Nils Nilsson at Stanford University in 1987. Twenty years earlier, as a researcher, he helped create the first general purpose robot.Ed Souza/Stanford News
Nils Nilsson at Stanford University in 1987. Twenty years earlier, as a researcher, he helped create the first general purpose robot.Ed Souza/Stanford News
Nils J. Nilsson, a computer scientist who helped develop the first general-purpose robot and was a co-inventor of algorithms that made it possible for the machine to move about efficiently and perform simple tasks, died on Sunday at his home in Medford, Ore. He was 86.
His death was confirmed by his wife, Grace Abbott.
Dr. Nilsson was a member of a small group of computer scientists and electrical engineers at the Stanford Research Institute (now known as SRI International) who pioneered technologies that have proliferated in modern life, whether in navigation software used in more than a billion smartphones or in such speech-control systems as Siri.
The researchers had been recruited by Charles Rosen, a physicist at the institute, who had raised Pentagon funding in 1966 to design a robot that would be used as a platform for doing research in artificial intelligence.
Although the project was intended to create a general-purpose mobile “automaton” and be a test bed for A.I. programs, Mr. Rosen had secured the funding by selling the idea to the Pentagon that the machine would be a mobile sentry for a military base.
At one Pentagon meeting he was asked if this automaton could carry a gun. “How many do you need?” he answered. “I think it should easily be able to handle two or three.”
One of several books by Dr. Nilsson, “The Quest for Artificial Intelligence” was published in 2010 by Cambridge University Press.
One of several books by Dr. Nilsson, “The Quest for Artificial Intelligence” was published in 2010 by Cambridge University Press.
The researchers puzzled about what to name their robot, then decided that because it “shook like hell” when it moved, they would just call it Shakey. In 1970, Life Magazine, overstating its abilities, called the machine “the first electronic person” and suggested that true “thinking” machines would arrive in the near future.
Dr. Nilsson, who had specialized in radar, joined the Stanford institute in 1961. Another member of the group, Dr. Peter Hart, recalled in an interview that in recruiting Dr. Nilsson, Mr. Rosen had poked his finger at Dr. Nilsson’s chest and said: “Radar? That’s like doing research on light bulbs! You have to come help us design these learning machines.”
An early focus of Dr. Nilsson’s work involved neural networks, a new technology at the time that had been pioneered by Frank Rosenblatt at Cornell University. That technology would fall out of fashion in the 1970s, then re-emerge this decade after the cost of computing and gathering large data sets fell dramatically.
With the addition of vast amounts of data, neural networks began to rival human qualities in speech understanding and vision.
In 1965, Dr. Nilsson published one of the first books in the field of neural networks, “Learning Machines: Foundations of Trainable Pattern-Classifying Systems.” The approach broke with the dominant direction of artificial intelligence at the time.
Dr. Nilsson in 2003. He had no interest in Silicon Valley start-ups. “He was a researcher and academically inclined,” a colleague said. “He didn’t have any interest in commerce or, as he would call it, ‘industry.’ ”Linda A. Cicero/Stanford News
Dr. Nilsson in 2003. He had no interest in Silicon Valley start-ups. “He was a researcher and academically inclined,” a colleague said. “He didn’t have any interest in commerce or, as he would call it, ‘industry.’ ”Linda A. Cicero/Stanford News
Edward Feigenbaum, an early member of the artificial intelligence research community, called the book “revelatory.”
One challenge for the Stanford researchers was to figure out how a robot might navigate in an environment full of obstacles. Dr. Nilsson collaborated with Bertram Raphael and Dr. Hart to create what became known as the A* (pronounced “A Star”) algorithm, which allowed Shakey to find the shortest path between two points in a room strewn with obstacles.
Dr. Hart recalled walking down a hallway and encountering his two fellow researchers deep in discussion about how to calculate the most efficient route for a robot. He went home that evening and spent hours thinking about finding a mathematical proof that would show that a given path was the shortest one possible. He returned the next day and began working with his colleagues to come up the A* algorithm.
Dr. Nilsson worked with another researcher, Richard Fikes, to develop an algorithm to do higher-level planning, or reasoning, known as the Stanford Research Institute Problem Solver, or Strips. The program was designed to enable Shakey to perform simple tasks like finding and moving blocks; this required the machine to reason through a problem in an abstract way.
After the Shakey project wound down, Dr. Nilsson gained funding for another project at SRI International, known as the “Computer-based Consultant,” which focused on natural language understanding. It was a predecessor to Siri, which was also launched at SRI and spun off as an independent company in 2007 before it was acquired by Apple in 2010.
