Download ICT219 Intelligent Systems Unit Information

ICT219
Intelligent Systems
Unit Information
Semester 2, 2007
Unit coordinator
Dr. Graham Mann
School of Information Technology
Room: ECL 2.061
Phone: 9360 7270
Email: [email protected]
© Published by Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, 2007.
Originally written by Graham Mann, 2005
Revised by Graham Mann July, 2007
This publication is copyright. Except as permitted by the Copyright Act no part of it may in
any form or by any electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or any other means be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or be broadcast or transmitted without the prior
written permission of the publisher.
CONTENTS
UNIT INFORMATION
ONE
TWO
THREE
Introduction
Resources for the unit
Assessment
1
6
9
Intelligent Systems
ICT219
Unit Information
This information should be read in conjunction with the
online learning materials which can be found on
your MyUnits page.
ONE
Introduction
Unit overview
Welcome to Intelligent Systems. This unit offers an introduction to the fundamental concepts,
techniques and applications of intelligent systems in a relatively new approach, called
nouvelle game AI. Computer games are a popular pastime and represent an ever-growing
proportion of the software market. The practical need for intelligence in game software - in
particular to the creation of non-player-characters which react to objects, events and situations
in a realistic, lifelike manner - motivates our study of the theory and practice of artificial
intelligence (AI), the uses of which extend far beyond games. Topics included are:
introduction to artificial intelligence and applications; the nouvelle game AI approach; robots,
agents and artificial life; reflective and reactive agents; state machines; problem
representation and problem solving strategies; knowledge representation schemes; machine
learning; rule-based systems; neural computing; fuzzy logic; genetic algorithms.
Prerequisites
You will need to have completed B104 Principles of Computer Science. A knowledge of C or
C++ program will important, as there is little time in the unit for teaching of this specific skill.
Some online tutorials are offered to students who feel the need to strengthen their
programming skill.
Aims and objectives
The broad aims of this unit are to introduce:
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To understand artificial intelligence history and basic concepts
To understand the role of AI in computer games and the nouvelle game AI
approach in comparison to other approaches
To be able to define and describe agents, animats and discuss intelligent
behaviour in general terms
To understand basic theory of and be able to program state machines
To understand basic theory of and be able to program rule-based systems
To understand basic theory of and be able to program fuzzy systems
To understand basic theory of and be able to use machine learning
techniques such as artificial neural networks and evolutionary computation
ICT219 Unit Information 1
 To be able to apply these the methods in computer game scenarios
 To be able to integrate these techniques in hybrid systems
Learning objectives
On successful completion of the unit you should:
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be familiar with important artificial intelligence theory and terms
including agents, artificial life, reactive and reflective behaviour, expert
systems, the representation of knowledge, sensors and actuators in robots
and simulations, game platforms and their uses, the constraints imposed by
game performance on AI methods, etc.
be familiar with the basic programming principles for agents and animats,
become aware of the current scope and limitations of AI
understand the basics of game software development, especially as it
applies to the use of AI
recognise the importance of representation and search in problem solving,
know how to use off-the-shelf intelligence modules, including rule-based
systems, artificial neural networks, fuzzy logic systems and evolutionary
systems to control the behaviour of a game non-player character,
know the various strengths and weaknesses of these techniques,
Graduate Attributes
This unit will contribute to the development of the following Graduate Attributes:
1. Information and Communications Technology Skills
2. Problem solving.
Unit coordinator
Your coordinator for ICT219 is
Dr. Graham Mann. Graham
studied at the University of
Western Australia (psychology)
and the University of New South
Wales (artificial intelligence). He
teaches artificial intelligence and
human computer interaction at
Murdoch University. His current
research interests include robotics
and Mars mission simulations.
2 ICT219 Unit Information
Contact details
Email: [email protected]
Room: ECL 2.061
Tel: (08) 9360 7270 Fax: (08) 9360 2941
or, if not available, contact the IT Secretary, Rosie Price
Email: [email protected]
Room: ECL 3.037
Tel: (08) 9360 6120 Fax: (08) 9360 2941
Administrative contact
Mrs. Kuan Lim
Divisional Executive Officer
Tel: (08) 9360 2890 Fax: (08) 9310 2994
Tutor
You will be notified of your tutor at the beginning of the unit.
