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--- teaching:mfe:ia [2010/03/19 16:39]
mbiro
+++ teaching:mfe:ia [2011/03/23 17:06]
mdorigo
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-====== MFE 2010-2011 : Intelligence Artificielle ======
+====== MFE 2011-2012 : Intelligence Artificielle ======
 ===== Introduction =====
@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 to the implementation of this library will be studied. The
 library will also be tested in terms of robustness and performance
-as compared with the previous existing solutions.
+as compared with the previous existing solutions coming from other technological platforms (Java, PHP, ...). This memoire will be a follow up of a previous memoire.
   * Contact : [[http://code.ulb.ac.be/iridia.people.php?id=1|Hugues Bersini (IRIDIA)]]
+===== Développer un programme informatique permettant une analyse statistique en vue de  l'évaluation d'un module psychothérapeutique. =====
+Ce mémoire se fera en collaboration avec l'équipe médicale du centre pour l'anorexie et la boulimie de l'hôpital Erasme. Il consistera en l'analyse informatisée des données récoltées lors d'entretiens avec le patient et sa famille au cours du traitement.
+  * Contact : [[http://code.ulb.ac.be/iridia.people.php?id=1|Hugues Bersini (IRIDIA)]]
 ===== Etude et réalisation orientée objet d'une cellule minimale =====
@@ Line 24: / Line 32: @@
 Le MFE consistera en un développement orienté objet d'une
 cellule biologique minimale avec son métabolisme chimique interne, un génome
-élémentaire et sa membrane. Cette cellule devra être capable
+élémentaire et sa membrane. L'idée est de réaliser le logiciel minimal capable de simuler un organisme vivant. Cette cellule devra être capable
 de croître et de spontanément se dupliquer. Il fera suite
-à un MFE déjà réalisé il y a deux ans.
+à une succession de MFE déjà réalisés ces dernières années.
@@ Line 68: / Line 76: @@
 ===== Etude de la topologie de réseaux de musiciens de Jazz =====
-De plus en plus de scientifiques sont convaincus qu’une même topologie de réseaux (c'est-à-dire la manière dont les nœuds en sont connectés) se retrouve dans de nombreux réseaux, pourtant extraits de réalités très diverses (Web, Internet, réseaux sociaux, biologiques, épidémiques). Cette topologie leur conférerait des propriétés intéressantes comme une plus grande robustesse ou une communication réduite entre les nœuds. Il est possible de construire un réseau de musiciens de Jazz connectant deux musiciens dès lors qu’ils ont joué sur un même disque. Le MFE consistera en un développement logiciel ayant pour but la réalisation automatique de ces réseaux de musiciens à partir de documentations sur les disques téléchargés automatiquement de sites de vente en ligne.
+De plus en plus de scientifiques sont convaincus qu’une même topologie de réseaux (c'est-à-dire la manière dont les nœuds en sont connectés) se retrouve dans de nombreux réseaux, pourtant extraits de réalités très diverses (Web, Internet, réseaux sociaux, biologiques, épidémiques). Cette topologie leur conférerait des propriétés intéressantes comme une plus grande robustesse ou une communication réduite entre les nœuds. Il est possible de construire un réseau de musiciens de Jazz connectant deux musiciens dès lors qu’ils ont joué sur un même disque ou participé à un même concert. Le MFE consistera en un développement logiciel ayant pour but la réalisation automatique de ces réseaux de musiciens à partir de documentations sur les disques ou les concerts téléchargés automatiquement de sites de vente en ligne. Le mémorant devra réaliser un logiciel capable d'extraire ces informations sur le Web et ensuite exploitera un ensemble d'outils existant lui permettant d'étudier la topologie du réseau ainsi obtenue.
