implemented each sense, with videos that

     9 show each sense in action. Please look through the articles, in

    10 particular the video showcase, and tell me what you think.

    11 

    12 Video Showcase : http://aurellem.localhost/cortex/org/cover.html

    13 

    14 Introduction:

    15 http://aurellem.org/cortex/html/intro.html

    16 http://aurellem.org/cortex/html/sense.html

    17 

    18 Physical Bodies : http://aurellem.org/cortex/html/body.html

    19 Vision  : http://aurellem.org/cortex/html/vision.html

    20 Hearing : http://aurellem.org/cortex/html/hearing.html

    21 Touch   : http://aurellem.org/cortex/html/touch.html

    22 Proprioception     : http://aurellem.org/cortex/html/proprioception.html

    23 Muscles            : http://aurellem.org/cortex/html/movement.html

    24 Full Demonstration : http://aurellem.org/cortex/html/integration.html

    25 

    26 I think this work could be a fruitful foundation for a Master's

    27 thesis, so in particular, I'd like critiques, suggestions, and project

    28 ideas. For example, here are some projects I think would be worthy, in

    29 increasing order of complexity:

    30 

    31     * Create a self-powered joint that can determine its range of

    32       motion and joint type (hinge, cone, point-to-point, etc.) by

    33       making exploratory muscle movements and observing their effect.

    34 

    35     * Develop an agent that writes and debugs low-level motor control

    36       programs to achieve simple goals like "look at the light" or

    37       "extend all of your fingers". These simple "calisthenic"

    38       programs could then be combined to form more elaborate

    39       procedures of motion, which in turn could be the basic

    40       instinctive reflexes in the "spinal cord" of some more advanced

    41       creature. (like Sussman's HACKER program but in a richer world)

    42 

    43     * Program a group of creatures that cooperate with each

    44       other. Because the creatures would be simulated, I could

    45       investigate computationally complex rules of behavior which

    46       still, from the group's point of view, would happen in "real

    47       time". Interactions could be as simple as cellular organisms

    48       communicating via flashing lights, or as complex as humanoids

    49       completing social tasks, etc.

    50 

    51     * Simulated Imagination -- this would involve a creature with an

    52       effector which creates an entire new sub-simulation where the

    53       creature has direct control over placement/creation of objects

    54       via simulated telekinesis. The creature observes this sub-world

    55       through it's normal senses and uses its observations to make

    56       predictions about it's top level world.

    57 

    58     * Integrate the simulated world with Genesis, so that Genesis

    59       could use the simulated world to answer questions about a

    60       proposed physical scenario. For example "You stack two blocks

    61       together, then hit the bottom block with your hand. Does the top

    62       block move?". This project is complicated and very large in

    63       scope, but it could be narrowed to focus on a single key

    64       aspect. For example, one key aspect of turning a scenario into a

    65       simulation is knowing when you're constructing "typical" or

    66       "atypical" examples of the scenario. So, a narrower project

    67       might simply learn about the edge cases of different scenarios

    68       (e.g. "A block stacked on top of another block is usually

    69       stable, provided the bottom block is large enough, and is not

    70       moving, and is level, etc."). With this knowledge, this kind of

    71       program could aid Genesis not only in answering common-sense

    72       questions, but in refining them: "A block is stacked on top of

    73       another block. Is it stable?"; "Usually, but do you know if the

    74       bottom block is slanted?", etc.

    75 

    76 These are some ideas, but I think you can come up with better ones. I

    77 can't wait to hear your critiques and suggestions.

    78 

    79 Finally, regarding next year at MIT, can I be considered for the

    80 position of TA for 6.034 or 6.xxx? Also, do you want me to return Fall

    81 or Summer?

    82 

    83 Sincerely, 

    84 

    85 --Robert McIntyre
author	Robert McIntyre <rlm@mit.edu>
date	Sat, 18 Feb 2012 10:28:14 -0700
parents	7e3938f40c52
children	71946ec07be9