Please write your tutor’s name and contact details here.
How to study this unit
The following topics are covered:
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Artificial intelligence, games and the nouvelle AI approach
Reactive & reflective agents; game development and game platforms; FEAR; Quake
2, a simple FPS game; GunTactyx, a programming warrior robot teams
Sensing and moving; Obstacle avoidance; reactive animat; problem solving; search
Controlling behaviour using state machines
Knowledge representation; rule-based systems; a rule-based animat
Machine learning; neural networks neural animat
Fuzzy logic, fuzzy animat
Evolutionary and genetic algorithms; Genetic animat
Learning activities
On-campus students (D enrolments)
ICT219 Unit Information 3
There is one two-hour lecture and one two-hour laboratory per week. Consultations with staff
members will also be available. You will probably need to spend further time in the
laboratory or on a home machine to complete the lab exercises and programming assignment.
The programming assignment, in particular, can be demanding, and students are advised to
begin this work as soon as it is released. Consult the unit website for times and locations of
classes. You should sign up for your lab on sheets which will be posted in the laboratory
during Week 1. You will be informed of your laboratory timeslot by week 2.
Off-campus students (X enrolments)
Off-campus students must download the unit materials from the website and study these in
their own time. It is important for off-campus students to set up their computers with the
necessary software early in the semester, in order to be ready for the exercises (see link
on the unit website). It’s also important to try to keep up with the weekly material and
readings, so as not allow study to build up to a point where it is difficult to catch up. Your
tutor can help you study during the semester. X mode enrolment students will be informed by
mail. All students will be able to email or telephone their tutors to get individual help with
study and lab work.
Attendance
On-campus students are expected to attend and participate in the lectures and laboratory
sessions and attendance records may be kept for statistics, but attendance itself is not
assessed. Off-campus students may sometimes attend lectures and laboratory sessions, but are
reminded that the number of machines in laboratories is limited, and a machine may not
always be free for them to use.
Technical Help
For problems with the lab computers, contact the IT Services Help Desk:
[email protected] or phone 9360 2000. Make sure you are clear about
your question or the nature of your problem before emailing (eg write down the exact error
message you are getting) - the help desk is very busy and cannot spend much time on nonspecific enquires.
Unit updates
Based on experience with the unit in previous year and in consultation with tutors and
students, the unit has been changed to incorporate new, more up-to-date material on gaming
technology and the history of computer games. In addition the order of some of the AI
techniques has been reorganised to better reflect their relative importance for game
development. Finally a new, simpler programming game platform called GunTactyx will be
trialled for some laboratory sessions and a possible project option in future.
4 ICT219 Unit Information
Unit timetable
Week
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Topic Content
Games, AI and AI in games. A
brief history of computer games
and artificial intelligence
Reactive & reflective agents; game
development and game platforms;
FEAR; a simple FPS game
Obstacle avoidance; a reactive
animat; problems solving; search
State machines; control of animats
by states
One Week Break
Emotive states; an emotive animat
Knowledge representation; rulebased systems; a rule-based animat
The project; Game development;
AI methodology and evaluation
One Week Break
Machine learning; neural networks
Neural networks; a neural net
animat
Evolutionary programming and
genetic algorithms
A genetic animat
Revision and Exam Preparation
Due Dates
Labs for Weeks 2 - 7 due 28th Sept.
Project due 26th Oct.
Labs for Weeks 8-11 due 2nd Nov.
ICT219 Unit Information 5
TWO
Resources for the unit
Unit materials
To undertake study in this unit, you will need:
Essential
textbook
Champandard, A.J. AI Game Development. New Riders Publishing, 2004.
ISBN: 1-5927-3004-3.
Other
references
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Buckely, J.J., and Feuring, T., Fuzzy and Neural: Interactions and
Applications, Physica-Verlag, 1999.
Kartalopoulos, S.V., Understanding Neural Networks and Fuzzy Logic:
Basic Concepts and Applications, IEEE Press, 1996.
Negnevitsky, M., Artificial Intelligence: A Guide to Intelligent Systems,
Addison Wesley, Pearson Education Limited, 2002.
Rubin, S. (Ed.) AI Game Programming Wisdom. Charles River Media,
2002.