Dr. Nilsson was named chairman of the Stanford computer science department in 1985. He was also the author of “The Quest for Artificial Intelligence: A History of Ideas and Achievements” (2010), among other books.
Nils John Nilsson was born on Feb. 6, 1933, in Saginaw, Mich., to Walter and Pauline (Glerum) Nilsson. When he was 11, the family moved to California, where his father was a salesman for an industrial equipment distributor. His mother was a homemaker.
Dr. Nilsson studied at Stanford as an undergraduate and in 1958 received his Ph.D. there in electrical engineering. His dissertation was in information theory, exploring the problem of both detecting and jamming radar.
He then joined the Air Force and served three years, stationed at the Rome Air Development Center in Rome, N.Y., a research laboratory, before joining the Stanford Research Institute.
In 1958 he married Karen Braucht, who died in 1991. Along with his wife, Ms. Abbott, his survivors include two children from his first marriage, Lars Nilsson and Kristin Nilsson Farley; four stepsons; four grandchildren; and eight step-grandchildren.
Unlike many engineers and computer scientists in Silicon Valley, Dr. Nilsson shied away from the start-up frenzy that has been emblematic of the region.
“He was a researcher and academically inclined,” Dr. Hart said. “He didn’t have any interest in commerce or, as he would call it, ‘industry.’ That was great for other people, but he was not interested.”
A version of this article appears in print on , on Page D7 of the New York edition with the headline: Nils Nilsson, 86, Who Taught Robots to Find Their Way. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
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*** Please distribute, apologies for cross-posting ***
*** DEADLINE EXTENDED TO April 30, 2019 ***
10th Thematic Track on
MultiAgent Systems: Theory and Applications (MASTA @ EPIA2019)
3-6 September 2019, Vila Real, Portugal
———-
CALL FOR PAPERS
———-
Aims and Scope
Research on Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) has a vigorous, exciting tradition and has led to important theories and systems. However, new trends and concerns are still emerging and form the basis of current and future research. The 10th thematic track on “MultiAgent Systems: Theory and Applications”, to take place at EPIA 2019, and will provide a discussion forum on the most recent and innovative work in all areas of MAS.
The unifying focus of the thematic track will be on methodological aspects. Both theoretical and practical research should be situated in the context of existing or new methodologies. This will not preclude any specific topic, but preference will be given to research work that establishes some connection with the methodological aspects or to successful applications built upon some methodology.
Topics
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
Agent theories, architectures and models
Agent-based systems Interoperability
Agreement technologies
Applications of agents and MAS (industrial and commercial)
Artificial social systems
Automated negotiation and computational argumentation
Cognitive models, including emotions and philosophies
Communication: languages, semantics, protocols, and conversations
Cooperation, coordination and teamwork in MAS
Ethical and legal issues raised by autonomous agents and MAS
Formal methods for modelling agents and agent-based systems
Human-agent interaction
Learning in MAS
Multiagent evolution, emergent behavior and adaptation
Multiagent modelling and simulation
Scalability and performance of MAS
Societal issues: organizations, institutions, norms, socio-technical systems
Trust, reputation, privacy and security
Paper Submission Instructions
All accepted papers will be published by Springer in a volume of Springer’s Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence (LNAI) corresponding to the proceedings of the 19th EPIA Conference on Artificial Intelligence, EPIA 2019.
Submissions must be original and not published elsewhere. Papers should not exceed twelve (12) pages in length and must adhere to the formatting instructions of the conference. Each submission will be peer-reviewed by at least three members of the Program Committee. The reviewing process is double blind, so authors should remove names and affiliations from the submitted papers, and must take reasonable care to assure anonymity during the review process. References to own work may be included in the paper, as long as referred to in the third person. Acceptance will be based on the paper’s significance, technical quality, clarity, relevance and originality. All accepted papers must be presented orally the conference by one of the authors and at least one author of each accepted paper must register for the conference.
This track also accepts short papers submissions (maximum of 6 pages) for position papers, work in progress and application/demonstration papers. The registration fee is the same for regular and short papers. In case of acceptance, authors will have the same time for paper presentation.
All papers should be submitted in PDF format through the EPIA 2019 EasyChair submission page. Prospective authors should select the thematic track to which their paper is to be submitted.
Important Dates
Paper submission deadline: April 15, 2019April 30, 2019
*** Please distribute, apologies for cross-posting ***
*** DEADLINE EXTENDED TO April 30, 2019 ***
10th Thematic Track on
MultiAgent Systems: Theory and Applications (MASTA @ EPIA2019)
3-6 September 2019, Vila Real, Portugal
———-
CALL FOR PAPERS
———-
Aims and Scope
Research on Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) has a vigorous, exciting tradition and has led to important theories and systems. However, new trends and concerns are still emerging and form the basis of current and future research. The 10th thematic track on “MultiAgent Systems: Theory and Applications”, to take place at EPIA 2019, and will provide a discussion forum on the most recent and innovative work in all areas of MAS.
