EUFIT '99

ERUDIT Meetings

ERUDIT - LogoThe following is a list of ERUDIT-Meetings related to the EUFIT '99 conference. They are free of charge and open for the public.

September 14, 1999, 13.30 - 15.00 h, Room SFO 2
Presentation of the solutions or the winners of the 3rd International Competition of Data Analysis by Intelligent Techniques: Protecting rivers and streams by monitoring chemical concentrations and algae communities

In 1996 and 1998 ERUDIT organized the first and second international competitions for signal analysis and processing by intelligent techniques. As a result of these very successful competitions, which stimulated much public interest, attracted a growing number of participants and produced a high quality of solutions, a follow took place in 1999. The competition task concerns the environmental problem of determining the state of rivers and streams by monitoring and analyzing a range of measurable chemical concentrations and inferring the biological state such as the density of algae communities. The relationship between the chemical and biological features is complex and can be expected to need the application of advanced techniques. Typical of such real-life problems, the particular data set for the problem contains a mixture of (fuzzy) qualitative variables and numerical measurement values, with much of the data being incomplete. The 1999 competition was organized by ERUDIT in conjunction with the new "Computational Intelligence and Learning" Cluster, which is a cooperation between four EC-funded Networks of Excellence (NoEs): ERUDIT, EvoNet, MLNET and NEuroNet, which was initiated in January 1999. This year the winner is Dirk Devogelaere from the University of Leuven in Belgium. The adjudicating committee found it extremely difficult to select a single runner-up, so they have announced three joint runners-up. They are: Gianluca Bontempi from the Université Libre de Bruxells in Belgium, Ronnie Chan from the SAS Institute in Australia and Luis Torgo from the University of Porto in Portugal.

Programme (please click on the paper title for viewing the paper)

September 14, 1999, 19.00 h - 20.30 h, Room FO 2
ERUDIT General Assembly

Programme

  • Introduction
    Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Hans-Jürgen Zimmermann
  • Roadmap and Status of ERUDIT
    Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Hans-Jürgen Zimmermann
  • Protecting European Rivers and Streams: a Problem of Understanding Environmental Data
    Dr. Neil Cade, Technology Transfer Committee
  • Live on the Web: Diagnosis of Aphasia Using Data Analysis
    Hubertus Axer, Training and Education Committee
  • Activities of the Technical Committee F 'Finance, Trade and Service' and Intelligent Fraud Prevention in the Creditcard Business
    Hanns-Michael Hepp, Co-Chairman of TC F

This meeting is for all Nodes of ERUDIT. This meeting is open for the public and free of charge, but registration is necessary!

September 15, 1999, 10.00 - 11.30 h, Room SFO 2
Making Money out of Software for Intelligent Data Analysis. Workshop on Legal Aspects of Technology Transfer organised by the Technology Transfer Committee (TTC) of ERUDIT

It’s not enough to have a good idea. To be of value to anyone, good ideas and know-how have to be passed on. Protection and Licensing of software related inventions is problem for researchers and software developers in universities and companies alike.

Overview

1. Invited talk

Dr. Springorum, an engineer and German patent attorney who is a specialist in the field of soft computing software protection will give a talk that will be understandable to engineers and computer scientists: Protection and Licensing of Neural Networks, Fuzzy Logic Systems and related Soft Computing Methods under Copyright, Patent and Unfair Competition Law.
Special legal problems on protectability of "Soft Computing" will be discussed under the view of patent law, copyright and unfair competition law.

Abstract:

After the development of an effective software copyright protection during the last 15 years actually we have in Europe a discussion an the patentability of software related inventions under national and European law. The European Commission has announced the draft of a new European directive relating this item in 1999. This action will take place on the background of about 13,000 granted European Patents on such ,software related inventions" most of them held by non European global players from the US or Japan. European companies i.e. small and mid-size but high technology oriented corporations don’t have enough information and legal advice in this important matter. Due to the rapidly developing, ‘high end’ technology of ‘Soft Computing’ some special problems can be identified in the legal area of intellectual property rights including patent law, copyright and last but not least unfair competition law. E.g. may be that the law on copyright offers a sufficient protection for conventional development environments of neural nets, but what about the protection of the kernel Know-How-Components of the designed network itself and the related training methods ?

In addition, the talk will also take a look at the legal problems and opportunities for licensing based on the above mentioned intellectual property rights, especially inside the European Union.

2. Exploitation success stories

Despite the lack of information and the scarcity of sources of reliable advice, new soft computing ideas are being developed and exploited within Europe. Two invited speakers will provide examples from their first hand experiences of taking that step from the good idea to commercial success. These examples should provide encouragement that it is possible to see through the thicket of software law and that the problems of protection and licensing may be less daunting than first thought.

- Brian Kett, neusciences, Southampton: Practical Protection for Small Fish.

