Learning to Play Video Games with Intuitive Physics Priors

Video game playing is an extremely structured domain where algorithmic decision-making can be tested without adverse real-world consequences. While prevailing methods rely on image inputs to avoid the problem of hand-crafting state space representations, this approach systematically diverges from the way humans actually learn to play games. In this paper, we design object-based input representations that generalize well across a number of video games. Using these representations, we evaluate an agent's ability to learn games similar to an infant - with limited world experience, employing simple inductive biases derived from intuitive representations of physics from the real world. Using such biases, we construct an object category representation to be used by a Q-learning algorithm and assess how well it learns to play multiple games based on observed object affordances. Our results suggest that a human-like object interaction setup capably learns to play several video games, and demonstrates superior generalizability, particularly for unfamiliar objects. Further exploring such methods will allow machines to learn in a human-centric way, thus incorporating more human-like learning benefits.

Using Learnable Physics for Real-Time Exercise Form Recommendations

Good posture and form are essential for safe and productive exercising. Even in gym settings, trainers may not be readily available for feedback. Rehabilitation therapies and fitness workouts can thus benefit from recommender systems that provide real-time evaluation. In this paper, we present an algorithmic pipeline that can diagnose problems in exercise techniques and offer corrective recommendations, with high sensitivity and specificity in real-time. We use MediaPipe for pose recognition, count repetitions using peak-prominence detection, and use a learnable physics simulator to track motion evolution for each exercise. A test video is diagnosed based on deviations from the prototypical learned motion using statistical learning. The system is evaluated on six full and upper body exercises. These real-time recommendations, counseled via low-cost equipment like smartphones, will allow exercisers to rectify potential mistakes making self-practice feasible while reducing the risk of workout injuries.