   * Contact : [[http://code.ulb.ac.be/iridia.people.php?id=1|Hugues Bersini (IRIDIA)]]
@@ Line 83: / Line 91: @@
 ===== Mise au point d’un système automatique de génération de code à partir d’un diagramme d’état-transition =====
-Le diagramme d’état-transition représente le cycle de vie d’un objet, de sa naissance à sa disparition, en suivant les différents états par lesquels cet objet transite. Il est par exemple très largement mis à l’œuvre dans la modélisation des procédures parlementaires (l’évolution des décrets de loi). C’est le cas dans plusieurs parlements belges avec lesquels IRIDIA collabore. Le MFE étudiera la possibilité d’une génération automatique de code fidèle à ces diagrammes et tout ce qui les compose.
+Le diagramme d’état-transition représente le cycle de vie d’un objet, de sa naissance à sa disparition, en suivant les différents états par lesquels cet objet transite. Il est par exemple très largement mis à l’œuvre dans la modélisation des procédures parlementaires (l’évolution des décrets de loi). C’est le cas dans plusieurs parlements belges avec lesquels IRIDIA collabore. Le MFE étudiera la possibilité d’une génération automatique de code fidèle à ces diagrammes et tout ce qui les compose. Le code généré respectera le design pattern d'état associant une classe à chaque état possible. Des problèmes tels les états compositionnels ou les transitions s'effectuant simultanément seront étudiés.
   * Contact : [[http://code.ulb.ac.be/iridia.people.php?id=1|Hugues Bersini (IRIDIA)]]
 ===== Mise au point d’un langage de modélisation de systèmes biologiques inspiré des diagrammes de classe et d'état/transition UML =====
-En général, les biologistes par manque de formation recourent très difficilement à la programmation des systèmes qu'ils étudient. Nous souhaitons les assister en mettant à leur disposition un langage qualitatif de modélisation sur base des diagrammes de classe et d'état/transition UML. Ce langage pourrait finalement aboutir à une forme exécutable, par une génération de code Java appropriée et son exécution. Le système sera mis au point en collaboration avec des immunologistes avec lesquels IRIDIA entretient des collaborations suivies depuis très longtemps.
+En général, les biologistes par manque de formation recourent très difficilement à la programmation des systèmes qu'ils étudient. Nous souhaitons les assister en mettant à leur disposition un langage qualitatif de modélisation sur base des diagrammes de classe et d'état/transition UML. Ce langage pourrait finalement aboutir à une forme exécutable, par une génération de code Java appropriée et son exécution. Le système sera mis au point en collaboration avec des immunologistes internationnaux avec lesquels IRIDIA entretient des collaborations suivies depuis très longtemps. Ainsi l'idée est de créer un langage de simulation de systèmes biologique qualitatif et graphique qui soit bien plus facile d'utilisation pour les biologistes que les langages de programmation actuels.
   * Contact : [[http://code.ulb.ac.be/iridia.people.php?id=1|Hugues Bersini (IRIDIA)]]
 ===== Comparaison via la simulation informatique d'une économie de marché de nature concurrentielle et une autre plus redistributive=====
-Les économistes nous assènent à l'envi que l'économie se doit d'être compétitive et parfaitement concurrentielle. Est-ce si vrai ? L'économie de marché ne peut-elle exister que sur un mode concurrentiel pour assurer au mieux le bonheur du plus grand nombre d'agents économiques ? Nous adresserons cette question par l'entremise de modèles économiques multi-agents mettant en présence des producteurs,acheteurs, consommateurs et vendeurs, et les faisant se comporter d'abord sur un monde compétitif (économie de marché de type enchère) et ensuite aléatoire. Nous étudierons   la manière dont le bien-être cumulé par les agents consommateur est distribué parmi eux.
+Les économistes nous assènent à l'envi que l'économie se doit d'être compétitive et parfaitement concurrentielle. Est-ce si vrai ? L'économie de marché ne peut-elle exister que sur un mode concurrentiel pour assurer au mieux le bonheur du plus grand nombre d'agents économiques ? Nous adresserons cette question par l'entremise de modèles économiques multi-agents mettant en présence des producteurs,acheteurs, consommateurs et vendeurs, et les faisant se comporter d'abord sur un monde compétitif (économie de marché de type enchère) et ensuite aléatoire. Nous étudierons   la manière dont le bien-être cumulé par les agents consommateur est distribué parmi eux. Ce mémoire fait suite à un mémoire réalisé par un étudiant de Solvay l'année passée et donc il pourra repartir d'un logiciel existant.
