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Solving Problems in Robotics and Sensor Networks with Algebraic Topology

posted by n1 on Tuesday July 07 2015, @05:55AM   
from the a-taurus-is-not-a-torus-but-it-can-make-donuts-in-a-car-park dept.

hellcat writes:

Topology isn't for everyone, but knowing the difference between your coffee cup and a doughnut is an essential workplace skill.

However, algebraic topology may be closer to us than you think. Drones, self-driving cars, and semi-autonomous AI are going to need it. And if you code, you're going to have to understand it. A little.

Unconventional mathematician Robert Ghrist rejects his field's "hippie aesthetic" in favor of suits and ties, loves medieval literature, reversed the usual way of teaching calculus in his popular MOOC, and is using one of mathematics' most abstract disciplines—algebraic topology—to solve real-world problems in robotics and sensor networks.

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Original Submission

• More examples (Score: 2, Interesting) by khallow on Tuesday July 07 2015, @07:32PM

  by khallow (3766) on Tuesday July 07 2015, @07:32PM (#206202) Journal

  The classic example of applying algebraic topology to control systems are cue sports [wikipedia.org] like pool or billiards. There, you want to hit certain balls in certain directions and setup for the next move of the game. But you can only consider striking the first ball along certain trajectories (with considerable control flexibility from applying spin and hopping the struck cue ball). These trajectories are discrete precisely due to the presence of obstacles (usually other cue balls) and the reflective boundaries of the table.

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