Understanding Space: the nascent synthesis of cognition and the syntax of spatial morphologies

24-28 September, 200

Designing navigable information spaces

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 1998.Includes bibliographical references (p. 159-164).by Mark A. Foltz.M.S

Topological Mapping and Navigation in Real-World Environments

We introduce the Hierarchical Hybrid Spatial Semantic Hierarchy (H2SSH), a hybrid topological-metric map representation. The H2SSH provides a more scalable representation of both small and large structures in the world than existing topological map representations, providing natural descriptions of a hallway lined with offices as well as a cluster of buildings on a college campus. By considering the affordances in the environment, we identify a division of space into three distinct classes: path segments afford travel between places at their ends, decision points present a choice amongst incident path segments, and destinations typically exist at the start and end of routes. Constructing an H2SSH map of the environment requires understanding both its local and global structure. We present a place detection and classification algorithm to create a semantic map representation that parses the free space in the local environment into a set of discrete areas representing features like corridors, intersections, and offices. Using these areas, we introduce a new probabilistic topological simultaneous localization and mapping algorithm based on lazy evaluation to estimate a probability distribution over possible topological maps of the global environment. After construction, an H2SSH map provides the necessary representations for navigation through large-scale environments. The local semantic map provides a high-fidelity metric map suitable for motion planning in dynamic environments, while the global topological map is a graph-like map that allows for route planning using simple graph search algorithms. For navigation, we have integrated the H2SSH with Model Predictive Equilibrium Point Control (MPEPC) to provide safe and efficient motion planning for our robotic wheelchair, Vulcan. However, navigation in human environments entails more than safety and efficiency, as human behavior is further influenced by complex cultural and social norms. We show how social norms for moving along corridors and through intersections can be learned by observing how pedestrians around the robot behave. We then integrate these learned norms with MPEPC to create a socially-aware navigation algorithm, SA-MPEPC. Through real-world experiments, we show how SA-MPEPC improves not only Vulcan’s adherence to social norms, but the adherence of pedestrians interacting with Vulcan as well.PHDComputer Science & EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/144014/1/collinej_1.pd

Openly-editable web-based community learning resource for builders

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2007.Includes bibliographical references (p. 62-63).This thesis discusses the development, use, and potential future for an openly-editable web-based community learning resource for builders. The idea for a resource such as this and how it might be structured stems from Seymour Papert's vision of a Constructopedia: [...] a browsable, interactive database, designed to help children build structures, mechanisms, and computer programs as well as to make connections to the mathematical and scientific ideas underlying those constructions. Whereas encyclopedias focus on "what is," the Constructopedia focuse[s] on "how to" and "what if." The Constructopedia [is] intended as a communal resource in which children not only get access to building tips, but also contribute their own ideas and designs [Lifelong Kindergarten, 2007]. The IMP differs from existing resources in three key ways. First, by allowing for both project pages and concept pages to be added and by providing numerous, flexible ways of navigating the site, the IMP attempts to treat learning through construction more like the immersive learning of a new language. Second, due to its collaborative nature, the IMP serves as a place where builders can reflect on their ideas, share their projects, and contribute to the learning environment. Third, the IMP attempts to support the use of whatever materials are locally available to the builder instead of only focusing on one type of material or on one particular kit.Laura E. Nichols.S.M

Virtual Reality Games for Motor Rehabilitation

This paper presents a fuzzy logic based method to track user satisfaction without the need for devices to monitor users physiological conditions. User satisfaction is the key to any product’s acceptance; computer applications and video games provide a unique opportunity to provide a tailored environment for each user to better suit their needs. We have implemented a non-adaptive fuzzy logic model of emotion, based on the emotional component of the Fuzzy Logic Adaptive Model of Emotion (FLAME) proposed by El-Nasr, to estimate player emotion in UnrealTournament 2004. In this paper we describe the implementation of this system and present the results of one of several play tests. Our research contradicts the current literature that suggests physiological measurements are needed. We show that it is possible to use a software only method to estimate user emotion

Minds Online: The Interface between Web Science, Cognitive Science, and the Philosophy of Mind

Alongside existing research into the social, political and economic impacts of the Web, there is a need to study the Web from a cognitive and epistemic perspective. This is particularly so as new and emerging technologies alter the nature of our interactive engagements with the Web, transforming the extent to which our thoughts and actions are shaped by the online environment. Situated and ecological approaches to cognition are relevant to understanding the cognitive significance of the Web because of the emphasis they place on forces and factors that reside at the level of agent–world interactions. In particular, by adopting a situated or ecological approach to cognition, we are able to assess the significance of the Web from the perspective of research into embodied, extended, embedded, social and collective cognition. The results of this analysis help to reshape the interdisciplinary configuration of Web Science, expanding its theoretical and empirical remit to include the disciplines of both cognitive science and the philosophy of mind