- Date & Time: Wednesday, December 9, 2020; 1:00-5:00PM EST
Location: Virtual
MERL Contacts: Elizabeth Phillips; Anthony Vetro
Research Areas: Applied Physics, Artificial Intelligence, Communications, Computational Sensing, Computer Vision, Control, Data Analytics, Dynamical Systems, Electric Systems, Electronic and Photonic Devices, Machine Learning, Multi-Physical Modeling, Optimization, Robotics, Signal Processing, Speech & Audio
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- Date: November 16, 2020
MERL Contacts: Devesh K. Jha; Daniel N. Nikovski; Diego Romeres
Research Areas: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Robotics
Brief - MERL researchers, in collaboration with researchers from MELCO and the Department of Brain and Cognitive Science at MIT, have released simulation software Circular Maze Environment (CME). This system could be used as a new benchmark for evaluating different control and robot learning algorithms. The control objective in this system is to tip and the tilt the maze so as to drive one (or multiple) marble(s) to the innermost ring of the circular maze. Although the system is very intuitive for humans to control, it is very challenging for artificial intelligence agents to learn efficiently. It poses several challenges for both model-based as well as model-free methods, due to its non-smooth dynamics, long planning horizon, and non-linear dynamics. The released Python package provides the simulation environment for the circular maze, where movement of multiple marbles could be simulated simultaneously. The package also provides a trajectory optimization algorithm to design a model-based controller in simulation.
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- Date: October 15, 2018 - October 19, 2018
Where: CEATEC'18, Makuhari Messe, Tokyo
MERL Contacts: Devesh K. Jha; Daniel N. Nikovski; Diego Romeres; William S. Yerazunis
Research Areas: Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision, Data Analytics, Robotics
Brief - MERL's work on robot learning algorithms was demonstrated at CEATEC'18, Japan's largest IT and electronics exhibition and conference held annually at Makuhari Messe near Tokyo. A team of researchers from the Data Analytics Group at MERL and the Artificial Intelligence Department of the Information Technology Center (ITC) of MELCO presented an interactive demonstration of a model-based artificial intelligence algorithm that learns how to control equipment autonomously. The algorithm developed at MERL constructs models of mechanical equipment through repeated trial and error, and then learns control policies based on these models. The demonstration used a circular maze, where the objective is to drive a ball to the center of the maze by tipping and tilting the maze, a task that is difficult even for humans; approximately half of the CEATEC'18 visitors who tried to steer the ball by means of a joystick could not bring it to the center of the maze within one minute. In contrast, MERL's algorithm successfully learned how to drive the ball to the goal within ten seconds without the need for human programming. The demo was at the entrance of MELCO's booth at CEATEC'18, inviting visitors to learn more about MELCO's many other AI technologies on display, and was seen by an estimated more than 50,000 visitors over the five days of the expo.
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- Date & Time: Thursday, November 29, 2018; 4-6pm
Location: 201 Broadway, 8th floor, Cambridge, MA
MERL Contacts: Elizabeth Phillips; Anthony Vetro
Research Areas: Applied Physics, Artificial Intelligence, Communications, Computational Sensing, Computer Vision, Control, Data Analytics, Dynamical Systems, Electric Systems, Electronic and Photonic Devices, Machine Learning, Multi-Physical Modeling, Optimization, Robotics, Signal Processing, Speech & Audio
Brief - Snacks, demos, science: On Thursday 11/29, Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs (MERL) will host an open house for graduate+ students interested in internships, post-docs, and research scientist positions. The event will be held from 4-6pm and will feature demos & short presentations in our main areas of research including artificial intelligence, robotics, computer vision, speech processing, optimization, machine learning, data analytics, signal processing, communications, sensing, control and dynamical systems, as well as multi-physyical modeling and electronic devices. MERL is a high impact publication-oriented research lab with very extensive internship and university collaboration programs. Most internships lead to publication; many of our interns and staff have gone on to notable careers at MERL and in academia. Come mix with our researchers, see our state of the art technologies, and learn about our research opportunities. Dress code: casual, with resumes.
Pre-registration for the event is strongly encouraged:
merlopenhouse.eventbrite.com
Current internship and employment openings:
www.merl.com/internship/openings
www.merl.com/employment/employment
Information about working at MERL:
www.merl.com/employment.
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- Date: February 14, 2018
Where: Tokyo, Japan
MERL Contacts: Devesh K. Jha; Daniel N. Nikovski; Diego Romeres; William S. Yerazunis
Research Areas: Optimization, Computer Vision
Brief - New technology for model-based AI learning for equipment control was demonstrated by MERL researchers at a recent press release event in Tokyo. The AI learning method constructs predictive models of the equipment through repeated trial and error, and then learns control rules based on these models. The new technology is expected to significantly reduce the cost and time needed to develop control programs in the future. Please see the link below for the full text of the Mitsubishi Electric press release.