The unifying focus of the thematic track will be on methodological aspects. Both theoretical and practical research should be situated in the context of existing or new methodologies. This will not preclude any specific topic, but preference will be given to research work that establishes some connection with the methodological aspects or to successful applications built upon some methodology.
Topics
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
Agent theories, architectures and models
Agent-based systems Interoperability
Agreement technologies
Applications of agents and MAS (industrial and commercial)
Artificial social systems
Automated negotiation and computational argumentation
Cognitive models, including emotions and philosophies
Communication: languages, semantics, protocols, and conversations
Cooperation, coordination and teamwork in MAS
Ethical and legal issues raised by autonomous agents and MAS
Formal methods for modelling agents and agent-based systems
Human-agent interaction
Learning in MAS
Multiagent evolution, emergent behavior and adaptation
Multiagent modelling and simulation
Scalability and performance of MAS
Societal issues: organizations, institutions, norms, socio-technical systems
Trust, reputation, privacy and security
Paper Submission Instructions
All accepted papers will be published by Springer in a volume of Springer’s Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence (LNAI) corresponding to the proceedings of the 19th EPIA Conference on Artificial Intelligence, EPIA 2019.
Submissions must be original and not published elsewhere. Papers should not exceed twelve (12) pages in length and must adhere to the formatting instructions of the conference. Each submission will be peer-reviewed by at least three members of the Program Committee. The reviewing process is double blind, so authors should remove names and affiliations from the submitted papers, and must take reasonable care to assure anonymity during the review process. References to own work may be included in the paper, as long as referred to in the third person. Acceptance will be based on the paper’s significance, technical quality, clarity, relevance and originality. All accepted papers must be presented orally the conference by one of the authors and at least one author of each accepted paper must register for the conference.
This track also accepts short papers submissions (maximum of 6 pages) for position papers, work in progress and application/demonstration papers. The registration fee is the same for regular and short papers. In case of acceptance, authors will have the same time for paper presentation.
All papers should be submitted in PDF format through the EPIA 2019 EasyChair submission page. Prospective authors should select the thematic track to which their paper is to be submitted.
Important Dates
Paper submission deadline: April 15, 2019April 30, 2019
*Apologies for cross-postings*
*ISSAI 2019: First Interdisciplinary Summer School on AI* (issai.dei.uc.pt) *Focus Theme: “New paths for Intelligence”*
*Jointly organised by APPIA and AEPIA* *June 5-7, 2019* *Fórum Cultural de Cerveira, Vila Nova de Cerveira, Portugal*
The ISSAI is intended as an interdisciplinary forum with the aim to create a multi-directional flow between AI and other disciplines. The spirit of the meeting is that a forum where practitioners from different fields both present ideas from their fields and learn about ideas from other fields is the best atmosphere for all the disciplines to prosper together.
The event is an initiative of the Portuguese and Spanish associations for AI (APPIA and AEPIA). It is aimed at graduate students, post-docs and researchers willing to advance their knowledge and gain new insights by actively participating in an interdisciplinary dialogue.
The focus theme for the first edition in 2019 will be “New paths for Intelligence”.
*Confirmed Lecturers*: – Luc Steels (Catalan Institute for Advanced Studies (ICREA)) – ai.vub.ac.be/members/steels – Matteo Valleriani (Max Planck Institute for the History of Science) – www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/users/valleriani – Itziar de Lecuona (Universitat de Barcelona) – www.bioeticayderecho.ub.edu/en/itziar-de-lecuona – JJ Merelo (University of Granada) – kal-el.ugr.es/jj/jj.html – Jochen Büttner (Max Planck Institute for the History of Science) – www.topoi.org/person/buettner-jochen/cv/ – Nuno Sousa (University of Minho) – www.icvs.uminho.pt/research-scientists/people/njcsousa – Tony Veale (University College Dublin) – people.ucd.ie/tony.veale
*We invite all the graduate students, post-docs and researchers interested in this interdisciplinary forum to book these dates and pay attention to our website. The registration will open soon.*
*Venue*: The ISSAI will take place in the Fórum Cultural de Cerveira, which is the main stage of the prestigious Biennial of Art of Vila nova de Cerveira. This venue offers an excellent set up for three intensive days of lecturers, panels, formal and informal discussions, networking and fun.
