A system which will use networks of computerised agents to cope with disaster scenarios such as outbreaks of fires, will be outlined by an ECS researcher on Guy Fawkes night.

Professor Nick Jennings from the University's School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) has picked Wednesday 5 November to tell an audience comprised of businesses and academia at Park Centre, Farnborough, about ALADDIN, an ambitious £5.5 million five-year research programme aimed at developing computerised agents for use in disaster recovery or terrorist attacks, which has just reached its half-way point.

ALADDIN stands for Autonomous Learning Agents in Decentralized Data and Information Networks.

Professor Jennings believes that the UK Fire and Rescue Service is a likely potential client for some of the applications already developed by ALADDIN.

"We are developing decentralised information systems that can continue to operate effectively when there is a fire or in other extremely difficult circumstances," said Professor Jennings.

"We use computerised agents which can sense, act and interact in order to achieve individual and collective aims. Central to this endeavour is the effective coordination of the different actors and, to this end, we've developed a rich series of algorithms for inter-agent co-operation and negotiation."

ALADDIN is one of a number of programmes that bring leading academic groups to key industrial challenges through the BAE Systems/EPSRC Strategic Partnership, with the objective of delivering high-quality research and enhancing industrial capabilities.

The ALADDIN team comprises internationally-leading researchers in complex adaptive systems from the Universities of Southampton, Bristol and Imperial College; in fusion, inference and learning from the University of Oxford and Imperial; and in decentralised architectures from BAE Systems.

One of the challenges facing the researchers is to bring together work from a number of hitherto distinct fields, such as information fusion, inference, decision-making, and machine-learning. This work then needs to be combined with work from multi-agent systems, game theory, mechanism design and mathematical modelling of collective behaviour in order to give a collective view on behaviour.

"As ever more information sources become available - through environmental sensors, intranets, and so on - the problem of obtaining and fusing the right information when making decisions and taking actions is becoming increasingly pressing," said Professor Jennings.

The British Computer Society is bring its annual Careers Fair to the School for the first time on Wednesday 12 November.

The Event attracts some of the biggest names in graduate employment for computer science and electronics, and will be of interest to all ECS students for future careers, as well as for internship opportunities.

Companies participating this year are: Logica; Siemens, Research Machines, IBM, Microsoft, Fujitsu, Capgemini, Accenture, BT, CSC (Computer Sciences Corporation).

The event takes place in Building 32, with the company stands in the Coffee Room on Level 4, and presentations taking place in other parts of the building.

The School of Electronics and Computer Science holds its own Careers Fair on Wednesday 11 February 2009.

Biometrics could be a major force in providing better security systems and combating data loss in the future, according to an ECS researcher.

Biometrics covers a range of measurable biological characteristics, including fingerprints, iris patterns, even ears, and the way people walk, which can be used to identify individuals.

Research into the biometrics of gait analysis has been pioneered at ECS by Professor Mark Nixon and Dr John Carter, and their work is featured in an article and video on the BBC web site.

The BBC reports that Professor Nixon and his team have designed a biometric tunnel which employs eight cameras that feed data to sophisticated modelling software which collect the data. Professor Nixon is currently enlarging the size of the team's database by collecting information from a wide range of people.

Gait analysis is gaining interest from the security services, and it has already been admitted as evidence in UK courts.

Professor Lajos Hanzo has been awarded the Sir Monty Finniston Award for Achievement by the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

Speaking at the Awards Dinner on 3 November, Robin Gill, Chief Executive of the IET said that the Achievement Awards provided an opportunity to celebrate outstanding individuals in the world of engineering. He added 'Each nominee has contributed hugely to their field of work. Through their hard work, they have gained national and international respect from their peers.'

The citation for Professor Hanzo, Head of the ECS Communications research group, read: 'He has made an outstanding contribution to the wireless multimedia industry over a period of 30 years. He has led many research projects across different critical areas including modulation, coding, video and audio compression. His work is widely implemented in many of today’s communication systems. In addition to his respected contribution, Professor Hanzo has acted as a supervisor, tutor and mentor to many of today’s leading wireless engineers.'

ECS engineers have developed a new configurable chip which can correct faults in newly-manufactured transistors and can be implemented in mainstream devices such as computers and mobile phones.

In a paper just published in Electronics Letters, Dr Peter Wilson with Dr Reuben Wilcock from the University's School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS), describes the Configurable Analogue Transistor (CAT) which he and his team have developed, and for which they have a patent pending. The CAT approach can be applied to batches of transistors which in testing after manufacture prove to have an unacceptably high variability.

