1.1 --- a/org/cover.html	Sat Feb 18 02:07:40 2012 -0600
     1.2 +++ b/org/cover.html	Sat Feb 18 10:28:14 2012 -0700
     1.3 @@ -35,50 +35,59 @@
     1.4  <br><br>
     1.5  
     1.6  <p>
     1.7 -The purpose of this project is to create a framework for sensate
     1.8 -creatures in a virtual environment. This approach is advantageous
     1.9 -because of timing.
    1.10  
    1.11 -You can see a showcase of each sense below, as well as a short article
    1.12 -explaining how I implemented it.
    1.13 +<video controls="controls" width="755">
    1.14 +  <source src="../video/hand.ogg" type="video/ogg" preload="none" poster="../images/aurellem-1280x480.png">
    1.15 +</video>
    1.16  
    1.17 -<h2>Vision</h2>
    1.18 -<a href="./vision.html">Read the article on implementing vision &raquo;</a>
    1.19 +Here are videos which showcase each of the senses shown in the video
    1.20 +above, as well as links to full source and an article explaining how I
    1.21 +implemented each of them.
    1.22 +
    1.23 +<h2>Physical Bodies</h2>
    1.24 +<a href="../html/body.html">Read the article on implementing physical bodies &raquo;</a>
    1.25  <video controls="controls" width="755">
    1.26 -  <source src="./video/worm-vision.ogg" type="video/ogg" preload="none" poster="../images/aurellem-1280x480.png">
    1.27 +  <source src="../video/full-hand.ogg" type="video/ogg" preload="none" poster="../images/aurellem-1280x480.png">
    1.28  </video>
    1.29  
    1.30  <h2>Vision</h2>
    1.31 -<a href="./vision.html">Read the article on implementing vision &raquo;</a>
    1.32 +<a href="../html/vision.html">Read the article on implementing vision &raquo;</a>
    1.33  <video controls="controls" width="755">
    1.34 -  <source src="./video/worm-vision.ogg" type="video/ogg" preload="none" poster="../images/aurellem-1280x480.png">
    1.35 +  <source src="../video/worm-vision.ogg" type="video/ogg" preload="none" poster="../images/aurellem-1280x480.png">
    1.36  </video>
    1.37  
    1.38 -<h2>Vision</h2>
    1.39 -<a href="./vision.html">Read the article on implementing vision &raquo;</a>
    1.40 +
    1.41 +<h2>Hearing</h2>
    1.42 +<a href="../html/hearing.html">Read the article on implementing hearing &raquo;</a>
    1.43  <video controls="controls" width="755">
    1.44 -  <source src="./video/worm-vision.ogg" type="video/ogg" preload="none" poster="../images/aurellem-1280x480.png">
    1.45 +  <source src="../video/java-hearing-test.ogg" type="video/ogg" preload="none" poster="../images/aurellem-1280x480.png">
    1.46 +</video>
    1.47 +<video controls="controls" width="755">
    1.48 +  <source src="../video/worm-hearing.ogg" type="video/ogg" preload="none" poster="../images/aurellem-1280x480.png">
    1.49  </video>
    1.50  
    1.51 -<h2>Vision</h2>
    1.52 -<a href="./vision.html">Read the article on implementing vision &raquo;</a>
    1.53 +
    1.54 +<h2>Touch</h2>
    1.55 +<a href="../html/touch.html">Read the article on implementing touch &raquo;</a>
    1.56  <video controls="controls" width="755">
    1.57 -  <source src="./video/worm-vision.ogg" type="video/ogg" preload="none" poster="../images/aurellem-1280x480.png">
    1.58 +  <source src="../video/basic-touch.ogg" type="video/ogg" preload="none" poster="../images/aurellem-1280x480.png">
    1.59 +</video>
    1.60 +<video controls="controls" width="755">
    1.61 +  <source src="../video/worm-touch.ogg" type="video/ogg" preload="none" poster="../images/aurellem-1280x480.png">
