The mobility project between EU and New Zealand (LEONARDO EU-NZ), in which we are a partner, represents a programme of international education in the field of development and design of interactive applications. A collaboration of over ten years with the Academy of Fine Arts and Design, University of Ljubljana, in the field of new media resulted in the foundation of an association for linking science and art ArtNetLab (http://black.fri.uni-lj.si/), running interdisciplinary courses on both members of the university, and in preparation of new Bologna interdisciplinary programme New Media, in which the Academy of Theatre, Film, Radio and Television of the University of Ljubljana, will also collaborate. In contemporary art the use of the newest information and computer technologies is becoming necessary, and in interactive installations especially the use of computer vision as unconventional user interface. In the scope of the ArtNetLab and together with the Academy of Fine Arts and Design we co-organize different exhibitions from this field of art (e.g. yearly International Festival of Computer Arts), Franc Solina also had an independent exhibition Virtual Skiing (Feb. 1-12 2005), and exhibitions of other artists that collaborated in this linkage were exhibited internationally and were selected for prestigious exhibitions, like the last U3 in 2007 in the Museum of Modern Art in Ljubljana. Franc Solina also published an article about his art project entitled `15 Seconds of Fame' that uses computer vision methods in the prestigeous journal for connecting science and art Leonardo (MIT Press). A catalogue of his exhibition was also published.
F.29 Contribution to the development of national cultural identity
COBISS.SI-ID: 4148052The members of the programme group were very successful in managing EU 5., 6. and 7. framework programme (FP) projects and acquiring project funding. In the period 2004-2008 they successfully concluded with one FP5 project (Cognitive Vision Systems – CogVis) and very actively collaborated in the work done by the research network within the FP5 (ECVision - European Research Network for Cognitive Computer Vision Systems). They have successfully cooperated in three FP6 projects (Cognitive Systems for Cognitive Assistants – CoSy, Vision Technologies and Intelligent Maps for Mobile Attentive Interfaces in Urban Scenarios – MOBVIS, Computational and Cognitive Vision Systems: A Training European Network – VISIONTRAIN) and the research network within the FP6 (euCognition – The European Network for the Advancement of Artificial Cognitive Systems). They have already acquired funding for two FP7 projects (CogX – Cognitive systems that self-understand and self-extend and POETICON – The Poetics of Everyday Life: Grounding Resources and Mechanisms for Artificial Agents). All these results bear witness to a very high integration level of the research group into the European research streams. The successfulness in acquiring European project funding also reflects the importance of their research field on the European level as well as for the future progress of Slovenia. Their participation in large European projects (with considerable budgets) also enables the purchase of the latest research equipment and increase in the number of researchers, which should, in the future, form the nucleus of new R&D enterprises, possibly within technology parks and incubators. With their inclusion in the international research networks the flow of researchers is increasing, especially from the foreign countries to Slovenia. (https://cogvis.nada.kth.se, http://ecvision.org, http://cognitivesystems.org, http://www.mobvis.org, http://visiontrain.inrialpes.fr, http://eucognition.org, http://cogx.eu, http://www.ilsp.gr/poeticon_eng.html). Another of their EU FP projects worth mentioning is LEONARDO EU-NZ, a mobility project between EU and New Zealand (development and design of interactive applications, https://www.fri.uni-lj.si/en/laboratories/artificial_ intelligence_group/lab_computer_vision/3218/project.html). In relation to the above a postdoctoral project on XML-based data-format for image analysis results could also be mentioned. Within this project the postdoctoral researcher spent one year at CEIT, Spain.
D.01 Chairing over/coordinating (international and national) projects
In May 2006 the members of the programme group together with colleagues from Graz Technical University, Austria, organised the European Conference on Computer Vision. This was the biggest such event in Europe in 2006. There was a very large response, as over 800 contributions were received. Of these, 250 were accepted, and more than 800 people from all over the world attended the conference. Since the contributions were of the highest level they served as important contributions to the development of different fields within computer vision. With exceptional organisation and successful promotion of their work and the University of Ljubljana in general, the members of the programme group also contributed to greater recognition and the enhacement of the research reputation of our environment. (http://eccv2006.tugraz.at/) In October 2004 the members of the programme group organised a Cognitive Systems Kickoff event in Bled. The event was organised at the start of the EU FP6 projects in the field of cognitive systems with the aim of strenghtening the relations between collaborating institutions and building a strong research community in this field. The initiative and support for the event was given by EU IST E5 Cognition unit. There were 83 participants, among them almost all the principal researchers in the field of cognitive systems, and the representatives of the EU. (http://cognitivesystems.org/CogSysKickoff)
B.01 Organiser of a scientific meeting
COBISS.SI-ID: 5840724Lottery On-line (2003-2008): We collaborate in the development process of a software solution for salesrooms of Loterija Slovenija. We developed a user-friendly graphical Internet application, designed as a stateless thin-client that enables on-line sale in whole of Slovenia, while all the transactions are executed on a central server. The application is developed on open-source components and runs in Linux OS. The system has been in use in Loterija Slovenija salesrooms already since 2004. In the second phase we developed a new version, a so-called light client on new hardware, which enables the inclusion of the solution into on-line sales networks of other enterprises. Algorithms for automatic detection of surface defects on tiles, partner: Asiris Vision Technologies SA, Spain (2004-2005) – a machine for classification of marble tiles that integrates below given work is successfully on the market:
F.17 Transfer of existing technologies, know-how, methods and procedures into practice
COBISS.SI-ID: 5112404Journal editorship: • Electrotechnical review. Solina, Franc (technical editor 1989-2005). Ljubljana: Elektrotehniška zveza Slovenije, 1931-. ISSN 0013-5852. [COBISS.SI-ID 742916] • A. Leonardis: Editorial Board Pattern Recognition http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaleditorialboard.cws_home/328/editorialboard#editorialboard • A. Leonardis: Book series: Computational Imaging and Vision http://www.springer.com/series/5754 Awards: For their research work two members of the programme group received a prestigeous award: • Aleš Leonardis: Ambassador of Republic of Slovenia in science, Jun 2004, http://www.mvzt.gov.si/si/delovna_podrocja/znanost_in_visoko_solstvo/ znanost/priznanje_ambasador_rs_v_znanosti/priznanje_ambasador_rs_v_znanosti_2004/ • Franc Solina: University of Ljubljana golden plaque, December 2006 Invited lectures: The impact of the work done by the members of the programme group is demonstrated also by numerous invitations for invited lectures from respected European and world research and educational organisations. Aleš Leonardis has had 20 invited lectures in Europe, Canada and Asia, Franc Solina four lectures in Europe and Australia, Peter Peer two lectures in Europe, while Miha Peternel and Danijel Skočaj have each had one invited lecture. In 2006, the research programme leader Franc Solina was elected dean of the Faculty of Computer and Information Science, University of Ljubljana.
C.06 Editorial board membership