Simulation as an engine of physical scene understanding
In a glance, we can perceive whether a stack of dishes will topple, a branch will support a child’s weight, a grocery bag is poorly packed and liable to tear or crush its contents, or a tool is firmly attached to a table or free to be lifted. Such rapid physical inferences are central to how people...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
2014
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/89115 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1925-2035 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9931-3685 |
| _version_ | 1811082932355334144 |
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| author | Battaglia, Peter W. Hamrick, Jessica B. Tenenbaum, Joshua B. |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences Battaglia, Peter W. Hamrick, Jessica B. Tenenbaum, Joshua B. |
| author_sort | Battaglia, Peter W. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | In a glance, we can perceive whether a stack of dishes will topple, a branch will support a child’s weight, a grocery bag is poorly packed and liable to tear or crush its contents, or a tool is firmly attached to a table or free to be lifted. Such rapid physical inferences are central to how people interact with the world and with each other, yet their computational underpinnings are poorly understood. We propose a model based on an “intuitive physics engine,” a cognitive mechanism similar to computer engines that simulate rich physics in video games and graphics, but that uses approximate, probabilistic simulations to make robust and fast inferences in complex natural scenes where crucial information is unobserved. This single model fits data from five distinct psychophysical tasks, captures several illusions and biases, and explains core aspects of human mental models and common-sense reasoning that are instrumental to how humans understand their everyday world. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T12:14:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/89115 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T12:14:00Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | National Academy of Sciences (U.S.) |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/891152022-10-01T08:44:55Z Simulation as an engine of physical scene understanding Battaglia, Peter W. Hamrick, Jessica B. Tenenbaum, Joshua B. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences Battaglia, Peter W. Hamrick, Jessica B. Tenenbaum, Joshua B. In a glance, we can perceive whether a stack of dishes will topple, a branch will support a child’s weight, a grocery bag is poorly packed and liable to tear or crush its contents, or a tool is firmly attached to a table or free to be lifted. Such rapid physical inferences are central to how people interact with the world and with each other, yet their computational underpinnings are poorly understood. We propose a model based on an “intuitive physics engine,” a cognitive mechanism similar to computer engines that simulate rich physics in video games and graphics, but that uses approximate, probabilistic simulations to make robust and fast inferences in complex natural scenes where crucial information is unobserved. This single model fits data from five distinct psychophysical tasks, captures several illusions and biases, and explains core aspects of human mental models and common-sense reasoning that are instrumental to how humans understand their everyday world. National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (5F32EY019228-02) United States. Office of Naval Research (Grant N00014-09-0124) United States. Office of Naval Research (Grant N00014-07-1-0937) United States. Office of Naval Research (Grant 1015GNA126) QUALCOMM Inc. United States. Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (Grant D10PC20023) 2014-08-29T15:42:04Z 2014-08-29T15:42:04Z 2013-11 2013-04 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 0027-8424 1091-6490 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/89115 Battaglia, P. W., J. B. Hamrick, and J. B. Tenenbaum. “Simulation as an Engine of Physical Scene Understanding.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110, no. 45 (November 5, 2013): 18327–18332. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1925-2035 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9931-3685 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1306572110 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf National Academy of Sciences (U.S.) PNAS |
| spellingShingle | Battaglia, Peter W. Hamrick, Jessica B. Tenenbaum, Joshua B. Simulation as an engine of physical scene understanding |
| title | Simulation as an engine of physical scene understanding |
| title_full | Simulation as an engine of physical scene understanding |
| title_fullStr | Simulation as an engine of physical scene understanding |
| title_full_unstemmed | Simulation as an engine of physical scene understanding |
| title_short | Simulation as an engine of physical scene understanding |
| title_sort | simulation as an engine of physical scene understanding |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/89115 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1925-2035 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9931-3685 |
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