Mercurial > cortex

     1 Dear Professor Winston,

     2 

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

     4 framework for virtual sensate creatures; I would like your

     5 help evaluating what I've done so far, and deciding what to

     6 do next.

     7 

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

     9 short articles that explain how I implemented each sense,

    10 with videos that show each sense in action. Please look

    11 through the articles, in particular the video showcase, and

    12 tell me what you think.

    13 

    14 Video Showcase : http://aurellem.org/cortex/org/cover.html

    15 

    16 Introduction:

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

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

    19 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    27 

    28 I think this work could be a fruitful foundation for a

    29 Master's thesis, so in particular, I'd like critiques,

    30 suggestions, and project ideas. For example, here are some

    31 projects I think would be worthy, in increasing order of

    32 complexity:

    33 

    34     * Create a self-powered joint that can determine its

    35       range of motion and joint type (hinge, cone,

    36       point-to-point, etc.) by making exploratory muscle

    37       movements and observing their effect.

    38 

    39     * Develop an agent that writes and debugs low-level

    40       motor control programs to achieve simple goals like

    41       "look at the light" or "extend all of your

    42       fingers". These simple "calisthenic" programs could

    43       then be combined to form more elaborate procedures of

    44       motion, which in turn could be the basic instinctive

    45       reflexes in the "spinal cord" of some more advanced

    46       creature. (like Sussman's HACKER program but in a

    47       richer world)

    48 

    49     * Program a group of creatures that cooperate with each

    50       other. Because the creatures would be simulated, I

    51       could investigate computationally complex rules of

    52       behavior which still, from the group's point of view,

    53       would happen in "real time". Interactions could be as

    54       simple as cellular organisms communicating via

    55       flashing lights, or as complex as humanoids completing

    56       social tasks, etc.

    57 

    58     * Simulated Imagination -- this would involve a creature

    59       with an effector which creates an entire new

    60       sub-simulation where the creature has direct control

    61       over placement/creation of objects via simulated

    62       telekinesis. The creature observes this sub-world

    63       through it's normal senses and uses its observations

    64       to make predictions about its top level world.

    65 

    66     * Integrate the simulated world with Genesis, so that

    67       Genesis could use the simulated world to answer

    68       questions about a proposed physical scenario. For

    69       example "You stack two blocks together, then hit the

    70       bottom block with your hand. Does the top block

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

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

    73       key aspect. For example, one key aspect of turning a

    74       scenario into a simulation is knowing when you're

    75       constructing "typical" or "atypical" examples of the

    76       scenario. So, a narrower project might simply learn

    77       about the edge cases of different scenarios (e.g. "A

    78       block stacked on top of another block is usually

    79       stable, provided the bottom block is large enough, and

    80       is not moving, and is level, etc."). With this

    81       knowledge, this kind of program could aid Genesis not

    82       only in answering common-sense questions, but in

    83       refining them: "A block is stacked on top of another

    84       block. Is it stable?"; "Usually, but do you know if

    85       the bottom block is slanted?", etc.

    86 

    87 These are some ideas, but I think you can come up with

    88 better ones. I can't wait to hear your critiques and

    89 suggestions.

    90 

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

    92 the position of TA for 6.034 or 6.xxx? Also, do you want me

    93 to return to MIT at the beginning of Fall or at the

    94 beginning of Summer?

    95 

    96 Sincerely, 

    97 --Robert McIntyre
author	Robert McIntyre <rlm@mit.edu>
date	Sat, 29 Mar 2014 23:46:54 -0400
parents	9ba3959b261b
children