Event

Amazon presentation

Amazon is looking for outstanding software developers to join their development centre in Edinburgh. Come and learn about the company, and about our work in Scotland, devising, creating and growing major features and websites for Amazon worldwide. Our developers, designers and leaders work in small teams across the company, contributing to Amazon’s systems which are used by over 144 million active Amazon customer accounts, over 2 million active seller accounts and hundreds of thousands of external developers. From interactive UI design to large-scale distributed systems and machine learning, we do whatever it takes to deliver great experiences for our customers. Our freedom to execute effectively against broad, ambitious goals offers boundless opportunities for talented, innovative engineers.

Target students all software development engineer students, in particular final years, however we are keen to start developing a relationship with all high performing students in this space.

Event details

  • When: 25th October 2011 13:00 - 14:00
  • Where: Cole 1.33a

Evolution of Radio Access Networks: Lighting up IQ by Francisco J. Garcia, Agilent Technologies

In this talk we will introduce how new mobile base station architectures are evolving not only to meet demand but also to become “greener” since at current rates of deployment, mobile networks are becoming very large CO2 contributors. These new base station architectures are also becoming enablers for new Radio Access Networks (RANs) where the same infrastructure can support multiple radio technologies simultaneously by backhauling their baseband leading towards distributed antenna systems and distributed base station architectures. Some would argue that this represents a paradigm shift towards “cloud” enabled mobile networks. In the talk we will cover the reasons why things are progressing this way, how this is being enabled through technology innovation, and what Agilent has done to meet some of the test and measurement challenges in this evolved 4G wireless communications space.

Event details

  • When: 27th February 2012 14:00 - 15:00
  • Where: Phys Theatre C
  • Series: CS Colloquia Series
  • Format: Colloquium

Creating personalized digital human models of perception for visual analytics

Speaker: Aaron Quigley, SACHI University of St Andrews

Abstract:

Our bodies shape our experience of the world, and our bodies influence what we design. How important are the physical differences between people? Can we model the physiological differences and use the models to adapt and personalize designs, user interfaces and artifacts? Within many disciplines Digital Human Models and Standard Observer Models are widely used and have proven to be very useful for modeling users and simulating humans. In this paper, we create personalized digital human models of perception (Individual Observer Models), particularly focused on how humans see. Individual Observer Models capture how our bodies shape our perceptions. Individual Observer Models are useful for adapting and personalizing user interfaces and artifacts to suit individual users’ bodies and perceptions. We introduce and demonstrate an Individual Observer Model of human eyesight, which we use to simulate 3600 biologically valid human eyes. An evaluation of the simulated eyes finds that they see eye charts the same as humans. Also demonstrated is the Individual Observer Model successfully making predictions about how easy or hard it is to see visual information and visual designs. The ability to predict and adapt visual information to maximize how effective it is is an important problem in visual design and analytics.

About Aaron:

In this talk Professor Aaron Quigley will present a talk for a paper he is presenting at the User Modeling, Adaptation and Personalization (UMAP) conference 2011 on July 12th in Barcelona Spain. This work on Creating Personalized Digital Human Models of Perception for Visual Analytics is the work with and of his former PhD student Dr. Mike Bennett and now postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Psychology in Stanford University.

Professor Aaron Quigley is the Chair of Human Computer Interaction in the School of Computer Science at the University of St Andrews. He is the director of SACHI and his appointment is part of SICSA, the Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance. Aaron’s research interests include surface and multi-display computing, human computer interaction, pervasive and ubiquitous computing and information visualisation.

Event details

  • When: 15th November 2011 13:00 - 14:00
  • Where: Cole 1.33a
  • Format: Seminar

A Decade of Research on Constraint Modelling and Reformulation:The Quest for Abstraction and Automation by Alan M Frisch

Abstract:

To mark the Tenth International Workshop on Constraint Modelling and Reformulation, this talk reviews research in the field over the past decade, focusing on the key themes of abstraction and automation.

Looking to the future, the talk identifies key issues that must be confronted in furthering the quest for abstraction and automation.

Biography:

Dr Alan M Frisch is a Reader in Intelligent Systems and Head of the Artificial Intelligence Group in the Dept. of Computer Science at the Univ. of York.  He is currently a SICSA Distinguished Visiting Fellow.

For over 30 years he has been teaching artificial intelligence and researching various topics within the field, including a focus on constraint programming over the past decade.  He is an acknowledged
leader in constraint modelling, best known for his pioneering contributions in the automation of constraint modelling, in inventing the ESSENCE problem specification language, and in developing symmetry-breaking constraints.

Alan M Frisch – Artificial Intelligence Group – Department of Computer Science – University of York, UK.

Event details

  • When: 7th November 2011 14:00 - 15:00
  • Where: Phys Theatre C
  • Series: CS Colloquia Series
  • Format: Colloquium

MacMillan Coffee Morning (Friday)

From 10.30am onwards on Friday morning in the JCB coffee area, we will be hosting a MacMillan coffee morning. All proceeds from the sales of cakes, biscuits or produce will go to support the MacMillan Cancer Support service. This is a service that allows terminal patients to remain in their own homes for their last days, supported by a MacMillan nurse.

Donations of goods are welcome, otherwise come along and buy some home baking.  A raffle will be held with prizes including sloe gin, champagne and chocolates.

Event details

  • When: 30th September 2011 10:30 - 12:00
  • Where: Cole Coffee Area

Bada Challenge Competition

We’re participating in the bada Student Developers Challenge 2011/12 – the ultimate coding challenge event run across the UK & Ireland in connection with other universities leading the way in Computer Sciences.
Giving student coders from first year to masters the chance to create their own Apps for Samsungs new bada platform and have those very apps uploaded to their stores. Whilst doing so, impressing people from one of the worlds biggest mobile phone manufacturers and standing the chance of winning a share of a £15,000 prize fund.

Event details

  • When: 29th September 2011 14:00 - 15:30
  • Where: Honey 104 - Hons Lab

Design, Agency and a Sense of Wellbeing by Ann Light

Abstract:

In Capability and Wellbeing, Sen (1993) says that acting freely and being able to choose may be directly conducive to wellbeing, not just because more freedom may make better alternatives available, but because the action of choice is itself a freedom. This talk reflects on three projects with older people and considers their sense of agency in thinking about interactive systems and future technologies, looking particularly at how agency might contribute to a sense of wellbeing. Although a theme running through the talk is the design of digital tools, the discussion takes a broad view of the factors to be considered in human-computer interaction.

Sen, Amartya. (1993). Capability and Well-Being. In M. Nussbaum and A. Sen, eds. The Quality of Life, pp. 30–53. New York: Oxford University Press.

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Event details

  • When: 28th November 2011 14:00 - 15:00
  • Where: Phys Theatre C
  • Series: CS Colloquia Series
  • Format: Colloquium