    1.62  </video>
    1.63  
    1.64 -<h2>Vision</h2>
    1.65 -<a href="./vision.html">Read the article on implementing vision &raquo;</a>
    1.66 +<h2>Proprioception</h2>
    1.67 +<a href="../html/proprioception.html">Read the article on implementing proprioception &raquo;</a>
    1.68  <video controls="controls" width="755">
    1.69 -  <source src="./video/worm-vision.ogg" type="video/ogg" preload="none" poster="../images/aurellem-1280x480.png">
    1.70 +  <source src="../video/test-proprioception.ogg" type="video/ogg" preload="none" poster="../images/aurellem-1280x480.png">
    1.71  </video>
    1.72  
    1.73 -<h2>Vision</h2>
    1.74 -<a href="./vision.html">Read the article on implementing vision &raquo;</a>
    1.75 +<h2>Movement</h2>
    1.76 +<a href="../html/movement.html">Read the article on implementing muscles &raquo;</a>
    1.77  <video controls="controls" width="755">
    1.78 -  <source src="./video/worm-vision.ogg" type="video/ogg" preload="none" poster="../images/aurellem-1280x480.png">
    1.79 +  <source src="../video/worm-muscles.ogg" type="video/ogg" preload="none" poster="../images/aurellem-1280x480.png">
    1.80  </video>
    1.81  
    1.82 -
    1.83  </p>
    1.84  
    1.85  </body>

     2.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
     2.2 +++ b/org/youtube.org	Sat Feb 18 10:28:14 2012 -0700
     2.3 @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
     2.4 +| local-file              | youtube-url |
     2.5 +|-------------------------+-------------|
     2.6 +| basic-touch.ogg         |             |
     2.7 +| hand.ogg                |             |
     2.8 +| worm-hearing.ogg        |             |
     2.9 +| bind-sense.ogg          |             |
    2.10 +| java-hearing-test.ogg   |             |
    2.11 +| worm-muscles.ogg        |             |
    2.12 +| crumbly-hand.ogg        |             |
    2.13 +| spinning-cube.ogg       |             |
    2.14 +| worm-touch.ogg          |             |
    2.15 +| cube.ogg                |             |
    2.16 +| test-proprioception.ogg |             |
    2.17 +| worm-vision.ogg         |             |
    2.18 +| full-hand.ogg           |             |
    2.19 +| touch-cube.ogg          |             |
    2.20 +| ghost-hand.ogg          |             |
    2.21 +| worm-1.ogg              |             |
    2.22 +|-------------------------+-------------|
    2.23 +
    2.24 +

     3.1 --- a/winston-intro.txt	Sat Feb 18 02:07:40 2012 -0600
     3.2 +++ b/winston-intro.txt	Sat Feb 18 10:28:14 2012 -0700
     3.3 @@ -1,103 +1,85 @@
     3.4  Dear Professor Winston,
     3.5  
     3.6 -I'm ready for you to look through the work that I've done so far. It's
     3.7 -a sequence of posts describing the different simulated senses I've
     3.8 -implemented, with videos. 
     3.9 +I've finished the first part of my project, building a framework for
    3.10 +virtual sensate creatures; I would like your help evaluating what I've
    3.11 +done so far, and deciding what to do next.
    3.12  
    3.13 -It's "blocks world reloaded", because like you say, you need multiple
    3.14 -senses to enable intelligence.
    3.15 +For the work I've done so far, I compiled the results into short
    3.16 +articles that explain how I implemented each sense, with videos that
    3.17 +show each sense in action. Please look through the articles, in
    3.18 +particular the video showcase, and tell me what you think.
