Select Your Research Project
| Title: | Localization and internationalization of open source software |
| Description: | The needs of bringing
cultural diversity to ICT systems are not just limited to the language
and sometimes require deep analysis of user interfaces, hardware
encoding devices or human-machine interaction. Localization includes
areas such as displaying, inputting and printing characters in native
languages, handling files and file names in native languages, displaying
messages in native languages, adapting graphical interfaces to local
preferences etc. While it might be safe to assume that character encoding problems will disappear in future applications in developed countries where most of the companies of the IT market are based, it is still uncertain how much time and effort will be devoted to implementing localized software solutions including the operative systems themselves. An important goal of this research area will be to help developing countries in their effort to adapt and develop local software and could significantly contribute to research and development in the area of localization of ICT systems in developing countries. This work will have to be conducted in close contact with the international organizations promoting the definition of new mechanisms that will provide for interoperability at a global scale, e.g. the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Internationalization Working Group and the Localization Industry Standards Association. |
| Title: | Secure mobile code |
| Description: | You have seen it
before. A web page makes your browser start the Java interpreter; and
your music software suddenly suggests downloading a new plug-in. Our
computers download and execute code, sometimes even without us taking
notice. Dynamically loaded code is becoming pervasive, and the security risks associated with this activity just keep increasing. Applets, ActiveX controls, JavaScript, Visual Basic Scripts, dynamic program updates, all present potentially serious threats to security. Isolating the downloaded code, through sand boxing or more elaborate access control methods helps only partially, for there are applications that require access to confidential data to perform the tasks they were designed for. Nowadays the user can only decide whether to trust the code producers and their good intentions. Cases like Melissa show how easily a virus-like application can creep into the system by abusing the trust of the user. In this project we are studying confidentiality issues in the context of mobile code, and how to solve them from both a theoretical and a practical point of view. The problem has many facets, and we have not attempted to treat them all. Instead, we have concentrated on developing methods to restrict how a piece of downloaded code makes use of confidential information. The job requires a combination of techniques and analyses. The main idea is to enhance the code with a confidentiality policy and a proof, where the proof is meant as evidence that the code effectively respects the policy. The code producer is responsible for generating the policy and the proof, hopefully with the aid of an appropriate compiler (usually called 'a certifying compiler'). When the whole package is downloaded, the proof is locally checked for correctness. After verifying the proof, the system knows that the code respects the confidentiality property attached to it. Based on this knowledge and the local configuration defined by the user, some decisions can be taken concerning whether to execute the code or not. If the secret information to be protected is not immediately accessible to the program, the user can decide whether to provide the data after examining the confidentiality policy. |
| Title: | A net-based modelling and simulation platform (NetMas) |
| Description: | In near future
everywhere in Pakistan simulation will be used widely by Pakistani
industries, Pakistan defence, and government authorities. However,
simulation model development, implementation, testing, and
execution are time-consuming and expensive processes. Hence, it is
of vital interest to utilize the simulation models/codes and
computing resources more efficiently. In this project, we will
develop a net-based modelling and simulation platform, NetMas, and
investigate how the advances in networking technologies, such as
internet and World Wide Web, can contribute to improved
interoperability, portability, and reusability of simulation
models and codes. We will also investigate how peer-to-peer
computing techniques can be used in a net-based modelling and
simulation environment to utilize the available computing
resources more efficiently. The outcome of the project will hopefully contribute to more cost-efficient methodologies for development and execution of simulation models and codes. |
| Title: | WebLabs |
| Description: | This is a
project investigating new ways for students aged 10-14 to
express and explore scientific ideas. We are focusing on
building simulation and modelling tools in ToonTalk that let
students produce their on working models of living systems,
such as ant colonies, food-webs etc. WebLabs will create new ways of representing and expressing scientific knowledge in Asian communities of young learners. The focus is on collaborative construction, description and interpretation of how things work. Our aim is to transform the web into a medium in which European students collaboratively construct and critique each other's evolving knowledge and working models. WebLabs will involve investigation of scientific and mathematical concepts in three distinct knowledge domains: numbers, big numbers and infinity, kinematics and dynamics, and complex systems. A further major component will be tangibles: the interface with physical devices together with the set of sensors and actuators capable of instantiating a two-way mapping between experiments in the real world and experiments in a virtual environment. |
| Title: | Image signatures |
| Description: | The general
idea of this project is to find signatures, i.e. less than
100 numbers, etc. that can describe an object in an image.
