Carles Sierra

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Carles Sierra
Artificial Intelligence Research
Institute-CSIC Campus UAB (http//www.iiia.csic.es
)
www.agreement-technologies.org
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Mission

• Mission
• To carry out very high quality research in AI
  keeping a good balance between basic research and
  applications, and paying particular attention to
  training PhD students and to technology transfer.

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Research Strategy

• Focus the efforts on subdomains of AI (avoid
  dispersion)
• Favour projects that involve synergistic
  collaboration among the 3 IIIA departments and
  with external groups
• Establish strong links with other leading
  national and foreign groups
• Favour projects that involve challenging
  application domains (medicine, tourism, music,
  e-commerce, etc.)
• Pay special attention to technology transfer
  opportunities including promoting spin-off
  companies
• Favour participation in PhD programmes of local
  universities

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Personnel (as of February 2008)

• Permanent full-time scientists 18
• Ramon y Cajal contract scientists 3
• Juan de la Cierva contract scientists 1
• Postdocs 1
• PhD students 23
• Contract RD engineers (UDT) 4
• Administrative staff 5
• Technical staff 2
• TOTAL 57

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Competitive Research Projects (since 2000)

• European Projects 8 (total) 2 (ongoing)
• National Plan (Spain) 21 (total) 7
  (ongoing)
• CENIT 1 (ongoing)
• CONSOLIDER 2 (ongoing)
• Regional (Catalan Govt.) 1
  (ongoing)
• Australian Research Agency 1 (ongoing)
• Nets of Excellence 3 (finished)
• EUREKA/PROFIT 1 (finished)
• Spain-USA Fulbright programme 1 (finished)
• USA National Bureau of Census 2 (finished)
• UNESCO Intergov. CS Programme 1 (finished)
• A total of 42 (16 international) projects
  amounting to more than 9 milion

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Technology Transfer and Industrial Contracts
(since 2000)

• AI Music
• ROLAND Electronics
• CBR Systems
• TECNIUM Eng. (design of chemical absorption
  plants)
• VF Corporation (Market demand prediction)
  (through UDT)
• E-business (Multi-Agent System)
• AUTEC (Girona), several fish exchange-markets
  (through UDT)
• Others (European Projects-related transfer)
• PHILIPS, COGNITECH (Paris), CRI (Copenhaguen),
  STARLAB (Brussels),
• MAZARS Consulting, OMT (through UDT)

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Technology Transfer and Industrial Contracts
(other)

• spin offs
• ISOCO (QUOTES Decision Support System for
  e-procurement)
• Aceralia, Gas Natural, Gallina Blanca, Sharp
  Codorniu, Leche Pascual, Sumasa (La Caixa),
  Danone, Damm, Pastas Gallo
• 2005 National Computer Science Prize for
  innovation
• MusicStrands Inc. (music recommender, music
  discoverer)
• Unidad de Desarrollo Tecnológico (UDT)
• (with partial support of the IT Network of the
  Generalitat de Catalunya)

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Departments at the IIIA

• Three departments
• Logic, Reasoning and Search
• Learning Systems Case-Based Reasoning
• Multi-Agent Systems

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Current LRS Research Lines

• Logic, Reasoning and Search

• Fuzzy logic, approximate reasoning and soft
  computing logical foundations and applications
  to rule-based reasoning, case-based reasoning,
  autonomous agents, privacy in SDB.
• Automated deduction algorithmic issues and
• applications to reasoning models
• Constraint satisfaction and search algorithmic
  issues and applications to planning,
  job-shop scheduling.

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Current Research Lines at the IIIA

• Logic, Reasoning and Search
• Case-Based Reasoning Learning

• Integrating knowledge modelling, case-based
  reasoning and inductive methods
• (development of Noos representation language)
• Inductive Learning
• Learning in Multiagent Systems
• Learning Graphical Models
• (TAN models)
• Distributed CBR
• Explanations in CBR
• Applications to intrusion detection, e-commerce,
  medicine,
• toxicology prediction, music, robotics,
• data mining for sales forecast.