According to Dr Wilson, the manufacturing process for deep submicron technologies is currently very expensive, with the cost of failed devices running into huge figures. Designers create new chip designs and generally simulate how they will perform. When the silicon wafers are produced they will then undergo rigorous electrical testing to ensure that they are working. It is at this point that the designer often realises that some of the chips do not work, which creates a problem of reduced yield, i.e. a reduced number of working chips in a batch. This has been an increasing problem for Integrated Circuit designers over the last few years as process technology dimensions have become increasingly small, and the corresponding variability of devices worsened.

'One of the biggest challenges we face when shrinking devices in these new technology nodes is that there is increasing variability in the resulting devices and this is causing unacceptably poor yields in the circuits being produced - particularly in analogue and mixed signal devices where performance is at a premium,' said Dr Wilson. 'Now with CAT, we can take whole batches of chips and tighten their performance characteristics resulting in massive improvements in yield. Improvements in variability of up to 80 percent can be achieved using this approach.'

According to Dr Wilson, the CAT technique can also be applied to existing products to improve their performance and longevity.

'As technology changes over time, the CAT technique allows us to reconfigure devices so that products continue to work,' said Dr Wilson. 'For example, remote circuits in satellites and sensor devices can be "reprogrammed" and effectively recalibrated to take account of changing characteristics over time and environmental conditions.'

UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) representatives from consulates around the world visited ECS on a fact-finding mission to help attract foreign investment to the Southampton area.

Twenty members of the UKTI team from cities such as Washington, Shanghai, Istanbul, Houston, Osaka and Singapore visited the Millbrook Technology Campus and the new Mountbatten building to learn more about the expertise and facilities in digital technologies and business support the area has to offer.

The group spoke to a number of high-tech companies including Bac2, Primer Design, Reap Systems and Polymer vision at the Millbrook Technology Campus (MTC) and heard from Casconda Ltd, specialist semiconductor designers. Bac2 is the creator of ElectroPhen™, a new plastic that is a billion times more electrically conductive than other polymers or resins and Polymer Vision is the pioneer and mobile industry leader for rollable display enabled hand-held devices.

Millbrook Technology Campus, in the Outer Shirley area of Southampton, has been recognised for revitalising six hectares of land on the western outskirts to create a business technology park, acting as a catalyst for economic and social regeneration in the deprived area of Millbrook.

The group also learned about the new facilities in the School of Electronics and Computer Science. The new Mountbatten Building contains a clean room and fabrication capability which will enable researchers in ECS and the ORC to make leading-edge contributions to new research areas in nanotechnology, bionanotechnology and photonics.

Over 70 visitors were welcomed to ECS on the first day of this session's UCAS visits, intended for applicants to the School's undergraduate programme.

The UCAS visit programme gives applicants the opportunity to see the School, to tour labs and other facilities, to hear about the courses, and to meet students and staff. This year for the first time we are able to use the new Mountbatten Building to welcome students and their parents.

The undergraduate applicants also have the chance to see one of the halls of residence and to take a short tour around Southampton. You can read more about the visit days on our blog pages.

In conjunction with the student IEEE branch, an ECS academic plans to enter a solar-powered boat in the world championship of intercollegiate solar/electric boating next year.

Dr Peter Wilson of the School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) is running a team in conjunction with the Student Branch of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), which plans to design and build a boat which will be both energy efficient and fast. He will capitalise on the School’s track record in the development of solar cells and electronics, and deliver an electric-powered boat clad with these cells.

The School is well placed to undertake this ambitious project as the University already has two solar installations on campus and is investigating new types of solar cell based on nanotechnology. The School has extensive experience in renewable energy systems, power electronics and electronics design and this, coupled with the local expertise in ocean racing, could prove a powerful mix of skills.

‘This will be the first UK entrant in this international competition, and it is fitting that it comes from Southampton’, said Dr Wilson. Dr Wilson believes that a boat from Southampton could over time be a strong contender in Solar Splash, the World Championship of Intercollegiate Solar Boating, which will take place in Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA, from 27-31 May 2009.

The city’s expertise in this field and ECS’s track record in solar cell installations and power electronics could make a formidable team and Dr Wilson would like to hear from local boat builders interested in being involved.

‘It is vital for the team to have sufficient sponsorship to complete the build and also send the team members over to the USA, and we will rely entirely on sponsorship to make this happen. We hope that local companies will see the benefits from aligning with such an ambitious and exciting project, and become involved. We see this as a fantastic opportunity to engage with local businesses, large and small, and would be delighted to talk to anyone who can make a contribution of any size to the project,’ said Dr Wilson.