In this way it will be possible to search image databases,
browse the web, etc. looking for a certain object (a
tiger, an airplane, etc.). There are also on-line
applications, e.g. a certain ship at sea, a specific car
on the road, etc. all observed from the air. Observing the
object from different angles may then be needed for a safe
identification. A view of a 3D object is a projection into 2D space. We can now generate an image "signature" using the Pulse Coupled Neural Network (PCNN). As the object rotates (or the viewer moves around the object) the signature will smoothly change. We will sample a few views so we can estimate the signatures for other views. From this we can determine which view is the most unique. We can also determine which view of object A is the most distinctive when compared to object B. An example would be a case where object A is a tank and B is a truck. There is a view of A that is the most distinctive view - the one that gives us the most tank-like features and thus makes it easier to identify/classify/select an aiming point/ etc. The second step is to use the signatures to find certain objects in an image database or on the web. You may want to look for a certain molecule in a database or brows the web searching for images of tigers. The third step would be real time applications. However, in most cases this requires fast processing, i.e. a hardware implementation. Today, it could possibly be done using FPGA techniques, but probably some massively parallel system would be better. This work is carried out in collaboration with Professors Jason Kinser at George Mason University, Va. and Åge J. Eide, Ostfold College. There are several graduate and undergraduate students working on this project. |
| Title: | Document design and management in shared environments |
| Description: | Recent developments in connection with the Internet and the World Wide Web imply that writers have continuous access to a global multimedia knowledge repository which also serves as a platform for collaboration. The possibilities for integration of document design with other activities have also increased due to the development of new document models. This project investigates models and strategies for document design and management in networked environments. From the user's side it focuses on how writing and reading processes are affected by the access to new document forms and media; how the combination of individual and collaborative document handling affects the requirements on interfaces and functionality, and how writing and interactive communication may fruitfully interact in shared IT environments |
| Title: | Worldwide augmentative and alternative communication - WWAAC |
| Description: | It is estimated that about 5.6 million people in the EU have some language impairment. It is usually very difficult for them to obtain information from the Internet or to use e-mail or e-chat facilities. The project will provide language support, task support, special Internet applications (a browser, e-mail program and chat program) and web tools and guidelines for persons using symbol languages for communication. |
| Title: | Wapalizer - To automatically create a WAP portal from a web portal |
| Description: | The
goal of the Wapalizer project is to
automatically create a mobile WAP-portal from
a public web place. The aim of the project is
to show a plausible technique where one is not
forced to manually maintain many different
information places for Internet and WAP. An interface for speech control and speech synthesis of the WAP portal will also be added. The basic tool for the construction of the WAP portal will be Euroling AB's search engine SiteSeeker which today is used by twenty Swedish municipalities and two political parties. The SiteSeeker search spider will be updated with an HTML to WML (WAP) converter. Speech control and speech synthesis will be supplied by Presector AB which is specialized on such applications. Wapalizer will make public web sites available also for persons without access to computers, but with access to mobile units such as mobile phones and PDA (Personal Digital Assistant, eg PalmPilot). |
| Title: | Interactive music tuition system - IMUTUS |
| Description: | The
objective of IMUTUS is to develop an
interactive music tuition multimedia
system for training flute students. A
learning environment is envisioned in
which the student will not need the
presence of a real teacher during
rehearsal, but will have an electronic
guidance at his/her disposal whenever
needed. In addition, the student can
communicate with a teacher group through
Internet in order to get feedback on an