Rubin, S. (Ed.) AI Game Programming Wisdom 2. Charles River Media,
2004.
Russell, S. and Norvig, P. Artificial Intelligence - A Modern Approach.
Prentice Hall, 2003.
6 ICT219 Unit Information
Online
Resources
The WebCT login page for online access to this unit is at
http://online.murdoch.edu.au/
The Unit Welcome Page can be accessed from your MyUnits page.
http://online.murdoch.edu.au/public/ICT219/
External Studies Guide
http://external.murdoch.edu.au/support/index.html
Library
resources
There are 539 books in the Murdoch Library catalogue on the subject of
artificial intelligence, from introductory works to detailed studies of particular
techniques. Students are encouraged to make time to look these over for
topics of interest. Only a few will mention AI in connection with modernstyle computer games - that is a relatively new topic. Most are around the
Dewey numbers 006.3 or 001.535.
You may also care to look into some academic journals about intelligent
systems, such as AI Magazine, IEEE Intelligent Systems, Intelligence and the
Journal of Automated Reasoning.
On the subject of computer games there are 340 library books, including some
quite recent titles, about design, programming as well as psychosocial and
economic aspects of the industry. There are also a number of periodicals on
this subject, such as the conservative International Computer Games
Association Journal and the online Journal of Media and Culture, which is
easy to access on via the web.
Electronic Course Material & Reserve info
http://prospero.murdoch.edu.au/search~S1/
Past exam papers are available from the library website at
https://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/exams/i.html
Computing resources
On-campus students (D enrolments)
ICT219 Unit Information 7
Students on campus will be using one of the School of IT's undergraduate computer
laboratories. For this semester's location, please check the unit website.
Off-campus students (X enrolments)
Students working off campus will need to equip themselves with the right hardware and
software for the exercises. The AI game software in the unit runs on the School of IT's student
lab computers which are IBM-type machines running Windows XP. The software may run on
earlier versions of Windows such as Windows 2000, but this is not guaranteed. The software,
which consists of a Visual Studio 6.0 C++ compiler, Quake II engine, FEAR platform,
Guntactyx platform and other software will be provided to you by CD-ROM and/or by
download via the unit website. Instructions on how to set up your machine will also be
provided.
It is the student's responsibility to provide themselves with the needed computer resources.
Every effort will be made to help students get up and running, but there is a limit to what can
be done over email and the telephone. It is strongly recommended that students begin
installation as soon as the software is made available. Although the software package has
been successfully installed on a good number of common machines in the past, it is not
possible to guarantee that all of the software would run on any home computer.
8 ICT219 Unit Information
THREE
Assessment
Assessment components
You will be assessed by project, practical exercises and a final examination:
Assignment
Description
Value
Due Date
Assignment
Programming, analysis and
written submission
35%
Lab work
Short analysis and report
15%
26th Oct., 2007
28th Sept, 2007;
2nd Nov., 2007
Examination
Essay Response Questions
50%
To be arranged
Assessment details
Laboratory Exercises
There are eleven laboratory exercises to be completed during the semester as follows:
Week
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Topic Content
No lab.
Setup & familiarisation with
Quake II, FEAR, Visual C++
Setup & familiarisation with Guntactyx;
obstacle detection and avoidance
State-driven simple reactive animat
One Week Break
State-driven emotional animat
Development methodology; planning for
the project
Rule-based animat
One week break
The Java NN Simulator
Neural network-based animat
ICT219 Unit Information 9
10
11
12
GAs & the Travelling Salesman Problem
Genetic animat
No lab
Details of labs will be available from the unit website during the semester. Off campus
students should mail packets of completed lab sessions (hard copy plus any disks required) to
their tutor via the External Studies Office by the two due dates.
Project
The project will involve the design, implementation and behavioural evaluation of an AIdriven game character, or animat, with documentation, using one or more of the methods
described in the unit. The marking will be such that students can get a Pass or Credit if they
make a reasonable effort at documenting and implementing a solution to a problem at the
level of the laboratory exercises ie. targeting, emotional behaviour, seeking or fleeing, etc. To
obtain a Distinction or High Distinction, students will need to show some extra creativity and
innovation in your choice of a problem and solution. Marks will be allotted according to the
following components of the task:
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Written Report (Choice of problem, Quality of analysis, Clarity of report)
Design - (AI-related, Innovation of solution)
Implementation (Quality of code, Comments and documentation)
Performance on the Challenges (Observations of behaviour and code operation)
Details of the assignment will be made available to students during the semester (watch the
unit website).
