Abstract:
Before GPS devices were as popular as they are now, traveling to a new city generally involved preliminary planning tracing a route on a map. Depending on how detailed and accurate the map was, the traveler could trace routes that fit his needs, went through desired checkpoints, prioritize highways, or take the shortest foreseeable path. In a similar manner, informed search algorithms use approximated information about the search space to optimize the speed of finding a path from one point to another. In this talk we will build on the logic of uninformed search strategies to describe how we can incorporate heuristics into a search algorithm and learn about one of the most popular informed search algorithms called A* (A-star). This talk is part of the course content for CS 440 Artificial Intelligence.
Bio:
Neftali Watkinson is a PhD graduate from the University of California, Irvine. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher exploring practical applications of Hyperdimensional Computing. His passion for teaching and excellence in research has been recognized by the Fulbright fellowship, the Innovation in ICS award, the Miguel Velez fellowship award and the Latino Excellence and Achievement Award. He has participated in different projects, including a work of art displayed at the Venice Biennale 2019. Neftali's commitment to his students has been evident through his pedagogical research and multiple undergraduate research projects. He also co-designed an undergraduate course on practical learning on Edge Computing applications.
Faculty host: Marco Morales