Descriptions of Game Actions

To describe simultaneous knowledge updates for different subgroups we propose anepistemic language with dynamic operators for actions. The language is interpreted onequivalence states (S5 states). The actions are interpreted as state transformers. Two crucial action constructors are learning and local choice. Learning isthe dynamic equivalent of common knowledge. Local choice aids in constraining theinterpretation of an action to a functional interpretation (state transformer).Bisimilarity is preserved under execution of actions. The language is applied todescribe various actions in card games.     

What is a Simulation Model?

Many philosophical accounts of scientific models fail to distinguish between a simulation model and other forms of models. This failure is unfortunate because there are important differences pertaining to their methodology and epistemology that favor their philosophical understanding. The core claim presented here is that simulation models are rich and complex units of analysis in their own right, that they depart from known forms of scientific models in significant ways, and that a proper understanding of the type of model simulations are fundamental for their philosophical assessment. I argue that simulation models can be distinguished from other forms of models by the many algorithmic structures, representation relations, and new semantic connections involved in their architecture. In this article, I reconstruct a general architecture for a simulation model, one that faithfully captures the complexities involved in most scientific research with computer simulations. Furthermore, I submit that a new methodology capable of conforming such architecture into a fully functional, computationally tractable computer simulation must be in place. I discuss this methodology—what I call recasting—and argue for its philosophical novelty. If these efforts are heading towards the right interpretation of simulation models, then one can show that computer simulations shed new light on the philosophy of science. To illustrate the potential of my interpretation of simulation models, I briefly discuss simulation-based explanations as a novel approach to questions about scientific explanation.

     

Free viewpoint action recognition using motion history volumes

Action recognition is an important and challenging topic in computer vision, with many important applications including video surveillance, automated cinematography and understanding of social interaction. Yet, most current work in gesture or action interpretation remains rooted in view-dependent representations. This paper introduces Motion History Volumes (MHV) as a free-viewpoint representation for human actions in the case of multiple calibrated, and background-subtracted, video cameras. We present algorithms for computing, aligning and comparing MHVs of different actions performed by different people in a variety of viewpoints. Alignment and comparisons are performed efficiently using Fourier transforms in cylindrical coordinates around the vertical axis. Results indicate that this representation can be used to learn and recognize basic human action classes, independently of gender, body size and viewpoint.     

Focus interpretation in Thetic statements: Alternative Semantics and Optimality Theory Pragmatics

Broad focus (or informational integration or nonautonomy) is lexically and contextually constrained, but these constraints are not well understood. On a standard theory of focus interpretation, the presupposition of a broad focus is verified whenever those of two narrow foci are. I argue that to account for cases where two narrow foci are preferred, it is necessary to assume that broad focus competes with two narrow foci and implicates the opposite of what they presuppose. Central constraints on thetic statements are thus accounted for in an Optimality Theory (OT) enriched Alternative Semantics.     

The Ramsey Test and Evidential Support Theory

The Ramsey Test is considered to be the default test for the acceptability of indicative conditionals. I will argue that it is incompatible with some of the recent developments in conceptualizing conditionals, namely the growing empirical evidence for the Relevance Hypothesis. According to the hypothesis, one of the necessary conditions of acceptability for an indicative conditional is its antecedent being positively probabilistically relevant for the consequent. The source of the idea is Evidential Support Theory presented in Douven (2008). I will defend the hypothesis against alleged counterexamples, and show that it is supported by growing empirical evidence. Finally, I will present a version of the Ramsey test which incorporates the relevance condition and therefore is consistent with growing empirical evidence for the relevance hypothesis.

     

An experimental study of relative throughput in a multiprocessor computer system

This paper describes the results of controlled experiments with a Honeywell H6000 series multiprocessor computer system, 212 experiments were performed using 14 test workloads on 8 H6000 configurations. The number of processors varied from 1 to 4, system controller units (SCUs) from 1 to 4, and main memory from 256K to 1024K words. The ratio (P) of I/O time and CPU time for the test workloads varied from 0.01 to 5.07. The improvement in throughput is expressed in terms of relative throughput (φ), defined as the ratio of elapsed time for a given test workload on a single-processor configuration to that on a multiprocessor configuration. The relative throughput increased monotonically with an increase in the number of processors for test workloads in the range 0<P<0.4 (CPU-bound) and φ exhibited an asymptotic behaviour for test workloads in the range 0.4<P<5.07 (I/O-bound).     

