Integration for navigation on the UMASS mobile perception lab

Integration of real-time visual procedures for use on the Mobile Perception Lab (MPL) was presented. The MPL is an autonomous vehicle designed for testing visually guided behavior. Two critical areas of focus in the system design were data storage/exchange and process control. The Intermediate Symbolic Representation (ISR3) supported data storage and exchange, and the MPL script monitor provided process control. Resource allocation, inter-process communication, and real-time control are difficult problems which must be solved in order to construct strong autonomous systems

Domain-specific languages

Domain-Specific Languages are used in software engineering in order to enhance quality, flexibility, and timely delivery of software systems, by taking advantage of specific properties of a particular application domain. This survey covers terminology, risks and benefits, examples, design methodologies, and implementation techniques of domain-specific languages as used for the construction and maintenance of software systems. Moreover, it covers an annotated selection of 75 key publications in the area of domain-specific languages

Applications of Causality and Causal Inference in Software Engineering

Causal inference is a study of causal relationships between events and the statistical study of inferring these relationships through interventions and other statistical techniques. Causal reasoning is any line of work toward determining causal relationships, including causal inference. This paper explores the relationship between causal reasoning and various fields of software engineering. This paper aims to uncover which software engineering fields are currently benefiting from the study of causal inference and causal reasoning, as well as which aspects of various problems are best addressed using this methodology. With this information, this paper also aims to find future subjects and fields that would benefit from this form of reasoning and to provide that information to future researchers. This paper follows a systematic literature review, including; the formulation of a search query, inclusion and exclusion criteria of the search results, clarifying questions answered by the found literature, and synthesizing the results from the literature review. Through close examination of the 45 found papers relevant to the research questions, it was revealed that the majority of causal reasoning as related to software engineering is related to testing through root cause localization. Furthermore, most causal reasoning is done informally through an exploratory process of forming a Causality Graph as opposed to strict statistical analysis or introduction of interventions. Finally, causal reasoning is also used as a justification for many tools intended to make the software more human-readable by providing additional causal information to logging processes or modeling languages

On the definition of non-player character behaviour for real-time simulated virtual environments.

Computer games with complex virtual worlds, which are populated by artificial characters and creatures, are the most visible application of artificial intelligence techniques. In recent years game development has been fuelled by dramatic advances in computer graphics hardware which have led to a rise in the quality of real-time computer graphics and increased realism in computer games. As a result of these developments video games are gaining acceptance and cultural significance as a form of art and popular culture. An important factor for the attainment of realism in games is the artificially intelligent behaviour displayed by the virtual entities that populate the games' virtual worlds. It is our firm belief that to further improve the behaviour of virtual entities, game AI development will have to mirror the advances achieved in game graphics. A major contributing factor for these advancements has been the advent of programmable shaders for real-time graphics, which in turn has been significantly simplified by the introduction of higher level programming languages for the creation of shaders. This has demonstrated that a good system can be vastly improved by the addition of a programming language. This thesis presents a similar (syntactic) approach to the definition of the behaviour of virtual entities in computer games. We introduce the term behaviour definition language (BDL), describing a programming language for the definition of game entity behaviour. We specify the requirements for this type of programming language, which are applied to the development and implementation of several behaviour definition languages, culminating in the design of a new game-genre independent behaviour definition (scripting) language. This extension programming language includes several game AI techniques within a single unified system, allowing the use of different methods of behaviour definition. A subset of the language (itself a BDL) was implemented as a proof of concept of this design, providing a framework for the syntactic definition of the behaviour of virtual entities in computer games

Multi-agent geo-simulation of crowds and control forces in conflict situations : models, application and analysis

Peu de modèles et de simulations qui décrivent les comportements de foule en situations de conflit impliquant des forces de l’ordre et des armes non-létales (NLW) existent. Ce mémoire présente des modèles d’agents de la foule et des forces de l’ordre ainsi que des NLWs dans des situations de conflit. Des groupes ainsi que leurs interactions et actions collectives sont explicitement modélisés, ce qui repousse les approches de simulation de foule existantes. Les agents sont caractérisés par des profils d’appréciation de l’agressivité et ils peuvent changer leurs comportements en relation avec la Théorie de l’identité sociale. Un logiciel a été développé et les modèles ont été calibrés avec des scénarios réalistes. Il a démontré la faisabilité technique de modèles sociaux aussi complexes pour des foules de centaines d’agents, en plus de générer des données pour évaluer l’efficacité des techniques d’intervention.Few models and simulations that describe crowd behaviour in conflict situations involving control forces and non-lethal weapons (NLW) exist. This thesis presents models for crowd agents, control forces, and NLWs in crowd control situations. Groups as well as their interactions and collective actions are explicitly modelled, which pushes further currently existing crowd simulation approaches. Agents are characterized by appreciation of aggressiveness profiles and they can change their behaviours in relation with the Social Identity theory. A software application was developed and the models were calibrated with realistic scenarios. It demonstrated the technical feasibility of such complex social models for crowds of hundreds of agents, as well generating data to assess the efficiency of intervention techniques