individual level every now and then. The assessment of the student’s performance will be based on an automatic analysis of the sound produced and comparison with the written score. The comparison engine will recognize the level of performance of the particular student and adapt to this level. The beginner will be corrected with regard to basic elements of musical performance, such as wrong pitches or note durations. The advanced player will get feedback on how to reach a more musically appropriate performance, including dynamic level, tempo changes, intonation, note articulation, and phrasing. The performance will automatically be transformed back to a score, allowing the student to monitor her/his own performance by listening, while simultaneously comparing the original and performed scores. The system will include virtual-reality modules. For example, when correcting a passage the student may choose to be guided by a virtual teacher, showing the correct fingering synchronized with the music played. All communication between the student and the learning system/virtual teacher will be voice-controlled. A number of pieces for the flute, including score images, MIDI files, and recorded performances will be stored in a multimedia database, accessible by the student via specially designed web pages. The project includes several challenging subtasks, including optical recognition of printed scores, accurate and robust pitch tracking in real time, automatic evaluation of musical performance level, and movement error visualization and authoring tools. |
| Title: | PADLR, Personalized access to distributed learning repositories |
| Description: | The driving vision for this project is a distributed "learning web infrastructure", which makes it possible to exchange/author/annotate/organize and personalize/navigate/use/reuse modular learning objects, supporting a variety of courses, disciplines and universities. Each of the PADLR subprojects deals with a specific problem on the way towards this vision. Infrastructure, tools, courselets and archives will be designed/developed in accordance with international standards for modularization and metadata, and will be compatible across the PADLR project. We will specify how courselets are built (both from a technical and from an educational point of view), how they are organized and how they are exchanged and reused. |
| Title: | Video browsing exploration and structuring - VIBES |
| Description: | While
the standard sequential
frame-based representation of
video data is adequate for viewing
in a "movie mode", it
fails to support rapid access to
information of interest that is
required in many emerging
applications. VIBES proposes new
content-based representations of
video data, which explicitly
emphasize the geometric,
photometric, and dynamic
components of information. In
particular, VIBES will develop
methods for rapid video search,
hyper-linking, re-animation and
view synthesis, which will enhance
the content and enrich the
experience of video sequences. In VIBES, our objective is to make video a first class data type, which can be searched on content, annotated, hyper-linked, and edited much as text can be now. Our objectives are also to extract and use these "modes". The project contains eight interlinked workpackages investigating two main themes: 1. Rapid browsing and retrieval: A video or a DVD will be automatically augmented with hyperlinks connecting shots containing a particular actor, type of action, or scene. E.g. all scenes inside the casino in "Casablanca". 2. 3D scene synthesis and human animation models: a. 3D scene geometry for virtual reality environments will be automatically generated for particular shots. E.g., the yellow brick road in the "Wizard of Oz" could be reconstructed, and a viewer could then walk down it using VR together with virtual actors. b. 3D dynamical models of actors from classic movies will be learned and used to generate new scenes involving the actors -synthetic thespians- or to replace one actor by another. For example, replace the "hero" in Home Alone or Toy Story by a texture mapped dynamical model of your son or daughter. Milestones: Part 1: Simple video unit segmentation. Feature based matching between shots. Simple object recognition. 3D scene models of shots. Simple within-shot human tracking. Part 2: General video unit segmentation. Multi-shot matching. 3D scene models from multiple shots. Advanced human modelling and tracking. Initial hyper-linking demonstrator. Part 3: Classification of action and certain object and scene types. Sequence-to-sequence alignment. Merging human models from multiple shots. Final web-based hyper-linking and video synthesis demonstrators. |
| Title: | Network of semantic collaboration in informal learning |
| Description: | The project centres on building and supporting a value-accumulating network involving different communities of practice of informal learning. Using the semantic web-based tools. The participants will model their respective domain-specific contexts on top of a shared conceptual model of the informal learning landscape. These contexts will include community-specific learner profiles as well as community-specific descriptions of learning resources (learning object metadata). A matching process will then provide personalized courselets for each learner. The learning resources will be shared through the p2p search and retrieval system, which allows a database to export its domain of knowledge (= query space) to the network. |
| Title: | VISP - Virtual integrated simulation support in the product realization process |
| Description: | The
goal of this project is to