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Generating Expressive Music (SaxEx Project)
All of me
Inexpressive Input phrase
Happy
SaxEx
Sad
Affective value
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Current MAS Research Lines
Electronic Institutions Auctions Negotiation/Ar
gumentation Trust Context Aware Personal
Agents Recommender systems Applications to
E-Commerce Fish auctions (MASFIT project)
e-procurement (in coll. with iSOCO)
Autonomous Robots Navigation Music
recommendation (in coll. with MyStrands)

• Logic, Reasoning and Search
• Learning Systems CBR
• Multi-Agent Systems

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Research Lines at the IIIA

• Logic, Reasoning and Search
• Learning Systems CBR
• Autonomous Robots

3X
CBR applied to Robocup
Landmark-based navigation and mapping for
Autonomous Robots in non-structured environments
(CBR and MAS techniques). Applications to
exploration (In collaboration with
IRII)
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E-markets (MASFIT project)
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E-markets (MASFIT project)
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Wrap-up

• Premier AI group in Spain with high world-wide
  recognition
• We have published several highly cited papers
  (over 1400 citations in the last 5 years)
• We have been awarded a total of 12 international
  awards (Best Papers, software competitions), 7 of
  them during the last 5 years
• Several IIIA scientists are in editorial boards
  of more than 20 international journals
• Several IIIA scientists have been (or are)
  General Chair or Conference Chair or PC Chair of
  the top AI Conferences (IJCAI, ECAI, AAMAS, ECML,
  UAI, ICCBR, CP, FUZZY-IEEE, ECSQUARU, etc.)
• Several IIIA scientists have been or are members
  of leading collegiate bodies (IJCAI Boad of
  Trustees, ECCAI Board, IFMAS, AA, EUMAS, EUSFLAT)
• 4 out of the 6 Spanish ECCAI Fellows are from the
  IIIA
• High scientific production
• We produce approx. the 25 of the Spanish AI
  publications in top journals and conferences (we
  are approx the 7 of the total Spanish manpower
  in AI)

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Additional information in

• http//www.iiia.csic.es

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UDT Projects
iForecast. Sales forecasting. Sales analysis.
MASFIT. Fish Market with computer agents (demo)
WIM. Web Information Mediator
TMS. Touring Management System
MusicStrands. Recommendation system (demo)
WEBi2 (EIDE). Engineering Intelligent Distributed applications (demo) ENP. Electronic Negotiation Platform (e-auctions) e-CAS. Combinatorial Auction Solver e-CATS. Combinatorial Auction with Transformation Solver (demo)
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Budget (in K )
Total Budget (2000-2004) 8.27 Milion (approx
10 M) Total external funding 3.02 Milion
(approx 3.6 M) Total Salaries 4.01 Milion
(approx 4.8 M) Total ordinary budget 0.57
Milion (approx 0.7 M) Total investments 0.67
Milion (approx 0.8 M)
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Publications
-Total (1985-1999) 539 -Total (2000-2004) 389
(151 in journals) -Average (2000-2004) 2.59
publications/person x year -7 Awards at
international conferences (best papers, software
competitions)
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Technology Transfer and Industrial Contracts (I)

• MILORD (Expert Systems Shell for diagnosis
  classification)
• Fuzzy Logik Systeme GmbH (Germany)
• DIGITAL EUROPE (France)
• SIEMENS (Germany)
• Wastewater treatement plant of Manresa (Spain)
• IFR S.A. (Spain) (Farm management)
• Medical applications based on MILORD
• PNEUMON-IA (Pneumonia diagnosis Expert System)
• Hospital La Alianza Mataronina (Spain) and
  Hospital of Vroclaw (Poland).
• RENOIR (Reumathology diagnosis expert system)
• General Hospital of Castellón (Spain)
• Improvement of Decision Tree Learning algorithms
• ISOFT (France), INGENIA (France)