Dr Wilson has formed a team of postgraduate students from the University’s award-winning IEEE Student Branch to work on the design, and is now looking for sponsors to enable the project to become fully funded. The plan is in future years to position it as a series of undergraduate projects, when the experience of an initial competition has been gained.

‘It is the first time that we have done a project of this scale,’ said Dr Wilson. ’It will allow students to think outside the box when it comes to applications for solar cells. It is also a prime time for local building suppliers and boat builders to invest in renewable energy and advanced electronics technology. We hope this can be a showcase for technology and the skills here in Southampton on a global stage’

Solar Splash takes place over five days. Technical inspections are done on the first day and the remainder of the time is occupied by five on-the-water competitive events. Speed, manoeuvrability and endurance will be tested.

Three professors in the School of Electronics and Computer Science have been named Fellows of the IEEE.

Professor Bashir Al-Hashimi, Professor Sheng Chen, and Professor Nick Jennings have joined an elite group from around the world who are recognized by the IEEE (the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) for their unusual distinction in the world of electrical and electronic technology. Their elevation to Fellows of the IEEE follows a rigorous evaluation procedure.

The IEEE is the world’s leading professional association for the advancement of technology. Through its global membership, IEEE is a leading authority on areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics.

Professor Bashir Al-Hashimi is Professor of Computer Engineering in ECS, a member of the Electronic Systems and Devices research group, and a Director of the School’s Pervasive Systems Centre. His research interests are system-on-chip and embedded computing systems with particular focus on low-power design and low-cost test. He is Principal Investigator on the EPSRC platform grant on Electronics Design. He is elevated to Fellowship of the IEEE for his contribution to the design and test of low power integrated circuits and computing systems. ‘The IEEE fellowship means a great deal to me’, he said. ‘It recognizes that my research activities have made a significant and important impact on the scientific community as recognized by my fellow peers.’

Professor Sheng Chen is Professor of Intelligent Systems and Signal Processing and a member of the School’s Communications research group. His research interests are in adaptive signal processing for communications, wireless communications, modelling and identification of nonlinear systems, learning theory and neural networks, finite-precision digital controller design and networked control systems, evolutionary computation methods and optimisation. He is elevated to Fellowship of the IEEE for his contributions to intelligent learning systems and adaptive signal processing for communications. ‘I am naturally very pleased to have this most prestigious honour from the IEEE,’ he said, ‘and my particular gratitude goes to ECS for creating the best research environment I have enjoyed.’

Professor Nick Jennings is Professor of Computer Science in ECS, Head of the Intelligence, Agents, and Multimedia research group, and Associate Dean (Research and Enterprise) of the University’s Faculty of Engineering, Science and Mathematics. He has helped pioneer the application of multi-agent technology, developing some of the first real-world systems He is currently Director of the BAE Systems/EPSRC Strategic Partnership on Decentralised Data and Information Systems. He is elevated to Fellowship of the IEEE for his contributions to multi-agent systems. He said: ‘I am pleased to receive this international recognition for the line of work in decentralised, multi-agent systems that we've been carrying out in Southampton for the past 10 years.’

The Head of the School of Electronics and Computer Science, Professor Harvey Rutt, commented: ‘Not only is this a notable individual recognition of the research contributions of three of the School’s most distinguished professors, but it is an excellent endorsement of the strength of the School’s research and its international reputation, in three areas of fundamental research importance for electronics and computer science.’

A new simulator which will lead to the creation of more effective computerised agents in disaster scenarios has been made available by an ECS research team.

A team of computer scientists led by Professor Nick Jennings at the University's School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) has officially released ECSKernel, a test bed for multi-agent systems.

‘This work highlights the importance of using advanced computer techniques for real world problems such as disaster response,' said Professor Jennings. 'We are happy to be at the forefront of work in this area and hope that many other groups around the world will use and build upon the system we have developed.’

The simulator was designed as part of ALADDIN (Autonomous Learning Agents for Decentralised Data), a five-year project funded by BAE Systems and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to research agent-based technologies to work in emergency situations.

It simulates the events that happen during disaster rescue scenarios and allows users to benchmark and evaluate the effectiveness of their agent-based technologies in these environments.

'ECSKernel provides a realistic environment within which several teams of agents are faced with a number of disaster rescue tasks such as extinguishing fires and saving civilians trapped in buildings,' said Dr Sarvapali Ramchurn from the ECS team. 'It is based on the Robocup Rescue Simulation platform and was developed as a result of the simulator winning the RoboCup Rescue World Championships last year.'