Bridging the language barrier with state-of-the-art machine translation technologies and human-computer-interaction brought to perfection: Just two examples ofscientific excellence made in Germany, that will be presented at the AAAS Annual Meeting in Vancouver. Conference attendees will have the opportunity to experience prototypes in operation and discuss newest research results with experts on site.
Baden-Württemberg, the German Southwest, is the most innovative region in Europe, particularly dedicated to science and education. A share of 4.8 % of the State's GDP is invested in research and development – more than in most countries all around the world. Baden-Württemberg offers the highest density of research institutions and universities in Germany. Four of them will be presenting in Vancouver:
Machine Translation – Bridging the Language Barrier: The Interactive Systems Lab (ISL) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) develops state-of-the-art phrase-based statistical systems that translate text or speech from one language into another. A machine translation system consists of two core components: The translation model is trained on sentence-aligned human translations, as they are e. g. available for the speeches of the European Parliament. In the training process, the system analyzes existing translations to learn translation patterns. The second core component of a machine translation system is the language model. This model is trained on a large portion of monolingual text. Many challenges remain to bring this system to perfection. In Vancouver, KIT scientists will present the system in operationand introduce the audience at booth 209 to their most recent research results.
The Tangible Interaction Research Group (University of Applied Sciences, Schwäbisch Gmünd) will present the projects "Reflective Haptics" and “WE.SEARCH": "Reflective Haptics" enriches stylus-based human computer interaction on touch screens through a dynamic haptic feedback. Some results can be experienced through hands-on prototypes, and conference attendees will be among the first world wide to do so. The goal of WE.SEARCH is the launch of an online platform for collaborative projects with an alternative access to interdisciplinary scientific research.
University of Freiburg – BIOSS Centre for Biological Signalling Studies: Biological signalling processes are the key regulators of cellular activity in all types of cells in living organisms. A better understanding of these processes not only provides solutions to important biological problems, but also has a major impact on medical research and practice. In Vancouver, experts on those subjects will share the research group’s most exciting findings and the expected impact on everyday life.
MicroTEC Südwest (Southwest), managed by MST BW – an innovative cluster in the field of microsystems technology. The cluster brings together over 1,200 researchers from more than 350 companies, organizations, universities, and research institutes, making MicroTEC Südwest one of the largest technology networks in Europe. How such a large network is managed and uses synergies in the most effective manner will be presented in Vancouver.
