[news.announce.conferences] Short Course: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence

itrctor@csri.toronto.edu (Ron Riesenbach) (07/09/89)

I N F O R M A T I O N   T E C H N O L O G Y   R E S E A R C H   C E N T R E

                                 Presents
                         A Five-day Short Course:


I n t r o d u c t i o n   t o   A r t i f i c i a l   I n t e l l i g e n c e

                       from expert systems to robot vision


                    by:
                    Russell Greiner and Evangelos Milios
                    Department of Computer Science
                    University of Toronto


                    University of Toronto
                    St. George Campus
                    July 31st - August 4th, 1989



Motivation

     In the recent years, Artificial Intelligence (AI)  research  has  spun
off a number of sophisticated engineering techniques which are now having a
dramatic impact on commercial services and products.  Exploitation of  this
new  technology by Canadian industry can only be effective when key techni-
cal and management professionals are familiar with the essential theory and
concepts of the field.  In today's competitive information technology mark-
etplace, the ability to evaluate existing technologies and choose appropri-
ate future development strategies is central to a company's success.

Objective

     This five-day course is being sponsored by ITRC to provide its  indus-
trial affiliates with fundamental exposure to two key hardware and software
technologies of AI; expert systems and computer  vision  systems.  Partici-
pants  will leave this course not only with a basic knowledge of the under-
lying issues but also a repertoire of programming concepts that can be used
as  a  starting  point for building realistic application programs in these
areas.

Who Should Attend

     The tutorial is for computing  professionals  and  technical  managers
working  or  interested in the field of Artificial Intelligence.  Attendees
should have an undergraduate  degree  in  Computer  Science  or  Electrical
Engineering  (or equivalent), and programming experience.  Some prior expo-
sure to AI concepts is desirable but not compulsory.

Format

     The course runs from Monday, July 31st to Friday, August 4th beginning
at  9:00  am  and ending at 4:30 pm (2:30 pm on Friday).  It includes about
4hrs/day of instruction and 2 1/2 hrs/day of hands-on  sessions.   Partici-
pants  will  be  taught LISP fundamentals and then will use LISP in problem
solving sessions.

     In addition to the set of specially prepared course notes, each parti-
cipant  will  receive a the following course textbooks:  Jackson, Introduc-
tion to Expert Systems, Addison Wesley, 1986 and Winston  and  Horn:  LISP,
3rd  edition,   Addison  Wesley, 1989.  All attendees will also receive the
educational version of the software package COMMON LISP by Gold  Hill  Com-
puter Corporation of Cambridge, MA, which will be used in the hands-on ses-
sions.

The Schedule

     The topics to be covered are as follows:

Day 1: Introduction and General Foundations

     -    Overview of artificial intelligence

     -    Search methods: breadth-first,  depth-first,  heuristic  methods,
          A*, game trees.

     -    Planning and problem solving: means-ends analysis, abstraction.

     -    Summary of logic (predicate calculus syntax,  semantics,  deriva-
          tion process).

     -    Hands-on: introduction to Lisp; using examples of search.


Day 2: Programming in Logic

     -    Examples of derivation (backward chaining to answer questions)

     -    Issues with derivation:  procedural  attachment,  justifications,
          meta-level

     -    Efficiency of  derivations:  single  query  (ordering  conjuncts,
          rules), multiple queries (caching, forward chaining, chunking)

     -    Production systems: rule syntax in OPS, working memory,  conflict
          resolution

     -    Discrimination nets for production systems and the Rete algorithm

     -    Hands-on: constructing nano-expert system;  backward  chaining;
          forward chaining


Day 3: Topics in Logic

     -    Resolution: foundations, relation to reasoning

     -    Discussion of logic in general: soundness, completeness,  decida-
          bility

     -    Theory extension and revision: examples, implementations

     -    Hands-on: diagnosis problem


Day 4: Vision

     -    The image formation process, sensors

     -    Edge and region detection, filtering, histogramming

     -    Depth computation through stereo or focus

     -    Constraint propagation, labeling  of  polyhedral  line  drawings,
          relaxation

     -    Model-based object recognition

     -    Hands-on:  filter  operations;  constraint  propagation;   object
          recognition;  visit  UofT's vision lab, demo of OBVIUS image pro-
          cessing system


Day 5: Supplemental Topics

     -    Robotics: path planning, degrees of freedom, robot  motion,  sen-
          sors

     -    Machine learning: inductive inference, "version space",

     -    Uncertainty  representation  and  management:  Bayes,   Dempster-
          Shafer, certainty-factors

     -    Selecting and using an expert system shell:  invited  lecture  by
          Dr. Huaiqing Wang


Registration Fees

     The registration fees are as follows:  Individuals  employed  by  com-
panies  which  are  members  of  ITRC's Industrial Affiliate program - $850
($550 for "incubator" members);  Individuals employed  by  non-member  com-
panies  -  $1,750.   (All  figures are in  Canadian dollars.)  Please  make
cheques payable to "Information Technology Research Centre".

