Products and Services
We generate scientific knowledge in the form of algorithms, models, processes, and hardware designs, and make it available to the public. It is only thanks to the mathematical tools we have developed that some researchers coming from multiple disciplines have been able to develop innovative solutions to real-world problems for the greater good.
We have developed technologies that have applications in a wide array of areas. At CAVIIAR we apply this knowledge to the following ongoing projects, each of which is developed and managed by experts in their respective fields of knowledge:
Universal access to health promotion through information technology and Genome Wide Association Studies.
Mathematical models for the contention of biological agents.
Education and conservation of cultural heritage through projects of electronic literature such as Literatronica and the Global Poetic System.
In our projects we use mainly two types of techniques:
Data Mining SYSTEMS: We are interested in artificial intelligence engines for information systems such as desktop applications, web applications, enterprise applications, GIS, art projects, and hardware interfaces. We turn information (raw data) into knowledge (identified patterns).
Mathematical MODELS: We are interested in stochastic, deterministic and probabilistic models of real-world situations, ranging from molecular biology to spatial epidemiology. We have the knowledge necessary to incorporate these models into enterprise information infrastructures.
Some of the successful research projects completed recently are:
SYSTEM (2009): Global Poetic System Version 2 (GPS2)
The Global Poetic System (GPS) is an interdisciplinary project that exploits the intersection between literary creation, mathematics, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and artificial intelligence. The GPS is an information system that allows people to get lost in the cultural discovery of a city. This type of information system is wanted by communities that want to improve the offer of cultural tourism and/or education though networked technology. Done in collaboration with Laura Borràs.
See http://prot.geopoet.net/
SYSTEM & MODEL (2007): Bio-Structural Classification Database
This research project involved finding patterns within sets of biological objects (RNA, DNA, proteins, brains, etc.) This system produces different types of feature vectors, mainly higher order moments and knot invariants based on Gauss integrals, and then applies a battery of pattern classification algorithms such as Least Minimum Squares (LMS), Fisher Linear Discriminant (FLD), Multiple Discriminant Analysis (MDA), and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Other methods are being implemented as well. CAVIIAR built a web front-end to a high-performance relational database that could manage the massive amount of data available (proteins, nucleic acids and brains). Done in collaboration with C Laing, M Hurdal, D W Sumners and W Mio. Available at:
http://www.bioclassification.org
MODEL (2007): Population Dynamics. Trojan Chromosomes
A Trojan chromosome is a genetic variation that can lead to local extinction when it is artificially introduced into a population. This approach is especially useful to deal with invasive animal species, a growing problem which threats agriculture and ecosystems worldwide. However, predicting the stocking rates of Trojan individuals, the feasibility of the strategy, and the time to extinction for a given species is not easy. It requires careful modeling using coupled systems of advection-diffusion-reaction PDEs and the use of parameters that are difficult to measure in practice. Mathematical modeling of an ecosystem following the introduction of Trojan individuals at a constant rate reveals strategies that lead to an eventual local extinction. The generalization of this model allows designing strategies for eradication of disparate invasive species. Done in collaboration with John Teem, Division of Aquaculture, Florida Department of Agriculture. This research resulted in a Ph.D. dissertation by Juan B. Gutierrez, directed by Dr. Monica Hurdal at Florida State University. The source code is available
here. A video list with the supporting documentation is available
here. This list includes: (i) video demo of an invasion process of CAS in Lake Munson, Tallahassee, FL, (ii) video-manual to extract information from a map, (iii) video-manual to enter information into Scilab, (iv) video-manual to produce a invasion model video for a user-defined spatial domain.
SYSTEM & MODEL (2007): Literatronic: Adaptive Digital Narrative
Adaptive digital narrative works reconfigure themselves for the reader, leading to a potentially unique read every time. Adaptive books cannot be reproduced on paper except, perhaps, as a reading path at a given moment. Adaptivity is achieved by a specialized AI engine that makes an approximation to a Hamiltonian cycle in a weighted graph with weights that vary in time according to a coupled set of ODEs. The solution of a multi-terminal network flow on such a graph solves the optimization problem of minimizing hypertextual attraction (a measure of narrative continuity) and hypertextual friction (a measure of the risk of loosing readers' attention). Available at:
http://www.literatronic.com