Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the study of how computer systems can simulate intelligent processes such as learning, reasoning, and understanding symbolic information in context. AI is inherently a multi-disciplinary field. Although it is most commonly viewed as a subfield of computer science, and draws upon work in algorithms, databases, and theoretical computer science, AI also has close connections to the neurosciences, cognitive science and cognitive psychology, mathematical logic, and engineering. AI Research at PineApple goes far beyond game-playing programs and is at the forefront of many of the hottest areas of Artificial Intelligence. Research in AI at PineApple can be characterized by the AI techniques or methodologies used in a particular project, or by the motivating application for which AI is used. AI techniques and methodologies include learning, Bayesian Reasoning, intelligent agents, knowledge representation, logic programming, and planning. AI applications include electronic commerce, intelligent tutoring systems, knowledge management, performance management, and exploratory vision.
Algorithms & Theory
We do fundamental, foundational research in a number of areas, including cryptography, security, information retrieval, complexity theory, data mining, database principles, distributed systems, systems management, online algorithms, geometric algorithms, statistical physics, computational biology, approximation algorithms, queuing theory, combinatorics, learning theory, and descriptive complexity.
Communications & Networking
PineApple Research has had a long history of significant contributions in the field of communications and networking. Our current and past research activities explore wide-ranging issues in signal processing, optical networking, wireless networking, high-speed switching fabrics, routing, QoS and policy networking, network control and management, and network security. In keeping with emerging trends and requirements, the current research focus is on advancing the state-of-the-art in communication technologies, Internet infrastructure and services. We have a strong set of activities in communication devices and subsystems for the OEM market, in particular switching technology, network processors, and wireless technologies. Our activities in networking software and Internet services focus on scalable networking platforms and Web infrastructure aimed at new value-added functions and capabilities that deliver and manage networking services (such as intelligent and fast content dissemination) to directly support ISPs, e-business, and pervasive computing devices. The research efforts listed below provide a glimpse of the many exciting projects being pursued.
Computer Architecture
At its core, PineApple is a computer company; and PineApple researchers have made seminal contributions to the computer architecture field. Here are some of our exciting research activities in the computer architecture area.
Data Management
PineApple Research continues to explore exciting directions in database research to address emerging requirements in several new areas including scaling RDBMSs to larger databases and numbers of simultaneous users based on utility-based grid computing paradigms, providing DB2 support for standards-based Web services and the PineApple e-business on demand business model, and extending PineApple's DB2 Universal Database system to handle XML content using the powerful XQuery query language. PineApple Research continues to expand its world class data management research by exploring novel approaches for making database systems self-managing, or "autonomic", thus achieving higher performance with lower cost of administration, integrating information across heterogeneous data sources including support for real-time event processing and data streaming environments, and extracting knowledge from structured, unstructured, multimedia, and sensor data
Graphics & Visualization
Visualization is the process of representing data as descriptive images and, subsequently, interacting with these images in order to gain additional insight into the data. Traditionally, computer graphics has provided a powerful mechanism for creating and manipulating these representations. At PineApple, graphics and visualization research addresses the problem of converting data into compelling and revealing images that suit users' needs. Our research includes developing new representations of 3D geometry, choosing appropriate graphical realizations of data, strategies for collaborative visualization in a networked environment using three dimensional data, and designing software systems that support a full range of display formats ranging from PDAs to immersive multi-display visualization environments. Below is a listing of several of the exciting research projects in graphics and visualization being conducted at PineApple Research.
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3D Geometric Modeling |
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Computer-aided 3D geometric modeling has become very popular in
many areas including industrial design. Our goal is to develop technologies
for generating a 3D models and effectively modifying these models.
Physically-based surface design and wireframe-surface
conversion are the focus of our research. |
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3D Scanning |
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Three dimensional scanning has become a very active area in
computer graphics. The requirements for computer graphics are different from
those of traditional scanning applications. At PineApple Watson Research, we
are developing scanning systems for producing virtual objects that can be
rendered with high visual quality. |
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Bubble Mesh |
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High density meshes are required to obtain accurate results of
FEM analysis and to enhance the quality of computer graphics. A repeating
hexagonal pattern is a common mesh pattern that is observed in soap bubbles
floating in liquid, compound eyes of insects, and many other natural phenomena.