Final examination
The final examination will be a three-hour paper covering all aspects of the unit. The exam
will consist of about five essay-style questions which, in general, cannot be answered by
quoting verbatim from the textbook, but which require an understanding of the material
covered during the unit. You will be advised about the format of the examination and
provided with tips for preparation during the revision lecture. Past exam papers are available
from the University library at https://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/exams/i.html.
The University requires that all students sitting end-of-semester examinations (including
those held off-campus) must show their Murdoch University Student Card for identification
purposes. NO OTHER FORM OF IDENTIFICATION WILL BE ACCEPTED.
Students may inspect their marked examination scripts and discuss the marking with the Unit
Coordinator within 14 days of the posting of results (Degree Regulation 43).
For further information about examinations, refer to http://www.murdoch.edu.au/oss/exams
10 ICT219 Unit Information
Assignment submission
A professional standard of presentation of written work is expected from all students. Written
work must be typed or word processed, printed on A4 paper and the pages stapled together.
CDROMs containing code should be labelled with the student's name and student ID (use a
felt-tipped pen or put it into a envelope). The pages and disks must be enclosed in a plastic
envelope. A fully filled-in and signed assignment attachment sheet MUST form the first page
of every submission. There are different sheets for off-campus students. Assignment
attachment sheets may be downloaded from the unit website. Marks may be lost if these
presentation requirements are not met.
On-campus students (D enrolments)
Submit completed assignments by 3:00pm on the due date to the School of IT Secretary in
ECL3.037. It is acceptable to physically mail your assignment, but ensure that it arrives by
the due date, or late penalties may apply. The address is School of IT Secretary, Murdoch
University, South Street, Murdoch, WA 6150.
Off-campus students (X enrolments)
Off-campus students must submit their work via the External Studies Office. Assignments
and tutorials should be submitted by post. Lab work may be submitted by email if it does not
require many or large code file attachments (if so, please put onto CD-ROM and physically
post them with a printed submission). Do not separate sections and send parts by email and
others by mail. If emailed, do not also send in your hard copy. Should there be problems with
the receipt of either emailed assignments the sender will be informed. It is essential to keep
copies of all work submitted, in case of accidental loss or misaddressing, etc.
Each submission of work should be accompanied by the correct assignment attachment sheet
with all sections completed. Assignments submitted without the attachments will not be
processed. Students often forget to complete their name and address details. This is most
important, as assignments are returned in window-faced envelopes. It is recommended that
you keep a supply of assignment attachments on hand. Please ask if you require a further
supply of assignment attachments.
SUBMISSION OF ASSIGNMENTS BY EMAIL
The address for submission of assignments by email is: [email protected]
Note: all assignments submitted by email must include an electronic assignment
attachment. Please do not alter the size or shape of this document. When you fill in your
details please ensure that you enter the name of your tutor. This enables the assignment to be
forwarded immediately. The declaration can be completed using italics.
ICT219 Unit Information 11
Electronic assignment attachments may be downloaded from:
http://external.murdoch.edu.au/offcampus.html
Attached documents must follow a standard naming convention. For example:
p-atkinson-ict219-pr.doc
 For the first part of the filename use initial-surname
 Then unit code
 Then whatever assignment number was specified in your study guide (or an abbreviation
– eg pr for project report)
 Give code attachments a clear name with a proper extension.
Further information on the submission of assignments by email can be found at:
http://external.murdoch.edu.au/offcampus.html
Extensions
If you believe that you will be unable to submit a piece of assessment by the due date you
must request, in writing, an extension at least one week before the due date from the unit
coordinator. A good reason must be documented such as illness with a doctor's certificate..
You may use a Request for Extension form which can be downloaded from the unit website.
Unless you have specific approval for an extension, overdue work may have 5 percent
deducted per day late.