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- Date & Time: Thursday, November 30, 2017; 4-6pm
Location: 201 Broadway, 8th floor, Cambridge, MA
MERL Contacts: Elizabeth Phillips; Anthony Vetro Brief - Snacks, demos, science: On Thursday 11/30, Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs (MERL) will host an open house for graduate+ students interested in internships, post-docs, and research scientist positions. The event will be held from 4-6pm and will feature demos & short presentations in our main areas of research: algorithms, multimedia, electronics, communications, computer vision, speech processing, optimization, machine learning, data analytics, mechatronics, dynamics, control, and robotics. MERL is a high impact publication-oriented research lab with very extensive internship and university collaboration programs. Most internships lead to publication; many of our interns and staff have gone on to notable careers at MERL and in academia. Come mix with our researchers, see our state of the art technologies, and learn about our research opportunities. Dress code: casual, with resumes.
Pre-registration for the event is strongly encouraged:
https://merlopenhouse2.eventbrite.com/
Current internship and employment openings:
http://www.merl.com/internship/openings
http://www.merl.com/employment/employment.
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- Date: July 30, 2006
Where: ACM SIGGRAPH Brief - The papers "Cartoon Dioramas in Motion" by Raskar, R., Ziegler, R. and Willwacher, T., "Non-photorealistic Camera: Depth Edge Detection and Stylized Rendering Using Multi-flash Imaging" by Raskar, R., Feris, R., Yu, J. and Turk, M., "RFIG Lamps: Interacting with a Self-Describing World via Photosensing Wireless Tags and Projectors" by Raskar, R., Beardsley, P., van Baar, J., Wang, Y., Dietz, P., Lee, J., Leigh, D. and Willwacher, T., "Designing with Distance Fields" by Frisken, S.F. and Perry, R.N., "An Improved Representation for Stroke-based Fonts" by Jakubiak, E.J., Perry, R.N. and Frisken, S.F., "iLamps: Geometrically Aware and Self-configuring Projectors" by Raskar, R., van Baar, J., Beardsley, P., Willwacher, T., Rao, S. and Forlines, C. and "Natural Video Matting using Camera Arrays" by Joshi, N., Matusik, W. and Avidan, S. were presented at ACM SIGGRAPH.
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- Date: November 17, 2005
Where: Computer Vision for Interactive and Intelligent Environment (CVIIE)
Research Area: Computer Vision
Brief - The paper "Tags are Coming: Exploiting Photosensing Wireless Tags for Assisting Geometric Procedures" by Raskar, R., Beardsley, P., Dietz, P. and van Baar, J. was presented at Computer Vision for Interactive and Intelligent Environment (CVIIE).
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- Date: October 23, 2005
Where: ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST)
MERL Contact: William S. Yerazunis Brief - The papers "DTLens: Multi-user Tabletop Spatial Data Exploration" by Forlines, C. and Shen, C., "Zoom-and-Pick: Facilitating Visual Zooming and Precision Pointing with Interactive Handheld Projectors" by Forlines, C., Balakrishnan, R., Beardsley, P., van Baar, J. and Raskar, R. and "DT Controls: Adding Identity to Physical Interfaces" by Dietz, P.H., Harsham, B., Forlines, C., Leigh, D., Yerazunis, W., Shipman, S., Schmidt-Nielsen, B. and Ryall, K. were presented at the ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST).
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- Date: September 15, 2005
Where: Communications of the ACM
Research Area: Computer Vision
Brief - The article "Photosensing Wireless Tags for Geometric Procedures" by Raskar, R., Beardsley, P., Dietz, P. and van Baar, J. was published in Communications of the ACM.
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- Date: June 20, 2005
Where: IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR)
MERL Contact: Matthew Brand Brief - The papers "A Direct Method for 3D Factorization of Nonrigid Motion Observed in 2D" by Brand, M., "Integral Histogram: A Fast Way to Extract Histograms in Cartesian Spaces" by Porikli, F., "Why I Want a Gradient Camera" by Tumblin, J., Agrawal, A. and Raskar, R., "Videoshop: A New Framework for Spatio-Temporal Video Editing in Gradient Domain" by Wang, H., Xu, N., Raskar, R. and Ahuja, N. and "Handheld Projectors for Mixing Physical and Digital Textures" by Beardsley, P., Forlines, C., Raskar, R. and van Baar, J. were presented at the IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR).
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- Date: May 22, 2005
Where: Society for Information Displays International Symposium (SID)
Research Area: Computer Vision
Brief - The paper "Low-Cost Multi-Projector Curved Screen Displays" by Raskar, R. and van Baar, J. was presented at the Society for Information Displays International Symposium (SID).
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- Date: January 17, 2005
Where: IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications
Research Area: Computer Vision
Brief - The articles "Interaction Using a Handheld Projector" by Beardsley, P., van Baar, J., Raskar, R. and Forlines, C. and "Harnessing Real-World Depth Edges with Multiflash Imaging" by Tan, K.-H., Feris, R.S., Turk, M., Kobler, J., Yu, J. and Raskar, R. were published in IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications.
