Imperial is a global leader in artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science research. Imperial’s AI network brings together experts from engineering, medicine, natural sciences and business to develop AI methods and systems across a range of applications, collaborating with partners around the world.

WORLD CHANGING RESEARCH

Recognising human emotionProfessor Maja Pantic is working on machine analysis of human non-verbal behaviour. Her team has developed a humanoid robot called Zeno that can improve learning and emotional understanding in children with autism. Zeno combines audio, visual, facial recognition and artificial intelligence technologies to detect and decipher sound and visual cues from children − allowing it to spontaneously interact in real-time and conduct a simple lesson. The project, funded by Horizon2020, is a collaboration between five European universities including Imperial, plus autism charities and industrial partners. Professor Pantic says that sharing information across Europe gives the project a unique edge and should mean faster progress can be made.

Imperial has the greatest research impact of any UK university (REF)

#1

people at Imperial working on artificial intelligence

600

value that AI is expected to bring to the UK economy by 2035

£630bn

“ Many of the most exciting developments in AI are embedded in and around research-intensive universities. They are a prime source of talent, discovery and innovation.”

– Vice Provost and Professor of AI Nick Jennings

For further information, please contact Stephen Johns (s.johns@imperial.ac.uk). imperial.ac.uk

Image: Olivier H. Beauchesne & Scimago Lab, data by Scopus.

Professor Maja Pantic and Robot Zeno were guest speakers at the Financial Times Weekend Festival

Global AI collaborators include:MIT Tsinghua University Tokyo Institute of Technology Technical University of Munich DeepMind

IMPERIALArtificial Intelligence at

ALUMNI INNOVATORSImperial has an alumni network of over 190,000 people across 150 countries. Many alumni have used the skills gained at Imperial to launch successful careers and businesses in artificial intelligence, machine learning, fintech and programming.

Improbable, a virtual reality company co-founded by an Imperial computing graduate, was recently valued at $1 billion. Peter Lipka (MEng Computing 2011), pictured far left, founded the company which uses cloud-based distributed computing to enable the creation of virtual worlds for use in games and massive-scale simulations of the real world.

Magic Pony, an Imperial startup which uses machine learning to create high-quality videos from grainy footage, was acquired by Twitter for $150 million. Imperial graduates and co-founders Rob Bishop (MEng Electrical and Electronic Engineering 2014) and Zehan Wang (MSci Computing and Mathematics 2010, PhD Computing 2014) developed technology based on based on algorithms that can understand the features of imagery.

Workable, a US and Greece based recruitment software company, was co-founded by Imperial graduate Nikos Moraitakis (Computing 1999). The company is using AI to better understand a candidate’s skills, characteristics and emotional intelligence free from human bias.

Engineer.ai, cofounded by Sachin Duggal (Electrical and Electronic Engineering 2006), is one of the top brokers of Amazon Web Services (AWS) in India. The company uses artificial intelligence algorithms to distribute future capacity from AWS in blocks to clients.

STARTUPSMany startups based at Imperial’s Enterprise Lab are using AI to find solutions to global challenges. AI Thyroid Diagnostics is designing AI software to improve the diagnosis of thyroid cancer. The team are developing a machine learning system that could take the results of tests such as ultrasound scans and needle biopsies, as well as information about a patient’s medical history, to more accurately predict the likelihood that a patient has thyroid cancer. This could help doctors decide on whether a patient needs diagnostic surgery. The system would learn from patient outcomes, improving its accuracy overtime.

EDUCATIONImperial has launched a Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) in artificial intelligence. The move allows anyone with an internet connection to learn from some of the world’s top researchers in AI, machine learning and mathematics. The courses are fully accessible across the world and will support learners in developing their mathematical skills and intuition so they can understand the complex principles underpinning AI and apply them in their future jobs. Professor Simone Buitendijk, the College’s Vice-Provost for Education, said: “As a globally connected university, Imperial is keenly aware that we must play our part in teaching Machine Learning courses that provide learners, whether they are College students or not, with a compelling impetus to become the AI experts of the future.”