   * Contact : [[http://code.ulb.ac.be/iridia.people.php?id=1|Hugues Bersini (IRIDIA)]]
@@ Line 121: / Line 129: @@
     * [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~stuetzle|Thomas Stuetzle (IRIDIA)]]
     * [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~mbiro|Mauro Birattari (IRIDIA)]]
-    * Manuel López-Ibáñez (IRIDIA)
+    * [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~manuel|Manuel López-Ibáñez (IRIDIA)]]
@@ Line 136: / Line 144: @@
     * [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~stuetzle|Thomas Stuetzle (IRIDIA)]]
     * [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~mbiro|Mauro Birattari (IRIDIA)]]
-    * Manuel López-Ibáñez (IRIDIA)
+    * [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~manuel|Manuel López-Ibáñez (IRIDIA)]]
@@ Line 151: / Line 159: @@
   * Contacts :
     * [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~stuetzle|Thomas Stuetzle (IRIDIA)]]
-    * Manuel López-Ibáñez (IRIDIA)
+    * [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~manuel|Manuel López-Ibáñez (IRIDIA)]]
+===== Stochastic local search algorithms for weighted maximum clique problems. ======
+The Maximum Clique Problem is an NP-hard combinatorial optimisation problem that asks to find the biggest completely
+connected component of a graph. It has relevant applications in information retrieval, computer vision, social network
+analysis, computational biochemistry, bioinformatics and genomics.
+Among the possible generalisations of the problem there is the Vertex Weighted and Edge Weighted Maximum Clique which asks to find the clique of maximum weight. Being generalisations they are also NP-hard. The goal of the project is to devise heuristic algorithms or adapt existing algorithms of the Maximum Clique for weighted version.
+Required skills: good knowledge of C or C++ programming.
+  * Contacts :
+    * [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~stuetzle|Thomas Stuetzle (IRIDIA)]]
+    * [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~fmascia|Franco Mascia (IRIDIA)]]
+===== Stochastic Local Search heuristics for solving NP-complete puzzles. ======
+This project is about single player games (puzzles) and the design of algorithms for tackling hard combinatorial optimisation problems.
+Example puzzles are: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_Up|Light Up]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastermind_(board_game)|Mastermind]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minesweeper_(video_game)|Minesweeper]], etc.
+The student will learn how to design and implement a Stochastic Local Search algorithm to solve NP-complete puzzles. The student will also learn how to analyse the performaces of the algorithm and perform statistically sound comparisons with the other algorithms available in literature.
+Required skills: good knowledge of C or C++ programming.
+  * Contacts :
+    * [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~stuetzle|Thomas Stuetzle (IRIDIA)]]
+    * [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~fmascia|Franco Mascia (IRIDIA)]]
 /*
@@ Line 174: / Line 215: @@
 */
-===== Self-organized task allocation in swarm robotics =====
+===== Experiments with the e-puck robot and the IRIDIA TAM =====
-Swarm robotics is an innovative branch of collective robotics that aims at designing robot behaviors by taking inspiration from social animals, such as ants and bees. "Task allocation" in such robotic swarms is the problem of "who is doing what job and when?" Obviously, this problem of assigning jobs to a whole swarm robots can be very difficult, especially when using many robots that cannot communicate with each other on a global level.
+At IRIDIA, we are conducting many experiments with the e-puck
+robot and a task abstraction device, the IRIDIA TAM. The topic of the
+master thesis would be integrate the TAM with the e-puck robot and our
+simulation environment, ARGoS. The final goal is to have the TAM tested
+in real-robot experiments.
-The goal of the project is to implement new algorithms for solving this problem on the e-Puck robot and run extensive experiments with this robot in various environments. The project will involve experimentation with about 30 real e-Pucks. The project is tightly connected to the research in swarm robotics carried out at IRIDIA.