Please note that the final deadline for submission of all unit work is fixed at the Friday
of Week 13. Extensions beyond this deadline date can be granted only in exceptional
circumstances in accordance with the deferred assessment procedures in Degree Regulation
46, which may be found in the University Handbook.
Backup copies
It is the student's responsibility to keep a copy of all project and laboratory work. This is in
any event good computing practice. Extensions may not be granted due to problems of
computer systems and loss of data due to disk corruption, loss of work, etc. Queries
about project and practical exercises grades should be directed to your tutor in the first
instance.
Determination of the final grade
In order to pass this unit, normally students must achieve satisfactory performance (at least
50%) in each of the examination, the project, and the practical submissions, as well as in the
final mark. The rationale for this is that the proper study of intelligent systems should
combine theoretical understanding with its application demonstrated in practical knowledge
12 ICT219 Unit Information
and skill. Where a student is unable to comply with these requirements, the unit coordinator
shall have the discretion to offer suitable alternative arrangements.
The marks are combined as a weighted sum into a final mark out of 100. A letter grade is
assigned for each individual piece of work, and for the unit as a whole.
The nominal ranges for the various letter grades are as follows:
Notation
Grade
Percentage Range
HD
D
C
P
N
S
High Distinction
Distinction
Credit
Pass
Fail
Supplementary Assessment
80 – 100
70 – 79
60 – 69
50 – 59
Below 50
45 – 49*
*The award of the grade of S shall be at the discretion of the Unit Coordinator.
University policy on assessment
Assessment for this unit is in accordance with the provisions of Degree
regulations 40–48. Check these in the current Murdoch University Handbook and
Calendar or http://www.murdoch.edu.au/admin/legsln/regs/bachelor.html#assessment
Assessment roles and responsibilities
Please refer to the University Policy on Rights and Responsibilities of Students
and Staff http://www.murdoch.edu.au/admin/policies/assessment.html#8
Academic Integrity
Murdoch University encourages its students and staff to pursue the highest
standards of integrity in all academic activity. Academic integrity involves
behaving ethically and honestly in scholarship and relies on respect for others’
ideas through proper acknowledgement and referencing of publications.
Lack of academic integrity, including the examples listed below, can lead to
serious penalties.
Find out more about how to reference properly and avoid plagiarism at:
http://www.murdoch.edu.au/teach/plagiarism
ICT219 Unit Information 13
Plagiarism
Inappropriate or inadequate acknowledgement of original
work including:
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Material copied word for word without any
acknowledgement of its source
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Material paraphrased without appropriate
acknowledgement of its source

Images, designs, experimental results, computer code etc
used or adapted without acknowledgement of the source.
Ghost writing
An assignment written by a third party and represented by a
student as her or his own work.
Collusion
Material copied from another student’s assignment with her
or his knowledge.
Purloining
Material copied from another student’s assignment or work
without that person’s knowledge.
Adapted from Section 9.3 of the Assessment Policy, Plagiarism and Collusion
http://www.murdoch.edu.au/admin/policies/assessmentlinks.html#9.
Plagiarism-checking software
The University uses software called Turnitin which checks for plagiarism. The
Coordinator may have added a link to Turnitin in your online unit. Please note
that when you or your Unit Coordinator submit assignments electronically to
Turnitin, a copy of your work is retained on the database to check collusion and
future plagiarism. The University has a legal agreement with Turnitin that it will
not share or reproduce student work in any form.
Non-discriminatory language
Please refer to:
http://www.murdoch.edu.au/teach/studyat/non_disc.html
14 ICT219 Unit Information
Conscientious objection in teaching and assessment
(This relates to an objection based on an individual’s deep moral conviction of what is right
and wrong)
For guidelines on conscientious objection, see
http://www.murdoch.edu.au/vco/secretariat/admin/gdelines/consciobj.html
IEEE WA Section University Student Award
A prize of $250 is offered by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers WA Section
for the best student performance in this unit. The recipient will receive this prize during the
Division of Arts Award Ceremony which is usually held in early March (before the
Graduation Ceremony). The name of the prize is recorded on the student's academic
transcript.
This award is for the best project work submitted by a student of the unit ICT219 Intelligent
Systems, subject to the following condition:

The winner of this award has to achieve an overall grade for the unit of at least a
Credit or above.
ICT219 Unit Information 15