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This paper considers the flight dynamics of the ball in the sport of pickleball. Various simplifications are introduced according to the features of the game. These simplifications and some approximations enable straightforward coding to…
A Stokes experiment for foams is proposed. It consists in a two-dimensional flow of a foam, confined between a water subphase and a top plate, around a fixed circular obstacle. We present systematic measurements of the drag exerted by the…
Inverse reinforcement learning (IRL) algorithms often rely on (forward) reinforcement learning or planning, over a given time horizon, to compute an approximately optimal policy for a hypothesized reward function; they then match this…
As Evolutionary Dynamics moves from the realm of theory into application, algorithms are needed to move beyond simple models. Yet few such methods exist in the literature. Ecological and physiological factors are known to be central to…
Developments in reinforcement learning (RL) have allowed algorithms to achieve impressive performance in highly complex, but largely static problems. In contrast, biological learning seems to value efficiency of adaptation to a…
Algorithms for continuous optimization problems have a rich history of design and innovation over the past several decades, in which mathematical analysis of their convergence and complexity properties plays a central role. Besides their…
Humans are able to outperform robots in terms of robustness, versatility, and learning of new tasks in a wide variety of movements. We hypothesize that highly nonlinear muscle dynamics play a large role in providing inherent stability,…
Many real-world systems problems require reasoning about the long term consequences of actions taken to configure and manage the system. These problems with delayed and often sequentially aggregated reward, are often inherently…
Fish swim by undulating their bodies. These propulsive motions require coordinated shape changes of a body that interacts with its fluid environment, but the specific shape coordination that leads to robust turning and swimming motions…
We use the Minority Game and some of its variants to show how efficiency depends on learning in models of agents competing for limited resources. Exact results from statistical physics give a clear understanding of the phenomenology, and…
Lower bounds for the factors entering the standard notions of shear and torsion stiffness for a linearly elastic rod are established in a new and simple way. The proofs are based on the following criterion to identify the stiffness…
The study is devoted to mathematical modeling and optimal control design of longitudinal motions of a rectilinear elastic rod. The control inputs are a force, which is normal to the cross section and distributed piecewise constantly along…
Fluid dynamics, and flight in particular, is a domain where organisms challenge our understanding of its physics. Integrating the current knowledge of animal flight, we propose to revisit the use of live animals to study physical phenomena.…
In this paper, we present a comprehensive, in-depth survey of the literature on reinforcement learning approaches to decision optimization problems in a typical ridesharing system. Papers on the topics of rideshare matching, vehicle…
The history of structural optimization as an exact science begins possibly with the celebrated Lagrange problem: to find a curve which by its revolution about an axis in its plane determines the rod of greatest efficiency. The Lagrange…
We study experimentally a a three-dimensional reduced model of a sail shape performing pitching oscillations around a mean incidence angle ($\alpha_{m}$) with respect to an incoming flow in a hydrodynamic channel at a constant velocity…
We discuss the physics and modeling of latex-rubber slingshots. The goal is to get accurate speed predictions inspite of the significant real world difficulties of force drift, force hysteresis, rubber ageing, and the very non- linear,…
Animals learn to adapt speed of their movements to their capabilities and the environment they observe. Mobile robots should also demonstrate this ability to trade-off aggressiveness and safety for efficiently accomplishing tasks. The aim…
A quick and fun investigation into the effects of correcting for wind assistance/resistance and drag on 100m sprint performances. Considered are World 100m rankings, as well as Canadian rankings
Wind-induced response governs the design of the long-span bridges. The shape of the deck is one of the most important factors that not only affects the mechanical properties but greatly influences the aerodynamic performance of the bridge.…