Problem Set #1 Due: in class Wed, 9/18/02BackgroundPart A: Topics of FascinationPart B: Your Intelligent Embedded SystemPart C: Making your Embedded System IntelligentPart D: Researching a Critical Reasoning MethodPart E: A Simple Project For Your Intelligent Embedded SystemMassachusetts Institute of Technology16.412J/6.834J Intelligent Embedded SystemsProblem Set #1 Due: in class Wed, 9/18/02 BackgroundThe purpose of this problem set is twofold. First, it will help me to get asense of what kinds of intelligent embedded systems you are particularlyinterested in, and the types of reasoning methods you would like to learnmore about. Second, it will help you to think about the topic of the advancedlecture you will present, to think about the project you will pursue, and tothink about the advanced reasoning methods you will want to learn tosupport these two objectives.Each of you joins this course with a different background. Some of you willnot know much about the kinds of methods you would like to explore, orwhat methods are available in the research literature. Others will havesomething very specific in mind. Both are equally okay. I simply want tounderstand where your thinking currently lies. If you have difficulty readingthe papers you select for this problem set, don’t worry. The readings shouldbecome much easier as you delve into the technical material of the course.Also note that parts B-E do not commit you to a project; they are thoughtexercises. You will have the first part of the course to think much moreabout your project, as you become informed by a series of basic methodsduring the next ten lectures. The purpose of this question is to get you tothink, from day one, about what you would like to accomplish in this course,and to keep this in mind as you attend future lectures.Finally, please go the extra mile on this exercise. I expect you to push yourthinking, creativity, and literature investigation beyond the obvious.Part A: Topics of FascinationPlease list at least five topics in reasoning applied to embedded systems thatyou would like to learn more about. Please be as specific and as current aspossible. To familiarize your self with the major topics of reasoning, skimover the Russell and Norvig text, looking at the beginning and ends of thechapters. Next use the web to explore advanced aspects of these topics infurther detail. You might want to try sites like www.aaai.org, which includesan archive of AI topics, or the online journal, www.jair.org. These are just afew of the online resources available. You might also want to use the web tofollow the trail of some of the authors referenced by Russell and Norvig.Most authors post their papers on the web.Part B: Your Intelligent Embedded SystemDescribe your dream scenario for an intelligent embedded system you wouldlike to invent. It could be anything that strikes your fancy. For example, itcould be a colony of rovers exploring Mars, an intelligent kitchen that isexpert in the culinary arts, a micro robot navigating space station, a nano-tech mousetrap, or some other clever device. Describe the system, itscomposition, and scenarios in which it would act intelligently.Part C: Making your Embedded System IntelligentPick one form of reasoning that you feel is the most important for makingyour system act capably. Argue why this aspect is particularly important.Describe this capability as precisely as possible. Part D: Researching a Critical Reasoning MethodExplore this form of reasoning in greater detail. Identify two papers on thistopic that were published within the last five years. In addition to the web, Isuggest you familiarize yourself with the LCS (Lab for Computer Science)Reading room, on the first floor of NE43. There should be a range ofjournals and conference proceedings, such as the national conference onartificial intelligence (AAAI), international joint conference on artificialintelligence (IJCAI), conference on AI planning and scheduling (AIPS),journal of machine learning, artificial intelligence journal (AIJ), journal ofartificial intelligence research (JAIR), conference on reasoning aboutuncertainty in AI (UAI), conference on autonomous agents, and a host ofothers.Write a brief critique (~ 2 typed pages) of the two papers, including why youselected them, a summary of their major contributions, how the two papersrelate, how they might apply to the intelligent embedded system introducedin part B, and your assessment of the pros and cons of the two papers.Part E: A Simple Project For Your Intelligent Embedded SystemDescribe a simple, manageable project, which you might pursue at the end ofthe semester. This project should embody the salient features of theembedded system described in Part B, and should demonstrate the reasoningcapability in Part C. How likely is it that you will actually pursue thisproject during this course?The project proposed in this part does not need to be related to your finalproject; this is your choice. Please be as detailed as possible in your projectdescription. Your effort here will help you when you do need to commit to
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