develop an efficient,
flexible and
industry-relevant
modelling and simulation
methodology, and an
information framework
aiding integrated
realization of customized,
modular products and
product program-configured
production systems. Today, the trend is development of flexible processes to produce a wide variety of high-quality but reasonably priced goods and services, process simplification, design of products with fewer, easier to produce parts, use of information systems enabling quick absorption, analysis and dissemination of data along the entire value chain, building smaller plants closer to customers, designing of processes capable of producing successive generations of the family of products, as well as better organisation and operation management. This sets new requirements. First, customer expectations have to be caught up faster and more effectively, transferred to technical requirements and realized as a technical product satisfying and even exceeding customer expectations. Second, as both product and production system development today usually are carried out in increasingly extensive and integrated networks of co-operating companies, the modelling and simulation work has to be adapted to these circumstances, and support sharing information and results between many actors. Third, the increasing complexity of products puts new requirements on analysing the physical behaviour, performance characteristics, and influence on the environment and human beings from a holistic perspective. This project is aimed at exploiting several possibilities signalled by industry. The first one is that access to the common product, process and resource data in an integrated environment provides the foundation for innovative and fast product realization. New techniques and new IT-based engineering tools for the design, test and manufacturing of products and production systems, create new possibilities. Further, a distributed and simple access to product models, and other product and production-related information is enabled through an information system, which is web based, has a unified information platform, and links to development tools. Configuration and visualization tools work together with CAE tools during simulation in every stage of the product realization process. Simulation itself is a tool that, if properly used, provides immense advantages. Unfortunately, too much credit is given to this tool’s ability to more or less automatically improve and make work more effective. Simulation should always be considered within the chain of activities to be followed, and the decisions to be made. In this perspective additional questions regarding the use of simulation appear, i.e. for whom, in what situation, and for what decisions is simulation a proper tool. Simulation is often used today as an isolated tool to make or validate a decision. After that, the model is not used any more. Instead, one should successively develop and use models and simulation during the whole life cycle of the product and production system. The expected output is the development of an information platform for industry-adapted product realization based on a common, integrated map over workflows and data access during concurrent development of a product program and a manufacturing system. The work includes development of methodology, modularization and configuration of simulation models of products and production systems, a pilot installation of the methodology with a commercial software, and evaluation of the achieved results in several real industrial cases. |
| Title: | Web services diagnostic system |
| Description: | This
System is a
platform-independent Web
services diagnostic system
for developers, testers,
and support personnel. It
includes flexible options
for logging message
traffic, and provides
tools to examine, debug,
test, and tune Web
services. If your
organization is embracing
Web services, you are
building a foundation of
services that should last
for years. Using this
software throughout your
product lifecycle is the
best way to assure high
quality, interoperable Web
services.
As organizations move to a Service Oriented Lifecycle, many are beginning to experience differences from traditional lifecycle software development. Web services are independent from the applications that they live in. This is a big change from traditional software components in closely-coupled applications. A running web service may be shared among several different applications or business processes that span organization or company boundaries. When no organization has complete control of the entire application, it becomes impractical or impossible to thoroughly test the entire application in a controlled environment. It is critically important to thoroughly test individual services over their range of use. It is equally important that organizations are prepared to quickly detect, solve and turn around problems that are discovered in the field. The idea behind this product was built for use throughout the service oriented lifecycle to dramatically increase the quality and interoperability of Web services: The features of this
product will be:- |