+The subject is practical and requires a dedicated student that is able
+to program in C++. A possible candidate should be willing to work with
+hardware and real robots. Additionally, the candidate must be very
+motivated and creative. The working language is English.
   * Contacts: [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~mbiro|Mauro Birattari]], Marco Dorigo, Arne Brutschy, Giovanni Pini (IRIDIA)
-===== Kaleidoscope: Creating temporal motion patterns in a swarm of robots =====
+===== Collaboration between flying robots and ground-based robots =====
-In swarm robotics, agents are programmed in such a way that local actions and simple interactions among agents result in complex, swarm-level dynamics. At present, the design of swarm robotic control systems is more of a craft than a science, mainly because significant design patterns are still to be identified and studied. This project aims to discover and study temporal patterns in robot motion, and subsequently to encode them into reusable design patterns. Each robot is assumed to possess a limited set of capabilities, such as the ability to change body color and to perceive other robots and their
+Current research in self-assembling robots mainly focuses on systems composed of identical (i.e., homogeneous) robots. In this thesis, however, we consider a system composed of robots with varying capabilities and different sensors. In particular, we consider a heterogeneous self-assembling system composed of both ground-based robots and flying robots. The ground-based robots can respond to various task contingencies by autonomously connecting to each other and forming collective structures. The flying robots can use their large field of view (from their elevated positions) to assist the ground-based robots in their tasks.
-colors in a short range. Individual controllers are derived from a very simple but powerful mathematical model. The work of the student will be to code and analyze robot controllers, both with simulated and real robots. The most important required skills are a good knowledge of C and C++ and no fear of mathematics. The working language is English.
+In this thesis, the student will focus on the flying robots in the system. The student will explore how the flying robots can i) run internal simulations on possible connections between the ground-based robots to determine the response structure to a task and ii) apply machine learning techniques to let the flying robot use previous, successful experiences to learn about tasks and their possible response structures.  The results of the study can be tested on real flying and ground-based robots.
-  * Contact: [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~mbiro|Mauro Birattari]], Marco Dorigo, Carlo Pinciroli (IRIDIA)
+Concrete ideas will be developed together with the student. A candidate student must be very motivated, independent, have a good knowledge of machine learning techniques, and have a good grasp of C++. The working language is English.
+  * Contacts: [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~mbiro|Mauro Birattari]], Marco Dorigo, Nithin Mathews (IRIDIA)
+===== Recruitment strategies for collective decision making in swarm robotics =====
+Studies of ants and bees have led to different models of collective
+decision making methods in social insects. Swarms of cooperating
+robots also have to find consensus decisions and thus face similar
+problems as social insects. It is an interesting research question if
+the biological models can be applied to create decentralized and
+robust decision making methods for swarms of robots. More precisely,
+we assume that robots are able to estimate their confidence
+about their own decision. Thus, if a group of robots is unsure about a
+decision they shall recruit more robots into the decision process to
+assure a certain quality in the overall decision.
-===== Evolution of Cooperation =====
+The goal of this master thesis project is to study different
+recruitment strategies for decision making in swarms of robots. The
+following application scenario will be implemented. A group
+of robots need to classify an object in order to operate on it.
+Through its sensors the single robots can classify an object with a
+certain accuracy. This opinion can then be shared in a group to reach
+consensus. If the individual robot's opinions differ strongly from the
+one of other
+robots or the robots do not have the necessary skills/sensors they
+might not be able to reach a final decision. In this case they can
+recruit other robots and involve them in the decision making process.
-Often the selfish and strong are believed to be favored by natural selection, even though cooperative and fair interactions thrive at all levels of organization in living systems. This project tackles this paradox in the context of Evolutionary Game Theory (EGT), having kin-selection, direct and indirect reciprocity as conceptual starting points. Contrary to what is usual, models will also take into account the intricate ties of modern social networks and its topological evolution.
