14014109
Dynamic Goal Hierarchies
In this paper we introduce and formalise dynamic goal hierarchies. We begin with a formal definition of goals, according to which they are rational desires. In particular, we require that an agent's goals are coherent; that is, that the agent believes that each goal is jointly realisable with all of the goals which the agent considers to be more important. Thus an agent's goals form a hierarchy, and new goals are defined with reference to it. We then show how preferential entailment can be used to formalise the rational revision of goals and goal hierarchies.
14446666
Awareness, Negation and Logical Omniscience
General Epistemic Logics suffer from the problem of logical omniscience, which is that an agent's knowledge and beliefs are closed under implication. There have been many attempts to solve the problem of logical omniscience. However, according to our intuition, sometimes an agent's knowledge and beliefs are indeed closed under implication. Based on the notion of awareness, we introduce two kinds of negations: general negation and strong negation. Moreover, four kinds of implications, general implication, strong implication, weak implication, and semi-strong implication, are introduced to correspond with the two kinds of negations. In our logics of regular awareness, explicit beliefs are not necessarily closed under general implication, which means that agents are not logically omniscient. However, explicit beliefs are closed under strong implication and semi-strong implication, which captures an intuitive closure property of beliefs.
18313204
A taxonomy of web agents
We propose a taxonomy of Web agents, which encompasses agents that provide a text-based interface to, for example, information retrieval services as well as avatar-embodied guides that help visitors to navigate in virtual environments. Our taxonomy must be regarded as an instrument to delineate targets for research and the realization of prototype applications that demonstrate the usefulness of agent-based intelligence on the Web. In addition, we deploy our agent-taxonomy to establish the implications particular target applications have with respect to software architecture and computational resources.
11486065
Implementation of a scripting language for VRML/X3D-based embodied agents
Embodied agents or humanoid avatars may effectively be used to communicate with human users. Currently there is a wide range of specification formalisms and scripting languages for embodied agents, many of which are of a somewhat ad hoc nature lacking clear semantics. In this paper, we discuss the implementation of a scripting language for humanoid avatars in VRML/X3D-based environments. The scripting language STEP is based on dynamic logic, which provides a clear semantics for complex behavioral patterns. Moreover, the implementation of STEP is realized in a platform that extends VRML/X3D with distributed logic programming (DLP), which provides the computational support necessary to realize such complex behavioral patterns as well as the interaction with a (rich media) 3D environment. As an application example, we will discuss the development of an instructional VR for Tai Chi (the Chinese art of movement), illustrating how our approach allows for the creation of reusable libraries of behavioral patterns. We will discuss some implementation issues, in particular how to realize parallel actions and synchronization within an environment.
1948717
Reusable Gestures for Interactive Web Agents
In this paper we present an approach to define reusable gestures for embodied web agents, given according to the H-anim standard for VRML. We identify the dimensions to compare gestures and criteria to circumscribe a set of gestures an avatar should be endowed with. Based on these dimensions and criteria, we propose a uniform way to define a wide range of gestures that may be adapted to particular circumstances and personal style. We have implemented our gesture library in STEP, which is a scripting language for humanoids based on dynamic logic. We will discuss the example of conducting music, to explain our approach to the parameterized definition and control of gestures. We conclude by briefly discussing issues for future research.
171830
Inconsistencies, Negations and Changes in Ontologies
Ontology management and maintenance are considered cornerstone issues in current Semantic Web applications in which semantic integration and ontological reasoning play a fundamental role. The ability to deal with inconsistency and to accommodate change is of utmost importance in real-world applications of ontological reasoning and management, wherein the need for expressing negated assertions also arises naturally. For this purpose, precise, formal definitions of the the different types of inconsistency and negation in ontologies are required. Unfortunately, ontology languages based on Description Logics (DLs) do not provide enough expressive power to represent axiom negations. Furthermore, there is no single, well-accepted notion of inconsistency and negation in the Semantic Web community, due to the lack of a common and solid foundational framework. In this paper, we propose a general framework accounting for inconsistency, negation and change in ontologies. Different levels of negation and inconsistency in DL-based ontologies are distinguished. We demonstrate how this framework can provide a foundation for reasoning with and management of dynamic ontologies.
8291104
An enhanced framework for real-time hair animation
Maximizing visual effect is a major problem in real-time animation. A real-time hair animation framework was proposed previously by C. K. Koh and Z. Huang (2000, 2001) based on 2D representation and texture mapping. One problem is that it lacks of the volumetric effect due to its 2D nature. This paper presents a technique using the U-shape strip to solve the problem.
26245064
Feature-guided painterly image rendering
Non-photo-realistic rendering (NPR) refers to any technique which can produce a non-photo-realistic image. We present a method for automatically generating a stroke-based painting from a digital image. The rendering process generates rectangular brush strokes with suitable location, orientation and size. Inspired by the real painting process, where a painter always observes the distinctive features and decides the shape and orientation of the stroke, we apply techniques of image moment functions and texture analysis, from which features are extracted and used to guide the stroke generation. Techniques are also developed for dynamic determination of cropped image size and edge enhancement. The main features in the source image are well preserved.
1637377
XSTEP: a markup language for embodied agents
In this paper we propose an XML-based markup language. called XSTEP for embodied agents, based on the scripting language STEP. XSTEP is the XML-based successor of STEP. The scripting language STEP incorporates the formal semantics of dynamic logic, and has been implemented in the distributed logic programming language DLP, a tool for the implementation of 3D Web agents. In this paper we discuss the issues of markup language design for embodied agents and several aspects of the implementation and application of XSTEP.
32544015
Belief revision for adaptive negotiation agents
Existing negotiation agents are primitive in terms of what they can learn and how responsive they are towards the changing negotiation contexts. These weaknesses can be alleviated if an expressive representation language is used to represent negotiation contexts and a sound inference mechanism is applied to reason about the preferential changes arising in these negotiation contexts. This paper illustrates a novel adaptive negotiation agent model, which is underpinned by the well-known AGM belief revision logic. Our preliminary experiments show that the performance of the belief-based adaptive negotiation agents is promising.
33359596
A framework to customize a face model for reusing animation
We propose a framework to customize a face model for reusing animation. In this framework, two orthogonal photos of a human face are used as input. Based on them, a set of feature points is manually selected. Then, the existing face model will be adapted for both the geometry and muscle model underneath. We formulate it as a nonlinear optimization problem and apply the Levenberg-Marquardt method for the solution. We can get the result instantly. The result is a new animation-ready model with the same look as the two photos. Applying the previous motion specification to this model, we can reuse the animation. Our initial results demonstrate that our approach is effective.