Project : Final Project

Overview

The goal of the project is for you to learn about an aspect of artificial intelligence in greater depth than we have studied during this course. You may choose to write an expository paper, a computer program, or extend a previous assignment:

  • Expository: Research a category of at least four distinct intelligent algorithms and write a report describing each one. Your paper should educate the reader about the systems you have investigated. One method for educating the reader is to illustrate each algorithm by a detailed example. No programming is required.
  • Programming: Implement an intelligent algorithm that has capabilities that none of our assignments this semester have evidenced. You will be required to have one reference work, from which you obtain the algorithm for the system you implement. You will also be required to implement at least two alterations to this algorithm, and perform an empirical comparison between the original algorithm and your altered versions. You will also write a paper describing the algorithm, your alterations, your empirical comparison, and (to the extent that it is possible) a theoretical comparison. Implementations may use any programming language you would like. Ideally, the paper should contain sufficient detail to understand the algorithms implemented without having to look at the source code. It should also contain enough detail to enable any student in the course to replicate the work.
  • Enhanced Assignment: This is a variation of the programming option. You may select any of our assignments from this semester and propose two extensions. You will be required to use one reference work, perform a comparison, and write a paper as described above for the programming option.

References

For your references, you may use books, web pages, or technical papers (available either on-line or through a library). Here are some rules regarding the selection of references:

  • Up to two different chapters from the same book can qualify as distinct references as long as they cover distinct material. They will not qualify if they cover material that is a cumulative sequence.
  • Wikipedia may not be counted as a reference. However, you are encouraged to use Wikipedia to gain an overview of a topic, and to find suggestions for appropriate references.

Here are some suggestions for finding references for topics that may interest you:

  • Look at the Wikipedia article for a given topic, and follow the external links.
  • Search for online technical papers using Google Scholar
  • Go to the library.
  • Visit web pages of research groups that study a given topic.

Project Proposal

In your proposal, describe the project you envision. State the number of references you intend to read and the number of implementations you plan to complete. I expect 1-2 pages.

Progress Report

At this point, you will need to have completed at least one implementation (for implementation projects) and you will need to have selected all of your reference works. If progress is unsatisfactory or some of the references need to be replaced, we can alter the proposal at this time. Your progress report is to be presented orally in class on Tuesday, November 21. It should be composed in PowerPoint or in an equivalent format. It should consist of five slides as follows:

  1. Title slide
  2. Project Goals
  3. Technical Background
  4. Progress to Date a. References selected b. Implementation completed
  5. Plan for project completion

Due to the close proximity to the Thanksgiving break, it is acceptable to record a video of your progress report and send it to Dr. Ferrer.

Final Product

Write a paper as described above. For each reference, at least one page of your paper should discuss and analyze what you learned from the reference. You should also have an introduction and a conclusion. If you did any implementation, you will need to describe that in the paper as well. Total length for an implementation paper should be at least five pages, and for an expository paper total length should be at least ten pages.

During the finals period for the course (8:30-11:30 am Tuesday 12/5), you will give an oral presentation about your project. Include a discussion of each reference as well as a discussion of the results of your implementations. Your presentation should be formal; PowerPoint or the like should be employed. Your presentation should include a title slide and six content slides, and should last no longer than six minutes.

Assessment

  • Level 1
    • Final paper submitted on-time
      • Paper meets length requirement
      • Paper demonstrates a superficial understanding of the topic
    • Final presentation given during the final exam period
  • Level 2
    • Progress report submitted on-time
    • Paper is well-written
      • Coherent and well-organized
      • Clear thesis statement is developed well and supported
      • Paper is largely free of spelling and grammatical errors
      • Paper employs terminology and sentence structure appropriate to the topic
    • All submitted materials conform with all stated requirements above
    • The paper (and implementation, if applicable) demonstrates that you have gained a nontrivial understanding of the topic
  • Level 3
    • The project demonstrates an understanding and mastery of the topic above and beyond the typical expectation for a student in this course