For further information, please contact Stephen Johns (s.johns@imperial.ac.uk). imperial.ac.uk

Student startup AI Thyroid Diagnostics is developing software to help clinicians improve diagnosis of thyroid cancer

“ We enable students to engage in cutting edge research during their projects as well as sending them to industrial placements where they get unique insights into how computing is shaping the world around us.”

– Professor Daniel Rueckert, Head of the Department of Computing

Optimising travel with big dataProfessor Yike Guo, Director of Imperial’s Data Science Institute, is investigating the links between population behaviour and infrastructure in China. His team of researchers are monitoring passenger flow on Shanghai’s Metro and other rail networks across the country. By collecting second-by-second data at every single station, they can build up a picture of how the network behaves, and suggest improvements. The project has been successful in using data to analyse metro demand, capacity, congestion and predicting the impacts of metro disruption, helping services to plan and operate more effectively. Professor Guo collaborates with many institutions in China.

Neurotechnology and eye commandsDr Aldo Faisal (pictured above) is investigating the links between neuroscience and AI. His team are developing software which can understand a person’s intentions by detecting their eye movement. This has enabled them to develop a self-driving, self-navigating wheelchair for paralysed people who can direct it with their gaze. The eye tracker gathers information on eye movements, and the AI programme defines where the wheelchair should move to, and guides it to avoid obstacles. His team have also developed software that enables the user to control a robotic arm with eye commands. The technology demonstrates how one day people may be able to extend their range of abilities and use robots to do more than one task at time. Dr Faisal and his team collaborate with many institutions in Germany.

Data Privacy and human behaviourDr Yves-Alexandre de Montjoye is the head of the Privacy Group at Imperial and is also a Special Adviser to EU Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager. His research aims at understanding how the uniqueness of human behaviour impacts the privacy of individuals in large-scale metadata datasets. He does this through research into the risks of re-identification of the individual in large-scale metadata datasets as well as through using machine learning techniques to study what can be inferred from metadata about individuals. His research is highly relevant in context of the recent data protection scandals and developing policy initiatives that ensure personal privacy. He also collaborates with MIT.

Drone networks and navigationDr Mirko Kovac, Head of Imperial’s Aerial Robotics Lab, (pictured above) says that drones could one day form part of vast AI networks and perform functions for entire cities – such as spotting a person having a heart attack and calling an ambulance, or identifying leaks in gas pipes and fixing them.

An Imperial-founded startup has raised $5m (£3.8m) to develop advanced robot navigation systems. SLAMcore was founded by Imperial’s Dr Stefan Leutenegger, Professor Andrew Davidson, and Dr Owen Nicholson alongside alumnus Dr Jacek Zienkiewicz. It has developed technology that allows robots and drones to navigate unfamiliar environments. This ability is critical for autonomous robots – such as driverless cars – to prevent crashes.

For further information, please contact Stephen Johns (s.johns@imperial.ac.uk). imperial.ac.uk For further information, please contact Stephen Johns (s.johns@imperial.ac.uk). imperial.ac.uk

Fake reviewsProfessor Francesca Toni, from the Department of Computing, is an expert in computational logic. Professor Toni is currently researching the ways that machines reach conclusions and decisions that humans reach naturally. One project involved working with medics to provide help in making decisions when faced with conflicting recommendations and guidelines. Another project used artificial intelligence to analyse film reviews and determine if they were real or fake.

“ The scale and breadth of economic, social and cultural changes that the AI developments will bring about are of such phenomenal proportions that they cannot be fully envisaged.”

– Maja Pantic, Professor of Affective and Behavioural Computing

“ AI is beginning to demonstrate its promise to be a transformative tool for researchers, students, businesses and society. At the same time, it presents challenges because of the pace of its advance and the disruptions that it will create.”

– President Alice Gast

Professor Guo presented his research to President of China Xi Jinping Dr Yves-Alexandre de Montjoye is head of Imperial’s Privacy Group

Medical imagingDr Ben Glocker (pictured above) from the Department of Computing is using advanced AI to better understand healthy brain development, and to help doctors by automatically detecting neurological disorders and diseases in medical scans. His team are part of a large European project that is training algorithms to find brain tumours, traumatic injuries and stroke lesions and other useful information from complex MRI scans.