Embedding Untimed into Timed Process Algebra; the Case for Explicit Termination

In ACP-style process algebra, the interpretation of a constant atomic action combines action execution with termination. In a setting with timing, different forms of termination can be distinguished: some-time termination, termination before the next clock tick, urgent termination, being terminated. In a setting with the silent action τ, we also have silent termination.This leads to problems with the interpretation of atomic actions in timed theories that involve some form of the empty process or some form of the silent action.Reflection on these problems lead to a re-design of basic process algebra, where action execution and termination are separated. Instead of actions as constants, we have action prefix operators. Sequential composition remains a basic operator, and thus we have two basic constants for termination, δ for unsuccessful termination (deadlock) and ∊ for successful termination (skip). We can recover standard process algebras as subtheories of the new theory. The new approach has definite advantages over the standard approach.     

Turing Test Considered Mostly Harmless

Turing’s landmark paper on computing machinery and intelligence is multifaceted and has an underemphasized ethical dimension. Turing’s notion of “intelligence” and “thinking” was far more encompassing than the common anthropocentric view may suggest. We discuss a number of open and underrated problems that the common interpretation of the Turing test as a test of machine intelligence entails. We suggest that a more meaningful question than “Can machines think?” is whether modern computing machinery can amplify human intelligence. We cite examples ranging from traditional silicon-based environments to carbon-based, living organisms in order to illustrate that this kind of intelligence amplification is indeed happening today. We conclude that in its interpretation as a test of machine intelligence, the Turing test may indeed be harmful for artificial intelligence (AI); in its wider interpretation, however, it remains an inspiring source for philosophy and AI alike.     

基于时空关系的在线多笔画手绘折线段曲线识别

基于在线笔画的时空关系对多笔画手绘折线段曲线进行识别,先基于时间间断对笔画序列进行多笔画预处理,然后详细讨论基于空间关系的多笔画手绘折线段的识别问题。将折线段的多笔画识别分为折线段与直线段的多笔画识别和折线段间的多笔画识别。在讨论折线段与折线段间的多笔画绘制时,给出点与折线段及两条折线段间相互位置关系的一系列概念。提出通过两条折线段之间的位置关系和点与折线段的位置关系等进行折线段的多笔画判定,并给出详细的聚类算法。最后通过自主开发的FSR系统对提出的算法加以验证。     

Integrating human observer inferences into robot motion planning

Our goal is to enable robots to produce motion that is suitable for human–robot collaboration and co-existence. Most motion in robotics is purely functional, ideal when the robot is performing a task in isolation. In collaboration, however, the robot’s motion has an observer, watching and interpreting the motion. In this work, we move beyond functional motion, and introduce the notion of an observer into motion planning, so that robots can generate motion that is mindful of how it will be interpreted by a human collaborator. We formalize predictability and legibility as properties of motion that naturally arise from the inferences in opposing directions that the observer makes, drawing on action interpretation theory in psychology. We propose models for these inferences based on the principle of rational action, and derive constrained functional trajectory optimization techniques for planning motion that is predictable or legible. Finally, we present experiments that test our work on novice users, and discuss the remaining challenges in enabling robots to generate such motion online in complex situations.     

Calculi for interaction

Action structures have previously been proposed as an algebra for both the syntax and the semantics of interactive computation. Here, a class of concrete action structures called action calculi is identified, which can serve as a non-linear syntax for a wide variety of models of interactive behaviour. Each action in an action calculus is represented as an assembly of molecules; the syntactic binding of names is the means by which molecules are bound together. A graphical form, action graphs, is used to aid presentation. One action calculus differs from another only in its generators, called controls. Action calculi generalise a previously defined action structure for the -calculus. Several extensions to are given as action calculi, giving essentially the same power as the -calculus. An action calculus is also given for the typed -calculus, and for Petri nets parametrized on their places and transitions. An equational characterization of action calculi is given: each action calculus is the quotient of a term algebra by certain equations. The terms are generated by a set of operators, including those basic to all action structures as well as the controls specific to ; the equations are the basic axioms of action structures together with four additional axiom schemata. Received May 12, 1995 / August 7, 1995     

Land use classification of polarimetric SAR data by visual interpretation and comparison with an automatic procedure

A study is presented in which several representations of polarimetric SAR data were evaluated for the purpose of obtaining land use classification. Two methods comprising visual interpretation and an automatic procedure were used. For the study, fully polarimetric SAR data with a resolution of 3?m were obtained with the Dutch PHARUS sensor from a test area in the Netherlands showing various classes of land use. The land use classes consisted of bare soil, water, grass, urban areas, and forest. The visual inspection was performed by different groups of non-expert interpreters for each representation. It was found that people are quite successful by visual interpretation in performing land use classification using SAR data. Multi-polarized data are required for this purpose, although these data need not be fully polarimetric, since the best results were obtained with the hh- and hv-polarization combinations displayed in the red and green colour channels. The results show that land use classification by visual inspection is more effective than the automatic classification procedure.     