*Accommodations*: We have booked a number of places with controlled prices, primarily for students, in the Youth Hostel (Pousada da Juventude). Detailed information on how to apply will be available in ISSAI website soon. Vila Nova da Cerveira has a good offer of alternative accommodations available in the most known booking platforms.
*Chairs*: – Amparo Alonso (University of A Coruña) – Amílcar Cardoso (University of Coimbra) – Luís Correia (University of Lisbon) – Pablo Gervás (University Complutense of Madrid) – Paulo Novais (University of Minho) – Alicia Troncoso Lora (University Pablo de Olavide)
— Please distribute. Apologies for cross-posting. ———————————————————————————————- CALL FOR PAPERS ———————————————————————————————- Ambient Intelligence and Affective Environments (AmIA@EPIA2019) ———————————————————————————————- Thematic Track of 19th Conference on Artificial Intelligence (EPIA 2019) 3-6 September 2019, Vila Real, Portugal https://epia2019.utad.pt/
———————————————————————————————- Submission deadline: April 30, 2019 ———————————————————————————————- Ambient Intelligence (AmI) is a paradigm emerging from Artificial Intelligence (AI), where computers are used as proactive tools assisting people with their day-to-day activities, making everyone’s life more comfortable.
Affect and social behavior plays an important role in the development of Ambient Intelligent Environments. Consideration of aspects like emotions, mood, personality traits, and attitudes in human-computer, human-robot, and human-environment interaction, especially insofar as they provide better or more "natural" support for humans. These environments should be aware of the needs of people, customizing requirements and forecasting behaviors.
AmI environments may be highly diverse, such as homes, offices, meeting rooms, schools, hospitals, control centers, transport facilities, tourist attractions, stores, sport installations, music devices, etc.
In the Thematic track on AmIA Environments we will create a multi-disciplinary discussion forum that will bring together researchers from the different fields addressed discussing issues in Artificial Intelligence topics included in the Ambient Intelligence and affective environments. Researchers are welcome to present both theoretical and practical works as well as the lessons learned with their application in the varied range of domains. Emphasis will be placed on the presentation of concrete systems, discussion of implementation and development challenges and sharing of conclusions achieved and relevant results.
———————————————————————————————- Contributions ———————————————————————————————- In order to fulfill these objectives, submissions of substantial, original and previously unpublished work are invited in all areas of Ambient Intelligence and Affective environments. The topics of interest include, but are not limited to: – Applications – Ambient Assisted Living – Ubiquitous Computing – Artificial Intelligence for AmI – Intelligent Environments – Pervasive Computing – Context Aware Computing – Agent & Multiagent Systems for AmI – Mobile Computing – Sentient Computing – e-Health – Context Modelling – AmI for e-Learning – On-line Dispute Resolution – Memory Assistant – Computational models of emotions – Group Emotion – Affect and learning – Artificial characters – Affect and emotion recognition
———————————————————————————————— Submission Information and paper publication ———————————————————————————————— Submissions must be full technical papers on substantial, original, and previously unpublished research. Papers can have a maximum length of 12 pages. All papers should be prepared according to the formatting instructions of Springer LNCS series (Springer Lecture Notes in Computer Science). Authors should omit their names from the submitted papers, and should take reasonable care to avoid indirectly disclosing their identity. All papers should be submitted in PDF format through the EPIAí2019 submission Website (easychair.org/conferences/?conf=epia2019) selecting the track Ambient Intelligence and Affective Environments.
All accepted papers will be published by Springer in a volume of the LNAI Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence series (indexed by the Thomson ISI Web of Knowledge).
———————————————————————————————— Important Dates ———————————————————————————————— *• Full Paper Submission: April 30, 2019* • Notification of Acceptance: May 31, 2019 • Camera ready Papers: June 15, 2019 • Conference Date: September 3-6, 2019 ———————————————————————————————— Organizing Committee ———————————————————————————————— Goreti Marreiros, Polytechnic of Porto (mgt@isep.ipp.pt) Paulo Novais, University of Minho, Portugal (pjon@di.uminho.pt) Ana Almeida, Polytechnic of Porto, Portugal (amn@isep.ipp.pt) Sara Rodriguez, University of Salamanca, Spain (srg@usal.es) Peter Mikulecky, University of Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic (Peter.Mikulecky@uhk.cz)
Goreti Marreiros
Professor Adjunto Departamento de Engenharia Informática
ISEP | Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 431 4249-015 Porto – PORTUGAL tel. +351 228 340 500 | fax +351 228 321 159 mail@isep.ipp.pt | www.isep.ipp.pt
