Grounding the Lexical Semantics of Verbs in Visual Perception using Force Dynamics and Event Logic

This paper presents an implemented system for recognizing the occurrence of events described by simple spatial-motion verbs in short image sequences. The semantics of these verbs is specified with event-logic expressions that describe changes in the state of force-dynamic relations between the participants of the event. An efficient finite representation is introduced for the infinite sets of intervals that occur when describing liquid and semi-liquid events. Additionally, an efficient procedure using this representation is presented for inferring occurrences of compound events, described with event-logic expressions, from occurrences of primitive events. Using force dynamics and event logic to specify the lexical semantics of events allows the system to be more robust than prior systems based on motion profile

Specific-to-General Learning for Temporal Events with Application to Learning Event Definitions from Video

We develop, analyze, and evaluate a novel, supervised, specific-to-general learner for a simple temporal logic and use the resulting algorithm to learn visual event definitions from video sequences. First, we introduce a simple, propositional, temporal, event-description language called AMA that is sufficiently expressive to represent many events yet sufficiently restrictive to support learning. We then give algorithms, along with lower and upper complexity bounds, for the subsumption and generalization problems for AMA formulas. We present a positive-examples--only specific-to-general learning method based on these algorithms. We also present a polynomial-time--computable ``syntactic'' subsumption test that implies semantic subsumption without being equivalent to it. A generalization algorithm based on syntactic subsumption can be used in place of semantic generalization to improve the asymptotic complexity of the resulting learning algorithm. Finally, we apply this algorithm to the task of learning relational event definitions from video and show that it yields definitions that are competitive with hand-coded ones

The effectiveness of licence restriction for drink drivers: The Australian experience

In many jurisdictions, licence restriction is used as an alternative to full suspension for certain drink driving offenders. However, this may undermine both the specific and general deterrent effect of licence loss, by reducing the perceived certainty and severity of the sanction. To explore this proposition, an analysis was undertaken of the records of almost 22,000 male drivers initially convicted of drink driving during 1988 in Queensland, Australia. At a process level, it was found that licence restriction was relatively common, with 12% of offenders being granted a restricted licence for employment purposes. Contrary to legislative guidelines, these licences were sometimes granted to offenders with a recent history of drink driving. At an outcome level, it was found that the restricted drivers were involved in a similar proportion of alcohol-related crashes, but more non alcohol-related crashes, during the term of the sanction than drivers who had been fully suspended. This is consistent with previous research by the authors indicating that restricted drivers do not commit any more drink driving offences than suspended drivers. Therefore, while full suspension produces greater overall road safety benefits, restricted licences appear no less effective as a specific deterrent to drink driving

A low-altitude satellite interaction study

Two computer programs calculate interaction effects of high speed spacecraft on the environment at altitudes from 90 km to 150 km. EXT program determines fluid field in bodies of arbitrary geometries in transient flow regime. INT program uses EXT output and measures flow conditions inside spacecraft body

First-Class Nonstandard Interpretations by Opening Closures

We motivate and discuss a novel functional programming construct that allows convenient modular run-time nonstandard interpretation via reflection on closure environments. This map-closure construct encompasses both the ability to examine the contents of a closure environment and to construct a new closure with a modified environment. From the user’s perspective, map-closure is a powerful and useful construct that supports such tasks as tracing, security logging, sandboxing, error checking, profiling, code instrumentation and metering, run-time code patching, and resource monitoring. From the implementor’s perspective, map-closure is analogous to call/cc. Just as call/cc is a non-referentiallytransparent mechanism that reifies the continuations that are only implicit in programs written in direct style, map-closure is a nonreferentially- transparent mechanism that reifies the closure environments that are only implicit in higher-order programs. Just as CPS conversion is a non-local but purely syntactic transformation that can eliminate references to call/cc, closure conversion is a non-local but purely syntactic transformation that can eliminate references to map-closure. We show how the combination of map-closure and call/cc can be used to implement set! as a procedure definition and a local macro transformation