Abstract: Building a forecast for an autonomous agent at least comprises assigning a selected parameter of the autonomous agent to a scalar variable, adding a new policy to a set of policies where the new policy maps internal states of the autonomous agent to actions of the autonomous agent in which the mapping may optimize the scalar variable, and adding a new forecast to a set of forecasts where the forecast at least comprises a prediction regarding future values of the scalar variable following execution of the new policy, regardless whether the agent ever actually chooses to take actions in accordance with said new policy. A state of the autonomous agent may be evaluated following completion of each of the agent's actions by comparing the agent's state information with the predicted values of one or more forecasts. Whether to build an additional forecast may be determined based on the evaluation.

Abstract: The invention is an electronic, voice-controlled musical instrument. It is in essence an electronic kazoo. The player hums into the mouthpiece, and the device imitates the sound of a musical instrument whose pitch and volume change in response to the player's voice. The player is given the impression of playing the actual instrument and controlling it intimately with the fine nuances of his voice. The instrument can in principle be any music-producing sound source: a trumpet, trombone, clarinet, flute, piano, electric guitar, voice, whistle, even a chorus of voices, i.e. virtually any source of sound. In its simplest configuration, the instrument resembles a kind of horn. However, the shape and appearance of the instrument can be fashioned by the manufacture to match the sound of any traditional instrument, if desired; or its shape can be completely novel.