Intelligent Data Analysis is a niche market and is served by small businesses and consultancies with special expertise, or in-house teams in larger organisations. This means for independent businesses, a limited earning capacity, and puts constraints on what can be done to protect products, expertise and IPRs. It is especially relevant when 'good ideas' come out of collaborative or funded project work. This talk relates the experience of using both formal and informal ways to protect the 'crown jewels' from competitors and customers.

3. Discussion

The workshop will conclude with an open discussion providing participants with opportunities to comment on the experiences presented, to provide additional examples from their own experiences and to benefit from the collective wisdom of a group with common aspirations.

September 15, 1999, 9.00 - 12.00 h, Room SFO 3
Workshop on Applications in Chemical and Biochemical Industry
organised by the Technical Committee TC A 'Primary and Process Industry'

Introduction to the workshop

Fuzzy logic and other intelligent methods have already found extensive use in chemical and biochemical industries. Applications exist in software sensors, process analysis, control and supervision as well as in process optimisation and design. Intelligent methods are used as stand-alone applications or in complementing conventional methods as hybrid systems. For example, they are solving control problems of reactors and distillation columns and also integrated processes, helping in monitoring slow reactions, especially in bioprocesses, and facilitating the process and product optimisation.

The objectives of this workshop will be:

  • give the state-of-the art
  • view to applications in chemical and biochemical industries
  • show successful case studies
  • discuss methodological development
  • discuss the potential applications in the future.

The workshop is directed to:

  • managers and technicians from chemical and biochemical industries
  • consulting and software companies
  • researchers in the chemical and biochemical industry area.

Programme (please click on the paper title for viewing the paper)

  • 9:00 - 9:30 h
    Application of AI techniques in the Bioprocess Industries
    Gary Montague, University of Newcastle upon Tyne
  • 9:30 - 10:00 h
    Overview of Process Trend Analysis Methods and Applications
    Sauli Kivikunnas, University of Oulu
  • 10:00 - 10:30 h
    Hybrid Models for Fed-batch Bioprocesses; Combining Mass Balances With the Metabolic Network and Black-box Kinetics
    J. A. Roubos, P. Krabben, Robert Babuska, J. J. Heijnen, Henk B.Verbruggen,
    Delft University of Technology
  • 10:30 - 11:00 h
    Coffee Break
  • 11:00 - 11:30 h
    Intelligent Methods in Dosing Control of Water Treatment
    Katja Viirret, Marjatta Piironen, Esko Juuso, Kemira Chemwater,
    University of Oulu
  • 11:30 - 12:00 h
    Application of the ProcessAnalyzer in Chemical Industry
    Torsten Schrötter, Karl Lieven, MIT GmbH
  • 12:00 - 12:30 h
    Discussion

After the workshop the EUFIT '99 conference programme will continue with a special session on chemical and biochemical industry applications.

September 16, 1999, 10.00 - 11.00 h, Room SFO 1
Round Table Discussion on Computational Intelligence in Telecommunication Networks
organised by the Technical Committee D 'Telecommunication'

September 16, 1999, 10.00 - 12.00 h, Room SFO 2
Intelligent Sensors
Workshop organised by the Technical Committee TC B 'Components, Capital and Consumer Goods'

Introduction to the workshop

The success of fuzzy control in the early 1990's led to a vast range of domestic and industrial products (shavers, cameras, washing machines, transportation, car cruise control, smoke detectors, intrusion detectors, cement kiln control, etc.). This success was partly due to the robustness and understandability of the fuzzy approach, and partly due to good engineering in using or creating sensors to measure the appropriate variables. The development of intelligent sensors rests on advances in hardware (measurement technology) and advances in software (processing technology). Proper treatment of uncertainty has a major part to play, in creating intelligent software which can compensate for lower precision in sensors and allow flexible local processing of data.

Artificial olfaction - electronic noses - is a rapidly growing area of intelligent sensing. Applications include monitoring food quality, monitoring air quality and other environmental factors, medical applications, explosive or drug detection, etc.

Programme

  • 10:00 - 11:00 h
    Present and Future of Electronic Noses
    Thierry Talou, Ecole Nationale Superieure de Chimie, ENSCT, Toulouse, France
  • 11:00 - 12:00 h
    Intelligent Sensors and Electronic Noses
    Udo Weimar, University of Tübingen, Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, Germany

Objectives

The workshop aims to give scientists and practitioners from academic, government and industrial institutions the opportunity to learn about this new area and discuss the existing and potential applications of intelligent technologies in artificial olfaction.

September 16, 1999, 13.00 - 16.00 h, Room SFO 2
Future Prospects for Fuzzy Systems in Medicine and Healthcare
Meeting organised by the Technical Committee TC E 'Medicine, Health and Healthcare'

September 16, 1999, 14.00 - 17.00 h, Meeting Point: Registration Desk
Distance Learning: a hands-on lesson in Fuzzy Control
organised by the Training and Education Committee (TED)
presented by Mariagrazia Dotoli, Politecnico di Bari, Italy
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