14:26 (BST), 04/09/2008

4 September 2008

The role of intelligent computers in video games and medicine will be among the topics under discussion at an event held at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU).

The 2008 UK Workshop on Computational Intelligence (UKCI 2008) is taking place next week and will see researchers from academia and industry discussing new developments and applications in the field.

The aim of the workshop is to provide a forum for the sharing of ideas about the development and use of Computational Intelligence (CI).

CI is a rapidly expanding research field that encompasses fuzzy systems, neural networks, classification, machine learning and evolutionary computation.

Research is being carried out by an increasingly large number of engineers, scientists and mathematicians and a growing number of companies are employing CI techniques to assist with data analysis.

Plenary speakers at the event are Professor Xin Yao, of the University of Birmingham, who will speak on the subject of 'Cooperative coevolution for large scale evolutionary optimisation' and Professor Martin Anthony, of the London School of Economics and Political Science, whose talk is entitled 'Using a Boolean similarity measure in machine learning'.

General Chair of the workshop Dr Simon Coupland, said: "This is a great event for young researchers from the UK and Europe to network with some of the most eminent researchers working in the field of Computational Intelligence.

"We're looking forward to discussing a huge range of exciting topics, including intelligence in video games, intelligent analysis of medical images and intelligent solutions to supply chain problems.

"We're honoured to have one of the world's leading experts in evolutionary computing, Professor Xin Yao, of the University of Birmingham, giving a talk on his internationally renowned research."

Professor Adrian Hopgood, Dean of the Faculty of Computing Sciences and Engineering, will open the workshop.

Professor Hopgood said: "The UKCI workshop is a key event for researchers in this field and I'm very pleased that De Montfort University is hosting it this year.

"Computational Intelligence is used in a wide variety of applications and this is reflected in the diverse range of subjects under discussion at the workshop."

The event is taking place between 10 and 12 September. For further information about attending the event please contact Dr Simon Coupland - simonc@dmu.ac.uk

ENDS

Notes to editors

For more information please contact the De Montfort University Press and Public Relations Office on 0116 207 8353.

Further information can be found at the conference website www.cci.dmu.ac.uk/ukci2008/intro.html