+Required skills: the candidates should be acquainted with C/C++
+programming and have a working knowledge of the English language.
-In spite of its relevance, understanding the evolution of cooperation remains one of the most fundamental challenges to date, tackled by scientists from fields as diverse as anthropology, biology, sociology, ecology, economics, psychology, political science, mathematics, physics, etc., who often adopt EGT as a common mathematical framework. Hence, students who choose this proposal should be strongly interested in interdisciplinary research.
+* Contact: [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~mbiro|Mauro Birattari]], Marco Dorigo, Manuele Brambilla, Alexander Scheidler (IRIDIA)
-Required skills: The candidates should have good mathematical skills, be acquainted with C/C++ programming and have a working knowledge of the English language.
+===== Scalable aggregation in swarm robotics without global information or environmental clues =====
-  * Contact : [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~fsantos|Francisco C. Santos (IRIDIA)]]
+Several studies in biology have shown that group of social insects are able to gather to a particular spot. This process is usually driven by environmental clues such as shadows projected by a shelter (cockroaches) or temperature gradients (bees). These studies have been a source of inspiration for several algorithms in swarm robotics. Is it possible to achieve the same result without an environmental clue? Do we need global information in order to let a group of robot gather in one place?
+The goal of this project is to study how to solve an aggregation task without relying on environmental clues or global signaling. The problem can be seen as an exploration-exploitation trade-off tackled by a single robot. The robot has to select between keeping exploring, that is, finding the the largest aggregate, or exploiting, that is join a previously created aggregate. The study will be conducted only in simulation and will concern comparing different approaches for decision making or different communication strategies.
+Required skills: The candidates should be acquainted with C++ programming and have a working knowledge of the English language.
-\\
+  * Contact: [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~mbiro|Mauro Birattari]], Marco Dorigo, Eliseo Ferrante, Ali Emre Turgut (IRIDIA)
-\\
-The project is in collaboration with [[http://www.ciul.ul.pt/~pacheco/|Jorge M. Pacheco (University of Lisbon)]], [[http://como.vub.ac.be/doku.php?id=members:sven_van_segbroeck|Sven Van Segbroeck (IRIDIA and COMO, VUB)]] and [[http://switch.vub.ac.be/~tlenaert/|Tom Lenaerts (SWITCH, VUB)]].
+===== Kaleidoscope: Creating temporal motion patterns in a swarm of robots =====
+In swarm robotics, agents are programmed in such a way that local actions and simple interactions among agents result in complex, swarm-level dynamics. At present, the design of swarm robotic control systems is more of a craft than a science, mainly because significant design patterns are still to be identified and studied. This project aims to discover and study temporal patterns in robot motion, and subsequently to encode them into reusable design patterns. Each robot is assumed to possess a limited set of capabilities, such as the ability to change body color and to perceive other robots and their
+colors in a short range. Individual controllers are derived from a very simple but powerful mathematical model. The work of the student will be to code and analyze robot controllers, both with simulated and real robots. The most important required skills are a good knowledge of C and C++ and no fear of mathematics. The working language is English.
+  * Contact: [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~mbiro|Mauro Birattari]], Marco Dorigo, Carlo Pinciroli (IRIDIA)
+===== Automatic fitness function definition in evolutionary robotics =====
+Evolutionary robotics is a fascinating approach to the design of robot controllers that takes inspiration from natural evolution.
+In order to obtain a robot that is able to perform a desired task, the evolutionary robotics approach considers a population of robots that evolves in time. Each robot is characterized by a genotype that defines somehow its behavior. Each robot is evaluated according to a fitness function that measures the ability of the robot to perform the desired task. Robots with a low fitness are eliminated. Robots with a high fitness remain in the population and generate offsprings -- e.g., robots with a similar genotype obtained via mutation and/or cross-over. Through this process, generation by generation, the evolutionary robotics approach is able to obtain robots that present higher and higher fitness and that are therefore able to perform the desired task more and more effectively.