    3.19  
    3.20 -Please look through the videos and skim the text and tell me what
    3.21 -you think:
    3.22 +Video Showcase : http://aurellem.localhost/cortex/org/cover.html
    3.23  
    3.24  Introduction:
    3.25  http://aurellem.org/cortex/html/intro.html
    3.26  http://aurellem.org/cortex/html/sense.html
    3.27  
    3.28 -http://aurellem.org/cortex/html/body.html  -- simulated physical bodies
    3.29 -http://aurellem.org/cortex/html/vision.html -- simulated eyes
    3.30 -http://aurellem.org/cortex/html/hearing.html -- simulated ears
    3.31 -http://aurellem.org/cortex/html/touch.html   -- simulated skin/hairs
    3.32 -http://aurellem.org/cortex/html/proprioception.html -- simulated proprioception
    3.33 -http://aurellem.org/cortex/html/movement.html       -- simulated muscles
    3.34 -http://aurellem.org/cortex/html/integration.html  -- full demonstration 
    3.35 +Physical Bodies : http://aurellem.org/cortex/html/body.html
    3.36 +Vision  : http://aurellem.org/cortex/html/vision.html
    3.37 +Hearing : http://aurellem.org/cortex/html/hearing.html
    3.38 +Touch   : http://aurellem.org/cortex/html/touch.html
    3.39 +Proprioception     : http://aurellem.org/cortex/html/proprioception.html
    3.40 +Muscles            : http://aurellem.org/cortex/html/movement.html
    3.41 +Full Demonstration : http://aurellem.org/cortex/html/integration.html
    3.42  
    3.43 -In particular, look at the video at
    3.44 -http://aurellem.org/cortex/html/integration.html.  It shows a
    3.45 -simulated hand equipped with all of the senses I've built so far.
    3.46 +I think this work could be a fruitful foundation for a Master's
    3.47 +thesis, so in particular, I'd like critiques, suggestions, and project
    3.48 +ideas. For example, here are some projects I think would be worthy, in
    3.49 +increasing order of complexity:
    3.50  
    3.51 -There's some more background information and full source code at 
    3.52 -http://aurellem.org
    3.53 +    * Create a self-powered joint that can determine its range of
    3.54 +      motion and joint type (hinge, cone, point-to-point, etc.) by
    3.55 +      making exploratory muscle movements and observing their effect.
    3.56  
    3.57 -If you can't see a video, let me know and I'll upload it to YouTube so
    3.58 -you can see it.
    3.59 +    * Develop an agent that writes and debugs low-level motor control
    3.60 +      programs to achieve simple goals like "look at the light" or
    3.61 +      "extend all of your fingers". These simple "calisthenic"
    3.62 +      programs could then be combined to form more elaborate
    3.63 +      procedures of motion, which in turn could be the basic
    3.64 +      instinctive reflexes in the "spinal cord" of some more advanced
    3.65 +      creature. (like Sussman's HACKER program but in a richer world)
    3.66  
    3.67 +    * Program a group of creatures that cooperate with each
    3.68 +      other. Because the creatures would be simulated, I could
    3.69 +      investigate computationally complex rules of behavior which
    3.70 +      still, from the group's point of view, would happen in "real
    3.71 +      time". Interactions could be as simple as cellular organisms
    3.72 +      communicating via flashing lights, or as complex as humanoids
    3.73 +      completing social tasks, etc.
    3.74  
    3.75 +    * Simulated Imagination -- this would involve a creature with an
    3.76 +      effector which creates an entire new sub-simulation where the
    3.77 +      creature has direct control over placement/creation of objects
    3.78 +      via simulated telekinesis. The creature observes this sub-world
    3.79 +      through it's normal senses and uses its observations to make
    3.80 +      predictions about it's top level world.
    3.81  
    3.82 +    * Integrate the simulated world with Genesis, so that Genesis
    3.83 +      could use the simulated world to answer questions about a
    3.84 +      proposed physical scenario. For example "You stack two blocks
    3.85 +      together, then hit the bottom block with your hand. Does the top
    3.86 +      block move?". This project is complicated and very large in
    3.87 +      scope, but it could be narrowed to focus on a single key
    3.88 +      aspect. For example, one key aspect of turning a scenario into a
    3.89 +      simulation is knowing when you're constructing "typical" or
    3.90 +      "atypical" examples of the scenario. So, a narrower project
    3.91 +      might simply learn about the edge cases of different scenarios
    3.92 +      (e.g. "A block stacked on top of another block is usually
    3.93 +      stable, provided the bottom block is large enough, and is not
    3.94 +      moving, and is level, etc."). With this knowledge, this kind of
    3.95 +      program could aid Genesis not only in answering common-sense
    3.96 +      questions, but in refining them: "A block is stacked on top of
    3.97 +      another block. Is it stable?"; "Usually, but do you know if the
    3.98 +      bottom block is slanted?", etc.
