David Hyde receives $1.6 million NSF grant to develop open-source software platform for ‘physical intelligence’

David Hyde, assistant professor of computer science in Vanderbilt University’s College of Connected Computing and a member of the Institute for Software Integrated Systems, has received a $1.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation to develop an open-source software platform for “physical intelligence.”

The platform, called COSTA (Community Open Simulation, Training, and Applications), will combine physics simulation algorithms with artificial intelligence to support advances in robotics, autonomous vehicles, industrial design, and cinematic special effects. Over the three-year project, Hyde and his collaborators will build the platform, establish a community governance structure, and host events such as workshops and hackathons to grow a sustainable user base.

Hyde is leading the effort with co-investigators Bo Zhu of Georgia Tech, Joseph Teran of UC Davis, and Ron Fedkiw of Stanford. The team previously contributed to PhysBAM, a simulation library used in Hollywood films including Star Wars and Frozen.

Funding comes from NSF’s Community Infrastructure for Research in Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CIRC) program, with additional support from Vanderbilt’s Research Development & Support.

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