EAGER: Mechanical Symmetry and the Origins of Language

这个奖项的研究目标是探索这样一个假设，即机械对称性支配着所有自然和构建语言的进化、产生和理解。最初的工作将集中在分析书面阿拉伯数字的机械对称性。一项初步研究已经表明，这些数字构成了二十个字符中的九个，这些字符在数字时钟使用的规范的七段投影空间中表示时，直到仿射变换都是唯一的。这项研究将扩展到使用源自机器人学和运动神经科学领域的手写产生模型来考虑数字生成和感知的对称性。如果成功，这项研究的结果可能最终改变科学家和工程师对语言的思考方式，通过建立一组共同的机械特性，所有口语、书写或手写字母都必须共享，以便更容易地产生和理解。这组属性可以允许系统地构建未被说、写或签名的新语言，例如以使得能够通过脑机接口中的神经传感器进行通信。它还可能应用于语音治疗、自然语言处理以及学习障碍的诊断和治疗，如诵读困难。这些研究目标与更广泛的从K到博士的教育和推广计划相一致，该计划将整合系统工程和神经科学，并将针对参与多学科教育和研究的代表不足的学生。

The research objective of this award is to explore the hypothesis that mechanical symmetry governs the evolution, production, and comprehension of all natural and constructed language. Initial work will focus on an analysis of mechanical symmetry in written Arabic numerals. A preliminary study has already shown that these numerals constitute nine of twenty characters that are unique up to affine transformation when represented in the canonical seven-segment projective space used by a digital clock. This study will be extended to consider symmetry in the generation as well as perception of numerals using a model of handwriting production derived from the fields of robotics and motor neuroscience.If successful, the results of this research may ultimately transform the way scientists and engineers think about language by establishing a common set of mechanical properties that all spoken, written, or signed alphabets must share in order to be easily produced and comprehended. This set of properties may allow the systematic construction of new languages that are not spoken, written, or signed, for example to enable communication through neural sensors in a brain- machine interface. It may also have application to speech therapy, to natural language processing, and to diagnosis and treatment of learning disabilities like dyslexia. These research goals are aligned with a broader K-to-PhD education and outreach plan that will integrate systems engineering and neuroscience and will target underrepresented students for involvement in multi-disciplinary education and research.