    3.99  
   3.100 -Now, I need your help moving forward. Can I use this work as a base
   3.101 -for a Masters thesis with you when I come back to MIT this coming Fall?
   3.102 -What critiques and project ideas do you have after looking through
   3.103 -what I've done so far?
   3.104 +These are some ideas, but I think you can come up with better ones. I
   3.105 +can't wait to hear your critiques and suggestions.
   3.106  
   3.107 -I have some ideas on where I can go with this project but I think you
   3.108 -will have some better ones.
   3.109 +Finally, regarding next year at MIT, can I be considered for the
   3.110 +position of TA for 6.034 or 6.xxx? Also, do you want me to return Fall
   3.111 +or Summer?
   3.112  
   3.113 -Here are some possible projects I might do with this as a base that I
   3.114 -think would be worthy Masters projects.
   3.115 +Sincerely, 
   3.116  
   3.117 - - HACKER for writing muscle-control programs : Presented with
   3.118 -   low-level muscle control/ sense API, generate higher level programs
   3.119 -   for accomplishing various stated goals. Example goals might be
   3.120 -   "extend all your fingers" or "move your hand into the area with
   3.121 -   blue light" or "decrease the angle of this joint".  It would be
   3.122 -   like Sussman's HACKER, except it would operate with much more data
   3.123 -   in a more realistic world.  Start off with "calisthenics" to
   3.124 -   develop subroutines over the motor control API.  This would be the
   3.125 -   "spinal chord" of a more intelligent creature.
   3.126 -
   3.127 - - Create hundreds of small creatures and have them do simple
   3.128 -   simulated swarm tasks.
   3.129 - 
   3.130 - - A joint that learns what sort of joint it (cone, point-to-point,
   3.131 -   hinge, etc.) is by correlating exploratory muscle movements with
   3.132 -   vision.
   3.133 -
   3.134 - - Something with cross-modal clustering using the rich sense
   3.135 -   data. This might prove difficult due to the higher dimensionality
   3.136 -   of my senses.
   3.137 -
   3.138 - - Simulated Imagination --- this would involve a creature with an
   3.139 -   effector which creates an /entire new sub-simulation/ where the
   3.140 -   creature has direct control over placement/creation of objects via
   3.141 -   simulated telekinesis. The creature observes this sub-world through
   3.142 -   it's normal senses and uses its observations to make predictions
   3.143 -   about it's top level world.
   3.144 -
   3.145 - - Hook it up with Genesis --- I could make a "semantic effector"
   3.146 -   which marks objects/sensory states with semantic information. In
   3.147 -   conjunction with Simulated Imagination, and HACKER-like motor
   3.148 -   control, Genesis might be able to ask simple questions like "stack
   3.149 -   two blocks together and hit the top one with your hand; does the
   3.150 -   bottom block move?" and the system could answer "yes".  This would
   3.151 -   be rather complicated to do and involves many of the above
   3.152 -   projects, but there may be a way to scale it down to Master's
   3.153 -   thesis size.
   3.154 -
   3.155 - - Make a virtual computer in the virtual world which with which the
   3.156 -   creature interacts using its fingers to press keys on a virtual
   3.157 -   keyboard. The creature can access the internet, watch videos, take
   3.158 -   over the world, anything it wants. (This is probably not worthy of
   3.159 -   a Masters project, I just thought it was a neat idea. It's possible
   3.160 -   to use videos/etc in the simulated world at any rate.)
   3.161 -
   3.162 -
   3.163 -I can't wait to hear your critiques and ideas.  If you think I
   3.164 -shouldn't use this system as a base and should instead do something
   3.165 -else, that's fine too. 
   3.166 -
   3.167 -On a related note, can I be considered for the position of TA next
   3.168 -year for 6.034 or 6.xxx?
   3.169 -
   3.170 -sincerely,
   3.171  --Robert McIntyre