A society of mind approach to cognition and metacognition in a cognitive architecture

This thesis investigates the concept of mind as a control system using the "Society of Agents" metaphor. "Society of Agents" describes collective behaviours of simple and intelligent agents. "Society of Mind" is more than a collection of task-oriented and deliberative agents; it is a powerful concept for mind research and can benefit from the use of metacognition. The aim is to develop a self configurable computational model using the concept of metacognition. A six tiered SMCA (Society of Mind Cognitive Architecture) control model is designed that relies on a society of agents operating using metrics associated with the principles of artificial economics in animal cognition. This research investigates the concept of metacognition as a powerful catalyst for control, unify and self-reflection. Metacognition is used on BDI models with respect to planning, reasoning, decision making, self reflection, problem solving, learning and the general process of cognition to improve performance.One perspective on how to develop metacognition in a SMCA model is based on the differentiation between metacognitive strategies and metacomponents or metacognitive aids. Metacognitive strategies denote activities such as metacomphrension (remedial action) and metamanagement (self management) and schema training (meaning full learning over cognitive structures). Metacomponents are aids for the representation of thoughts. To develop an efficient, intelligent and optimal agent through the use of metacognition requires the design of a multiple layered control model which includes simple to complex levels of agent action and behaviours. This SMCA model has designed and implemented for six layers which includes reflexive, reactive, deliberative (BDI), learning (Q-Ieamer), metacontrol and metacognition layers

A Behavioral Model of Component Frameworks

When using a component framework developers need to respect the behavior implemented by the components. Static information about the component interface is not sufficient. Dynamic information such as the description of valid sequences of operations is required. Instead of being in some external documentation, this information should be formally represented and embedded within the components themselves, so that it can be used by automatic tools. We propose a mathematical model and a formal language to describe the knowledge about behavior. We rely on a hierarchical model of deterministic finite state-machines. The communication between the machines follows the Synchronous Paradigm. We favor a structural approach allowing incremental simulation, automatic verification, code generation, and run-time checks. Associated tools may ensure correct and safe reuse of the components. We focus on extension of components through inheritance (in the sense of sub-typing), owing to the notion of behavioral refinement

Automated Scenario Generation Environment

Report describes IST\u27s investigation into the feasibility of automating the process of planning and scenario generation for large scale (joint level) simulation exercises and development of an architecture for that purpose

Archaeology and the alchemical laboratory: Exploring early modern chymical practices at colonial Jamestown (Virginia) and the Old Ashmolean Museum (Oxford)

The present PhD thesis focuses on the study of early modern laboratory apparatus, with the specific aim of adopting a material culture-approach to the history of science and technology. This is achieved through the scientific analysis of two assemblages of crucibles and other reaction vessels, namely that of Jamestown in Virginia (early 17th century) and that of the Ashmolean laboratory in Oxford (late 17th -early 18th century). For each of these case studies the high-temperature activities carried out were reconstructed and contextualised. The analysis of the residues left by the chemical reactions, through optical microscopy and SEM-EDS, allowed to determine what substances were manipulated and what technical processes were followed. While the vast majority of the crucibles from Jamestown were used for testing minerals in search of metals of interest to the settlers, the practitioners at the Ashmolean were found to diversify their work and experiment with technological innovation of the period. As no direct relation exists between the case studies, each of them stands on its own and each brings a novel contribution to its specific historical and archaeological context However, taken together the two case studies illustrate the wider scope of this thesis by indicating the potential of a new methodological approach to the study of laboratory remains, which combines the information of archaeological science with current narratives in the historiography of early modern science. The results are used to build a materials-based network, which tells the story of scientific developments from the bottom up and throws new light on the practical side of doing science. Ultimately, this thesis crosses old disciplinary boundaries and adds new layers of interpretation to both disciplines it engages with