Courses tagged with "Information environments" (128)
This course is a broad introduction to a host of sensor technologies, illustrated by applications drawn from human-computer interfaces and ubiquitous computing. After extensively reviewing electronics for sensor signal conditioning, the lectures cover the principles and operation of a variety of sensor architectures and modalities, including pressure, strain, displacement, proximity, thermal, electric and magnetic field, optical, acoustic, RF, inertial, and bioelectric. Simple sensor processing algorithms and wired and wireless network standards are also discussed. Students are required to complete written assignments, a set of laboratories, and a final project.
This course will explore the state of the art in common sense knowledge, and class projects will design and build interfaces that can exploit this knowledge to make more usable and helpful interfaces.
This year's theme will be about how common sense knowledge differs in different languages and cultures, and how machine understanding of this knowledge can help increase communication between people, and between people and machines.
6.263J / 16.37J focuses on the fundamentals of data communication networks. One goal is to give some insight into the rationale of why networks are structured the way they are today and to understand the issues facing the designers of next-generation data networks. Much of the course focuses on network algorithms and their performance. Students are expected to have a strong mathematical background and an understanding of probability theory. Topics discussed include: layered network architecture, Link Layer protocols, high-speed packet switching, queueing theory, Local Area Networks, and Wide Area Networking issues, including routing and flow control.
This course introduces the basic computational methods used to understand the cell on a molecular level. It covers subjects such as the sequence alignment algorithms: dynamic programming, hashing, suffix trees, and Gibbs sampling. Furthermore, it focuses on computational approaches to: genetic and physical mapping; genome sequencing, assembly, and annotation; RNA expression and secondary structure; protein structure and folding; and molecular interactions and dynamics.
This course surveys techniques to fabricate and analyze submicron and nanometer structures, with applications. Optical and electron microscopy is reviewed. Additional topics that are covered include: surface characterization, preparation, and measurement techniques, resist technology, optical projection, interferometric, X-ray, ion, and electron lithography; Aqueous, ion, and plasma etching techniques; lift-off and electroplating; and ion implantation. Applications in microelectronics, microphotonics, information storage, and nanotechnology will also be explored.
Acknowledgements
The Instructors would like to thank Bob Barsotti, Bryan Cord, and Ben Wunsch for their work on the Atomic Force Microscope video. They would also like to thank Bryan Cord for creating each video.
This course covers abstractions and implementation techniques for the design of distributed systems. Topics include: server design, network programming, naming, storage systems, security, and fault tolerance. The assigned readings for the course are from current literature. This course is worth 6 Engineering Design Points.
This short course provides an introduction to reactor dynamics including subcritical multiplication, critical operation in absence of thermal feedback effects and effects of Xenon, fuel and moderator temperature, etc. Topics include the derivation of point kinetics and dynamic period equations; techniques for reactor control including signal validation, supervisory algorithms, model-based trajectory tracking, and rule-based control; and an overview of light-water reactor startup. Lectures and demonstrations employ computer simulation and the use of the MIT Research Reactor.
This course is offered during the Independent Activities Period (IAP), which is a special 4-week term at MIT that runs from the first week of January until the end of the month.
6.863 is a laboratory-oriented course on the theory and practice of building computer systems for human language processing, with an emphasis on the linguistic, cognitive, and engineering foundations for understanding their design.
6.630 is an introductory subject on electromagnetics, emphasizing fundamental concepts and applications of Maxwell equations. Topics covered include: polarization, dipole antennas, wireless communications, forces and energy, phase matching, dielectric waveguides and optical fibers, transmission line theory and circuit concepts, antennas, and equivalent principle. Examples deal with electrodynamics, propagation, guidance, and radiation of electromagnetic waves.
This course covers concepts of computation used in analysis of engineering systems. It includes the following topics: data structures, relational database representations of engineering data, algorithms for the solution and optimization of engineering system designs (greedy, dynamic programming, branch and bound, graph algorithms, nonlinear optimization), and introduction to complexity analysis. Object-oriented, efficient implementations of algorithms are emphasized.
The topics covered in this course include interactive proofs, zero-knowledge proofs, zero-knowledge proofs of knowledge, non-interactive zero-knowledge proofs, secure protocols, two-party secure computation, multiparty secure computation, and chosen-ciphertext security.
Wavelets are localized basis functions, good for representing short-time events. The coefficients at each scale are filtered and subsampled to give coefficients at the next scale. This is Mallat's pyramid algorithm for multiresolution, connecting wavelets to filter banks. Wavelets and multiscale algorithms for compression and signal/image processing are developed. Subject is project-based for engineering and scientific applications.
6.831/6.813 examines human-computer interaction in the context of graphical user interfaces. The course covers human capabilities, design principles, prototyping techniques, evaluation techniques, and the implementation of graphical user interfaces. Deliverables include short programming assignments and a semester-long group project. Students taking the graduate version also have readings from current literature and additional assignments.
This course instructs students on how to develop technologies that help people measure and communicate emotion, that respectfully read and that intelligently respond to emotion, and have internal mechanisms inspired by the useful roles emotions play.
The Acoustics of Speech and Hearing is an H-Level graduate course that reviews the physical processes involved in the production, propagation and reception of human speech. Particular attention is paid to how the acoustics and mechanics of the speech and auditory system define what sounds we are capable of producing and what sounds we can sense. Areas of discussion include:
- the acoustic cues used in determining the direction of a sound source,
- the acoustic and mechanical mechanisms involved in speech production and
- the acoustic and mechanical mechanism used to transduce and analyze sounds in the ear.
