Competence Center at the Faculty of Informatics, Hamburg University
| Home |
Contact |
Projects |
Publications |
| INTELLIGENT
SYSTEMS & ROBOTICS Competence Center at the Faculty of Informatics, Hamburg University |
|
 |
CogVis - Cognitive
Vision Systems EU-Project IT-2000 29375 2001 - 2004 Resonsible for work at Hamburg University: Bernd Neumann |
The main goal of the work in
Hamburg was to develop conceptual structures for high-level knowledge
relevant for scene understanding. It was shown that scene
interpretation can be accomplished based an taxonomical and
compositional aggregate hierarchies describing multi-object motion
concepts. The description logic ALCF(D) was identified as a suitable
knowledge representation framework. Table-laying activities in a
smart-room scenario were used as examples. |
 |
DLS -
Description Logics and Spatial Reasoning DFG-Project Ne 279/8 2000-2004 Responsible: Volker Haarslev, Ralf Möller, Bernd Neumann |
The DLS project aimed at the
integration of spatial and conceptual
reasoning in the formal framework of Description
Logics (DLs) with the goal to obtain correct and complete inference
procedures. In theoretical work, several families of DLs were
investigated as possible deductive inference systems for a Geographic
Information System (GIS). In practical work, the prototype system
DL-MAPS
was developed to process spatial queries using ontological
structures and inference procedures of the DL system RACER. |
 |
ISLE - Interactive Spoken Language
Education EU-Project, 5th Framework 1998 - 2000 Coordinator: Wolfgang Menzel |
The ISLE consortium developed a
prototype system for pronunciation training in foreign language
learning. Based on leading edge speech recognition technology the
system features novel diagnostic capabilties for phones and word stress
which enable it to provide the student with an unprecedented detail of
corrective feedback information, including possibilities to highlight
the relevant acoustic contrasts and to generate specifically tailored
follow-up exercises. |
 |
Dawai
- Ressource adaptive parsing of spoken language DFG-Project Me 1471/1 1997 - 2000 Responsible: Wolfgang Menzel |
A novel approach for parsing
natural language utterances was developed based on a procedure for
structural disambiguation with weighted constraints. The system
exhibits a high degree of robustness both against ungrammatical input
and temporal pressure. |
 |
PaPa
- Partial parsing of natural language utterances DFG-Project Me 1472/4 2001 - 2005 Responsible: Wolfgang Menzel |
The project investigates the
potential of constraint optimization techniques for dealing with
insufficient information. Among the factors considered are
missing lexical information, insufficient grammar coverage and
incomplete input. The ultimate goal consist in developing a
parsing system which is not only able to compensate partial deficits of
the availbale information sources but can also adapt the depth of
its results dynamically depending on the available evidence. The
research led to the development of the qualitatively best
syntactic parser for German so far. |
 |
ARK
– Axiomatics of Spatial Concepts DFG-Project Ha 1237/7 1996-2003 Responsible: Christopher Habel, Carola Eschenbach |
The project ‘Axiomatics of
Spatial Concepts’ (ARK) investigates spatial concepts, which play the
central role of spatial cognition: spatial concepts constitute the
inventory for spatial reasoning and some kinds of spatial memory and
provide essential ingredients for the language-perception and the
language-action interface. The goal of the ARK project was a systematic
formalization of inventories of spatial concepts that serve as a basis
to describe the phenomena of spatial cognition and the results of
empirical investigations in this field. As methodological background
for the formal characterizations the axiomatic method was employed. As
the empirical basis of the research in ARK we chose the semantics of
natural language expressions relating to space. In particular, we
investigated the comprehension and production of route descriptions. |
 |
ConcEv
– Conceptualizing Events DFG-Project Ha 1237/10 1997-2004 Responsible: Christopher Habel |
The topic of this project are
conceptualization processes in language production. Starting from
non-linear representations of the content to be described, e.g.
pictorial representations, conceptualization generates linear
(propositional) representations, the "preverbal message", which serves
as input for semantic and syntactic modules. ConcEv focuses on the
verbalization of event descriptions. The project is obliged to an
interdisciplinary approach. On the basis of empirical investigations
computer-linguistic models are developed for selected conceptualization
processes, in which results of psycholinguistic research about the
course of processes are combined with theoretical-linguistic
considerations about linguistic structures. |