On a rule-based interpretation of default conditionals

In nonmonotonic reasoning, a default conditional α→β has most often been informally interpreted as a defeasible version of a classical conditional, usually the material conditional. There is however an alternative interpretation, in which a default is regarded essentially as a rule, leading from premises to conclusion. In this paper, we present a family of logics, based on this alternative interpretation. A general semantic framework under this rule-based interpretation is developed, and associated proof theories for a family of weak conditional logics is specified. Nonmonotonic inference is easily defined in these logics. Interestingly, the logics presented here are weaker than the commonly-accepted base conditional approach for defeasible reasoning. However, this approach resolves problems that have been associated with previous approaches.      

Generation and selection of likely interpretations during plan recognition in task-oriented consultation systems

This paper presents a mechanism which infers a user's plans from his/her utterances by directing the inference process towards the more likely interpretations of a speaker's statements among many possible interpretations. Our mechanism uses Bayesian theory of probability to assess the likelihood of an interpretation, and it complements this assessment by taking into consideration two aspects of an interpretation: its coherence and its information content. The coherence of an interpretation is determined by the relationships between the different statements in the discourse. The information content of an interpretation is a measure of how well defined the interpretation is in terms of the actions to be performed on the basis of this interpretation. This measure is used to guide the inference process towards interpretations with higher information content. The information content of an interpretation depends on the specificity and the certainty of the inferences in it, where the certainty of an inference depends on the knowledge on which the inference is based. Our mechanism has been developed for use in task-oriented consultation systems. The particular domain that we have chosen for exploration is that of travel booking.     

Software testing using model programs

A strategy described as ‘testing using M model programs’ (abbreviated to ‘M‐mp testing’) is investigated as a practical alternative to software testing based on manual outcome prediction. A model program implements suitably selected parts of the functional specification of the software to be tested. The M‐mp testing strategy requires that M (M ≥ 1) model programs as well as the program under test, P, should be independently developed. P and the M model programs are then subjected to the same test data. Difference analysis is conducted on the outputs and appropriate corrective action is taken. P and the M model programs jointly constitute an approximate test oracle. Both M‐mp testing and manual outcome prediction are subject to the possibility of correlated failure. In general, the suitability of M‐mp testing in a given context will depend on whether building and maintaining model programs is likely to be more cost effective than manually pre‐calculating P's expected outcomes for given test data. In many contexts, M‐mp testing could also facilitate the attainment of higher test adequacy levels than would be possible with manual outcome prediction. A rigorous experiment in an industrial context is described in which M‐mp testing (with M = 1) was used to test algorithmically complex scheduling software. In this case, M‐mp testing turned out to be significantly more cost effective than testing based on manual outcome prediction. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Absolute versus Relative Time in Process Algebras

Timed process algebras are useful tools for the specification and verification of real-time systems. We study the relationships between two of these algebras, I (closed interval process Algebra) and TCCS (temporal CCS), which deal with temporal aspects of concurrent systems by following very different interpretations: durational actions versus durationless actions, absolute time versus relative time, timed functional behavior versus time and functional behavior, local clocks versus global clocks. We show that these different choices are not irreconcilable by presenting simple mappings from I to TCCS which preserve the behavioral equivalences over the two timed calculi. These results hold whenever basic actions are interpreted as either eager or lazy, whenever the starting time of action execution is observed rather than their completion time. A study on the size of the labelled transition systems describing the transitional semantics of cIpa processes and those describing the transitional semantics of their translated versions is also presented.     

线性动态系统反演模型在人体行为识别的应用

目的 人体行为识别在视频监控、环境辅助生活、人机交互和智能驾驶等领域展现出了极其广泛的应用前景。由于目标物体遮挡、视频背景阴影、光照变化、视角变化、多尺度变化、人的衣服和外观变化等问题,使得对视频的处理与分析变得非常困难。为此,本文利用时间序列正反演构造基于张量的线性动态模型,估计模型的参数作为动作序列描述符,构造更加完备的观测矩阵。方法 首先从深度图像提取人体关节点,建立张量形式的人体骨骼正反向序列。然后利用基于张量的线性动态系统和Tucker分解学习参数元组（A_F,A_I,C）,其中C表示人体骨架信息的空间信息,A_F和A_I分别描述正向和反向时间序列的动态性。通过参数元组构造观测矩阵,一个动作就可以表示为观测矩阵的子空间,对应着格拉斯曼流形上的一点。最后通过在格拉斯曼流形上进行字典学习和稀疏编码完成动作识别。结果 实验结果表明,在MSR-Action 3D数据集上,该算法比Eigenjoints算法高13.55%,比局部切从支持向量机（LTBSVM）算法高2.79%,比基于张量的线性动态系统（tLDS）算法高1%。在UT-Kinect数据集上,该算法的行为识别率比LTBSVM算法高5.8%,比tLDS算法高1.3%。结论 通过大量实验评估,验证了基于时间序列正反演构造出来的tLDS模型很好地解决了上述问题,提高了人体动作识别率。