   The  registration  fee  includes  lectures,  hands-on  sessions,   light
refreshments  and a copy of the teaching materials.  Accommodation, travel,
meals and other such expenses are not covered by  the  fee.  Attendees  are
responsible  for making these arrangements and covering these costs indivi-
dually.  Attendees are urged to register early by faxing  the  registration
form at the end of this notice to our Toronto Office:

         Rosanna Reid
         Suite 303, 203 College Street
         Toronto  M5T 1P9
         Ph. (416) 978 8558,
         Fax (416) 978 8597

Deadline for the receipt of the registration form and payment  of  fees  is
July 19th, 1989.  All registrants  will  receive confirmation by July 21st,
1989. Members of ITRC's Industrial Affiliates program  will  have  priority
over  non-members  in  the  event  of over-subscription.  ITRC reserves the
right to cancel this tutorial or limit the number of attendees from any one
company.


The Sponsors

The Information Technology Research Centre is a  not for profit corporation
designated as one of seven Centres of Excellence by the Province of Ontario
through the Premiers Council.  ITRC funds high-technology  research in four
Ontario universities and  actively promotes university-industry cooperation
and technology transfer through it's events program.   This short-course is
one of several  tutorials and  short-courses that ITRC  sponsors yearly "at
cost" for the benefit  of it's industrial affiliates.  For more information
on ITRC and it's  industry  affiliate program, contact Ron Riesenbach, ITRC
Toronto Site Manager, at the address above.

The Presenters

Evangelos E. Milios

     Professor Evangelos  E.  Milios  received  an  electrical  engineering
degree  from  the  National Technical University of Athens, Greece, and the
S.M., E.E.  and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering and  computer  sci-
ence  from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. From 1982 to 1986, he
was affiliated with the Machine Intelligence Technology Group  at  the  MIT
Lincoln  Laboratory  performing  research  in  distributed  acoustic signal
understanding.  Since 1986 he has been  with  the  Artificial  Intelligence
Laboratory,  Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto, Canada.
His current research interests include qualitative reasoning about  signals
and  signal processing systems applied to adaptive signal processing, shape
representations and computer vision and spatial reasoning for mobile robot-
ics.   He  is involved in several applied research projects in the areas of
mobile robotics, active vision, automated cartography, and factory schedul-
ing, in collaboration with Ontario industry and government organizations.


Russell Greiner


     Professor Russell Greiner received a B.Sc. from the California  Insti-
tute  of Technology (majoring in both Mathematics and Computer Science) and
a M.Sc. and Ph.D. (1985) from Stanford University in Computer Science.   He
has  since  worked  as  a research scientist and assistant professor in the
Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Department of Computer Science, Univer-
sity of Toronto, Canada.  His current research focus is in Machine Learning
--- exploring techniques which enable a machine to improve its  performance
over  time.   He has published over 25 technical papers and invited surveys
in research journals and trade magazines and has presented over 25  invited
lectures  to  both  technical and lay audiences.  He has been involved with
several industrial collaborations, in both the United States and Canada.


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     <Registration form>



                            ITRC Short Course:
                  Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
                    from expert systems to robot vision


To register, complete the following form by July 19, 1989  --  mail or  FAX
to:

     Information Technology Research Centre
     Toronto Site Office
     Suite #303, 203 College St.
     Toronto  M5T 1P9
     Ph.  (416) 978 8558
     Fax  (416) 978 8597
     E-mail: itrctor@csri.utoronto.ca


Personal Information

Name:     ____________________________   Telephone: __________________

Company:  ____________________________   FAX:       __________________

Address:  ____________________________   E-Mail:    __________________

          ____________________________

          ____________________________


Fees (check one)

 __  ITRC Industrial Affiliate:  cheque for $850 enclosed or following
 __  ITRC "incubator" Affiliate: cheque for $550 enclosed or following
 __  Non-ITRC Industrial Affiliate: cheque for $1,750 enclosed or following

Confirmation

Registrants will receive an updated agenda and  confirmation  by  July  21,
1989.   In the event of over or under-subscription, ITRC reserves the right
to cancel the course or limit the number of attendees from any one company.


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      Date                    Signature