Erasmus visit to Fontys University in Eindhoven (NL), 21 - 24 March 2011

My visit to Eindhoven was hosted by the programme for Information and Communication Technology. The inviting colleague was Ella van der Sanden. Special thanks go also to Ad Maas who helped in organisation and promotion for a higher attendance.

I gave a workshop on Artificial Intelligence in Practice which was scheduled in two parts:

Part 1: AI targets and applications in technics and logistics

Tuesday, 22 March 2011, 13:15 - 16:00, R1 3.13

This part applied to all ICT students and technically oriented engineering students. Specific knowledge of programming tools was not necessary, only a general understanding of computers and technical applications.

In fact, only ICT students of the Dutch stream attended.

The content comprised:

• Survey of applications explaining fundamental AI principles
• The algorithms of Dijkstra and A*

Planned but not covered due to different interest of audience:

• Technical diagnosis: Automatic fault detection in a technical system
• Innovative logistics: Problem definitions and swarm intelligence solutions 

Part 2: AI details and applications in navigation and public service.

Thursday, 24 March 2011, 13:15 - 16:00, R1 4.32

This part applied primarily to ICT students. It was attendes by students of both, the Dutch and the English stream

The content comprised:

• Why ants find shortest paths
• Function and advantages of ant systems in navigation
• A short introduction into neural networks
• Tourist information: Individual advice without central control of data

Not all of the slides were actually discussed in class.

The discussed topics are illustrated by programs implemented in software projects at FH Wedel:

• Ant Simulator
• Hamburger Touristen Information

Downloads are available at the respective project website.