+One of the main open problems in evolutionary robotics is that the definition of an appropriate fitness function is a very complex, labor-intensive, and time-consuming activity that requires the attention of an expert researcher.
+The goal of this master thesis is to devise an automatic method to define a fitness function in order to obtain a robot that is able to perform a desired task. This automatic method will be based on machine learning and metaheuristic algorithms. In particular, it will draw ideas from the fields of reinforcement learning and of on-line adaptation of parameters in optimization algorithms.
+Required skills: The candidates should be acquainted with C/C++ programming and have a working knowledge of the English language.
+* Contact: [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~mbiro|Mauro Birattari]], Marco Dorigo, Vito Trianni (IRIDIA)
 ===== Simulation et optimisation de trafic routier =====
@@ Line 311: / Line 405: @@
     * [[frank@business-insight.com|Frank Vanden Berghen (Business-Insight) ]]
     * [[http://code.ulb.ac.be/iridia.people.php?id=1|Hugues Bersini (IRIDIA)]]
+===== Comparison of fast heuristics for the longest common subsequence problem =====
+The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longest_common_subsequence|longest common subsequence (LCS) problem]] has important applications in Computational Biology. Several heuristic methods have been proposed to obtain approximate solutions. These methods require different computation time and obtain solutions of varied quality. In this project, the student will learn several methods that have been proposed in the literature to tackle a difficult optimization problem, and compare them in terms of computation time and quality of the resulting solutions. The final goal is to propose appropriate combinations of existing methods that solve diverse instances of the LCS problem.
+  * Contacts :
+    * [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~manuel|Manuel López-Ibáñez (IRIDIA)]]
+    * [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~stuetzle|Thomas Stuetzle (IRIDIA)]]
+===== Applications of the Multi-objective ACO framework =====
+We have recently developed a software framework of Ant Colony Optimization algorithms for multi-objective optimization problems. This framework has only been applied to a few problems. The goal of this project would be to extend this framework to other problems and compare its results with the methods proposed in the literature. The student will learn to solve multi-objective optimization problems with ACO algorithms, automatic configuration of optimization algorithms, and analysis and comparison of optimization algorithms for multi-objective problems.
+  * Contacts :
+    * [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~manuel|Manuel López-Ibáñez (IRIDIA)]]
+    * [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~stuetzle|Thomas Stuetzle (IRIDIA)]]
+    * [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~mdorigo|Marco Dorigo (IRIDIA)]]
+===== A graphical interface for the optimisation of Water Distribution Networks =====
+The [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~manuel/doc/cec2005-presentation.pdf|optimization of the operations of Water Distribution Networks]] may save important amounts of energy and its associated costs, and, therefore, it is an important problem in practice. There are [[http://www.epa.gov/nrmrl/wswrd/dw/epanet.html|graphical tools and simulators]] available. In addition, several optimization methods based on [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~manuel/doc/cec2005.pdf|evolutionary algorithms]] and [[http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9496(2008)134:4(337)|ant colony optimization]] have been proposed in the literature. The goal of this project is to integrate the optimization algorithms into a graphical environment that can be used by water engineers and operators. No knowledge about water distribution networks is necessary. The optimisation algorithms and toolkit libraries for handling water distribution networks will be available to the student.
+  * Contacts :
+    * [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~manuel|Manuel López-Ibáñez (IRIDIA)]]
+    * [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~stuetzle|Thomas Stuetzle (IRIDIA)]]
+===== Automatic fine-tuning of an evolutionary multi-objective framework =====
+The goal of this project is to explore the possibilities of using automatic configuration tools for fine-tuning an existing [[http://paradiseo.gforge.inria.fr/index.php?n=Paradiseo.MOEO|evolutionary multi-objective framework]]. The student will learn about automatic configuration tools, evolutionary algorithms for multi-objective optimization problems and analysis and comparison of multi-objective algorithms.
+  * Contacts :
+    * [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~manuel|Manuel López-Ibáñez (IRIDIA)]]
+    * [[http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~stuetzle|Thomas Stuetzle (IRIDIA)]]