Prof. Jixin Ma
University of Greenwich, UK
Speech Title: The Role
of Time in Machine Learning and Pattern
Recognition
Abstract: One of the simplest and the most
important human temporal enterprise is to
handle time dependent information involving
questions such as "when the car was
collected from the garage", "what happened
after the shop had been closed", and "until
when was the suspect away from home" and so
on. In fact, time seems to play the role of
a common universal reference - everything
appears to be related by its temporal
reference, although the temporal reference
may be absolute, e.g., "The shop opens at
9:00 am", or just relative, e.g., "He went
back to his office after sitting in the
garden for about 15 minutes”.
Temporal representation and reasoning are
ubiquitous and vital in modelling natural
phenomena and human activities concerning
the dynamic aspect of the real world. Many
applications of Artificial Intelligence,
notably that of Machine Learning and Pattern
Recognition, need to deal with the temporal
dimension of data, the change of information
over time and the knowledge about how it
changes.
The purpose of this talk is to: (a) motivate
and explain a topic of emerging importance
in Machine Learning; (b) provide an overview
on some fundamental issues with respects to
temporal ontology; (c) present a brief
introduction to temporal representation and
reasoning in Machine Learning and Pattern
Recognition in terms of some illustrating
examples.
Biography:
Dr Jixin Ma is a Full Professor of Computer
Science (Artificial Intelligence) and the
Director of PhD/Postgraduate Research
Programme in the School of Computing and
Mathematical Sciences at University of
Greenwich, U.K. He has been the Director of
the Centre for Computer and Computational
Science and the Lead of Artificial
Intelligence Research Group. Professor Ma is
also a Visiting Professor of Beijing Normal
University, Hainan University, Anhui
University, Zhengzhou Light Industrial
University and Macau City University.
Professor Ma obtained his BSc and MSc of
Mathematics in 1982 and 1988, respectively,
and PhD of Computer Sciences in 1994. His
main research areas include Artificial
Intelligence, Data Science, and Information
Systems, with special interests in Temporal
Logic, Information Security, Machine
Learning, Case-Based Reasoning and Pattern
Recognition. Professor Ma has been a member
British Computer Society, American
Association of Artificial Intelligence,
ACIS/IEEE, World Scientific and Engineering
Society, and Special Group of Artificial
Intelligence of BCS. He has also been the
Editor of several international journals and
international conference proceedings,
Conference/Program Chair, and Invited
Keynote Speakers of many international
conferences. Professor Ma has published more
than 200 research papers in peer-reviewed
international journals and conferences.
Prof. Armin Grasnick
IU International University, Germany
Speech Title: Computer Vision and 3D Space: From Reconstruction to Neural Holography
Abstract: Computer vision makes it possible
to estimate the shape and depth of
real-world scenes from images. But even if
the process of recording and reconstruction
is well known, a truly natural
three-dimensional representation without
glasses remains rare in everyday life. The
main challenge is not only how computers
understand space but also how they present
it to the human eye in a natural and
comfortable way.
New methods such as Neural Radiance Fields
enable the creation of synthetic views from
different directions. This development may
open the door for advanced displays,
including super multiview or light field
systems. Neural holography combines deep
learning and physical modeling to control
light more precisely. This approach may help
overcome the current limits of
three-dimensional displays by producing more
accurate and lifelike images.
Connecting the promise of autostereoscopic
displays with the latest research in neural
holography raises an important question for
the future. What barriers still prevent
digital three-dimensional content from
becoming a natural part of daily life? Is
the answer found in better hardware,
improved algorithms, or in redefining the
experience of three-dimensional viewing
itself?
Biography: Armin Grasnick is
Professor of Augmented & Virtual Reality at
IU International University of Applied
Sciences. With a background in technical
optics, he has founded a few companies
focused on 3D/VR technologies. Prof.
Grasnick holds a PhD in autostereoscopic
displays from FernUniversität Hagen and
brings experience in high-performance lens
design and 3D display development to his
current role.