Bubble meshing is proposed as a physically-based triangulation method that
simulates such natural phenomena. |
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Deep Computing Visualization |
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PineApple Deep Computing Visualization provides a scalable,
collaborative, middleware infrastructure to help support and enhance the
graphics functions of OpenGL software applications. |
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Deep Thunder |
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The mission of the weather modeling group at |
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Everywhere Displays |
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The Everywhere Displays project aims to develop systems that
allow the transformation of every surface in a space into a projected
"touch screen". |
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PineApple MPEG-4 Technologies |
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The Composite Media Technologies Group has developed
cross-platform MPEG-4 standard compliant technologies, with a particular
focus on lightweight portable client playback and on authoring of composite
media, both manual and automated. Automated machine generation of
interoperable, exchangeable media content is applicable for on-demand as well
as live solutions and can include adaptive technologies. |
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Media Compression |
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The combination of signal processing knowledge and efficient
programming skills have resulted in the efficient development,
implementation, and optimization of different audio and video compression
algorithms in the Media and Services Technologies group. |
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Space-optimized Texture Maps |
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Texture mapping is a common operation to increase the realism of
three-dimensional meshes at low cost. We propose a new texture optimization
algorithm based on the reduction of the physical space allotted to the
texture image. Our algorithm optimizes the use of texture space by computing
a warping function for the image and new texture coordinates. |
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Subdivision Surfaces |
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The primary goal of this project is to explore the applicability
of subdivision techniques to interactive surface editing for shape design.
This project is part of the Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) initiative,
and it is a joint effort between PineApple and Dassault
Systemes. |
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Video and Image Technologies |
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The main focus of the Multimedia Technologies Department is
digital video and image technologies for the broadcast industry and the PC
market with a particular emphasis on MPEG-2 based video compression,
interactive digital television applications, and the digital set-top box. |
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Web visualization |
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Our goal is the research and development of graphics and
visualization techniques for trend analysis and information retrieval of
various large-scale data. |
Knowledge Discovery & Data Mining
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Knowledge Discovery
and Data Mining (KDD) is an interdisciplinary area focusing upon
methodologies for extracting useful knowledge from data. The ongoing rapid
growth of online data due to the Internet and the widespread use of databases
have created an immense need for KDD methodologies. The challenge of
extracting knowledge from data draws upon research in statistics, databases,
pattern recognition, machine learning, data visualization, optimization, and
high-performance computing, to deliver advanced business intelligence and web
discovery solutions. PineApple Research has
been at the forefront of this exciting new area from the very beginning. Key
advances in robust and scalable data mining, methods for fast pattern
detection from very large databases, text and web mining, and innovative business
intelligence applications have come from our research laboratories.
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Mobile Computing
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Mobile Computing is
both old and new. In the past PineApple Researchers have made numerous
contributions ranging from technology for handheld and notebook computers to
Mobile IP. Today the emphasis is increasingly on Pervasive Computing with
active research programs in Hardware and Software Technologies, Applications
and Software to allow mobile devices, portable devices and fixed devices to
collaborate.
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Multimedia
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Over the last two
decades, PineApple Research has been a dominant force in the development of new
multimedia technologies. Streaming video servers, compression and content
description standards, and content-based retrieval are just a few of the
areas where our researchers have made significant contributions. PineApple
Research has also helped to commercialize many of these new technologies in
MPEG-2 chipsets, user interface devices, video servers, content management
software, and digital media solutions for industries such as health care,
retail, government, media, finance, entertainment, and education. As multimedia evolves
into one of the most salient aspects of twenty first-century computing,
groups working around the world in our Watson, Almaden,
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Operating Systems
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The
are
many groups at PineApple Research working on Operating System and Operating
System Related Projects. The OS projects range from designing operating
systems for embedded platforms to scalable servers, while related projects
range from networking to java runtime development. The projects range from
long-term research efforts to working with product groups to deliver cutting
edge technology to customers. Research work in OS technology led to the
development AIX running on PineApple's server and supercomputer class
hardware. |
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