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- Date: November 30, 2004
Where: International Conference on Artificial Reality and Telexistence (ICAT)
Research Area: Computer Vision
Brief - The paper "Flexible Calibration of Multiple Projectors for Low-Cost Curved SAcreen Displays" by van Baar, J. and Raskar, R. was presented at the International Conference on Artificial Reality and Telexistence (ICAT).
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- Date: August 30, 2004
Where: Eurographics
Research Area: Computer Vision
Brief - The paper "Quadric Transfer for Immersive Curved Screen Displays" by Raskar, R., van Baar, J., Willwacher, T. and Rao, S. was presented at Eurographics.
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- Date: August 8, 2004
Where: ACM SIGGRAPH
Research Area: Computer Vision
Brief - The papers "3D TV: A Scalable System for Real-Time Acquisition, Transmission and Autostereoscopic Display of Dynamic Scenes" by Matusik, W. and Pfister, H., "RFIG Lamps: Interacting with a Self-Describing World via Photosensing Wireless Tags and Projectors" by Raskar, R., Beardsley, P., van Baar, J., Wang, Y., Dietz, P.H., Lee, J., Leigh, D. and Willwacher, T. and "Non-photorealistic Camera: Depth Edge Detection and Stylized Rendering Using Multi-Flash Imaging" by Raskar, R., Tan, K.-H., Feris, R., Yu, J. and Turk, M. were presented at ACM SIGGRAPH.
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- Date: May 25, 2004
Where: International Working Conference on Advanced Visual Interfaces (AVI)
Research Area: Computer Vision
Brief - The paper "Multi-Projectors and Implicit Interaction in Persuasive Public Displays" by Dietz, P.H., Raskar, R., Mihelic-Booth, S., van Baar, J., Wittenburg, K.B. and Knep, B. was presented at the International Working Conference on Advanced Visual Interfaces (AVI).
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- Date: May 23, 2004
Where: Society for Information Displays International Symposium (SID)
Research Area: Computer Vision
Brief - The paper "Display Grid: Ad-hoc Clusters of Autonomous Projectors" by Raskar, R., van Baar, J. and Beardsley, P. was presented at the Society for Information Displays International Symposium (SID).
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- Date: October 26, 2003
Where: NSF Workshop on Collaborative Virtual Reality and Visualization (CVRV)
MERL Contact: William S. Yerazunis
Research Area: Machine Learning
Brief - The paper "Intelligent Clusters and Collaborative Projector-based Displays" by Raskar, R., van Baar, J., Beardsley, P.A., Forlines, C., Dietz, P.H., Esenther, A.W., Leigh, D.L., Ryall, K., Shen, C., Shipman, S.E. and Yerazunis, W.S. was presented at the NSF Workshop on Collaborative Virtual Reality and Visualization (CVRV).
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- Date: September 15, 2003
Where: Forum on Information Technology
Research Area: Computer Vision
Brief - The paper "An Experimental Prototype of Multiple Projectors Display System for Visual Systems" by Wada, H., Ogata, M., van Baar, J. and Raskar, R. was presented at the Forum on Information Technology.
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- Date: July 26, 2003
Where: ACM Transactions on Graphics (TOG)
MERL Contact: Matthew Brand Brief - The articles "iLamps: Geometrically Aware and Self-Configuring Projectors" by Raskar, R., van Baar, J., Beardsley, P.A., Willwacher, T., Rao, S. and Forlines, C. and "A Data-Driven Reflectance Model" by Matusik, W., Pfister, H., Brand, M.E. and McMillan, L. were published in ACM Transactions on Graphics (TOG).
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- Date: May 22, 2003
Where: Eurographics Workshop on Virtual Environments (EGVE)
Research Area: Computer Vision
Brief - The paper "Seamless Multi-Projector Display on Curved Screens" by van Baar, J., Willwacher, T., Rao, S. and Raskar, R. was presented at the Eurographics Workshop on Virtual Environments (EGVE).
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- Date: September 30, 2002
Where: IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics
Research Area: Computer Vision
Brief - The article "EWA Splatting" by Zwicker, M., Pfister, H., van Baar, J. and Gross, M. was published in IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics.
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- Date: January 22, 2002
Where: Asian Conference on Computer Vision (ACCV)
Research Area: Computer Vision
Brief - The paper "A Low-Cost Projector Mosaic with Fast Registration" by Raskar, R., van Baar, J. and Chai, J.X. was presented at the Asian Conference on Computer Vision (ACCV).
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- Date: October 21, 2001
Where: IEEE Visualization
Research Area: Computer Vision
Brief - The paper "EWA Volume Splatting" by Zwicker, M., Pfister, H., van Baar, J. and Gross, M. was presented at IEEE Visualization.
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