Name Responsible Activity "Leuven Centre on Information and Communication Technology" "Dominique Schreurs" "The LICT Center bundles the complementary expertise of (electronic) engineers, computer scientists, sociologists and law experts all active in the area of ICT, being it hardware, software, or related legal and social aspects.The research activities of the center can be classified in 8 research lines.- Analog, Mixed-Signal & RF building blocks- Circuits & Systems for Sensing & Communications- Embedded Hardware and Software- Distributed Software- ICT Security & Safety- Multimedia Processing- Human-Computer Interaction- Data & Knowledge Science.The different research lines come together in cross-technology themes like “Green ICT”, “Big Data” and “Internet-of-Things” and find their application in domains like ""Health, Sports and Ambient Assisted Living"", “Smart Environments (Buildings, Cities, Industry, ...)”, “Media & Content”, “Transport, Logistics & Automotive”, ""Learning"" and ""Agriculture & Food""." "Information and Communication Technology Department" "Danny Schellemans" "The department for information and communication technology is responsible for the information technology and telematics of Ghent University." "Multidimensional signal processing and communication" "Adrian Munteanu" "The IRIS RESEARCH GROUP was founded in December 21, 1988. Image/video processing and machine vision always have been and remain central research activities. Our motivation is to stay ahead of the obvious R&D tendencies, which drives us towards in depth fundamental research. Our mission statement is to impact on the transformation processes of the knowledge society, which keeps us alert to continuously update our strategic R&D agenda and extend/generalize our background knowledge. We are often seeking inspiration in the unexplored engineering bottlenecks at the interface of various application domains. The specific goal of the group is FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH, continued in Applied Research projects up to a stage where the results - when exploited - have an impact on society and/or ICT applications. - MULTIMEDIA R&D is focused on the design of various ICT modules, part of the E2E distributed and interactive system design chain: data representation, compression algorithms, transmission, forensics, visualization, computational models, complexity and power management. - In MACHINE VISION, new concepts are investigated for establishing a unified approach for various applications. The activity complements our E2E skills by providing modules for audiovisual signal analysis, motion estimation and segmentation, 3D reconstruction from motion & stereo, segmentation and classification, object tracking, ontology-based semantic scene analysis, event detection, robot navigation & sensing, 3D animation, positioning and tracking wireless devices. - In the area of TELECOMMUNICATION NETWORK CONTROL, we focus on another competence needed for E2E system design: heuristic mechanisms and Artificial Intelligence. - In MEDICAL IMAGING and e-HEALTH, we have 3 specific foci: (i) robust mathematical solution methods, bridging the gap between inverse problems and numerical analysis, (ii) image processing and analysis, (iii) human motion with particular attention for frail and elderly people. TECHNOLOGY & KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER, participation in various application value chains and collaboration with industry, public services, and hospitals. are priorities for us. Starting from the previously described fundamental research experience, the IRIS group regularly renews and extends its R&D activities towards various application domains of Information Technology. Besides medical imaging - the oldest application domain of the group, expertise is present in automotive applications, localization and tracking, mobile and fixed communication, new media, remote sensing, satellite image processing, anti-personnel mine and minefield detection, public safety and surveillance., ... Collaborative contracts are existing with different players in the value chain of these applications. A continuous effort goes towards strengthening the involvement of IRIS in collaborative contracts with industry, public services, and hospitals. We are actively searching for opportunities of industrial valorization. The group operates in the broader context of the department ETRO, ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATICS, where three main research groups are collaborating to cover a wide range of generic technologies in Micro- and Optoelectronics (LAMI), Speech & Audio Processing (DSSP) and Multidimensional signal processing and communication with emphasis on Image Processing & Machine Vision (IRIS), which cannot be dealt with separately when the real world applications of the Information Society are envisaged. The collaboration between the three participating research groups leads to integrated transdisciplinary R&D, e.g. (i) in speech/audio and image/video processing in the context of multimedia research, (ii) in the exploitation of new opto-electronic devices for applications of ambient intelligence, gaming and industrial processes, and (iii) in joint channel-source coding." "Studies in Media, Innovation and Technology" "Pieter Ballon" "The research centre for Studies on Media, Information and Telecommunication was set up in 1990 by Prof. Dr. Jean-Claude Burgelman at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, within the department of Communication Studies. In 2000, Prof. Dr. Caroline Pauwels became director of the centre. SMIT research focuses on socio-economic and policy aspects of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and underlying infrastructures. It combines both fundamental (PhD's) and applied research, and has been active in short and long term, as well as national and European research projects. Over the last 15 years the centre has known a steady growth both in terms of personnel as in terms of research output. The centre endeavours an interdisciplinary course: the majority of researchers are communication scientists, but within the projects they work in close conjunction with sociologists, political scientists, lawyers, economists etc. In search for structural trans-national collaboration, it has concluded a research agreement with the Dutch TNO-STB in 2001. ICT and the advent of an information and knowledge society leads to new forms of organising work, education, leisure, social interaction, political participation, health, well-being etc. In this way, ICT do impact on every aspect of the life of the 'networked individual'. The latter being at the core of SMIT's research agenda, projects are articulated under 4 main topics: citizenship, health and well being, media and communication, and culture/leisure. In order to contribute to the rise of a 'user-friendly' Information Society, SMIT indeed has a triple, intertwined research scope. * First, the social shaping of technologies must be studied, as well as their 'domestication' (making a technology one's own) in daily practices and routines. By studying user-related aspects of technology appropriation and domestication, SMIT aims at formulating recommendations ex ante technological engineering. * Secondly, for a user-friendly information society to emerge, policy and regulatory options and foresights are studied and evaluated on their inherent strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. * Thirdly, SMIT studies the way ICT influence corporate and institutional behaviour, objectives and output (content, innovation of services). Moreover, SMIT performs in-depth analyses on how ICT affect the overall business modelling of converging multimedia and multiplatform industries. A micro, meso and macro level underlies different research projects. On a policy level, SMIT research indeed focuses on sub national (local (city), regional (Flanders)), national (Belgium) as well as trans-national (EU, worldwide) initiatives, and their underlying (in)consistency. On a corporate and institutional level, research ranges from attention for SMEs to trans national industrial conglomerates involved in telecommunications, computing and media.... As far as the social groups are concerned, SMIT's research projects encompass how both individuals, specific target groups (micro-enterprises, elderly people, youngsters, NGO's...), and Civil Society as a whole use ICT in the organisation of their different activities. Schematically, this constitutes the SMIT's research agenda. Through its research, SMIT is seeking to fill a number of empirical and theoretical gaps in communication science research, attributing equal importance to both theoretical (evaluation, explanation) and empirical verification/falsification (facts and figures). Moreover, a normative stance underlies all research projects: research setups should avoid technological, social and economic determinism. It seems indeed right to stress that SMIT believes that not everything that is technologically possible or economically viable, is socially relevant or worthwhile pursuing. Concepts as equal opportunities for all, social inclusion, bridging the digital divide, community building, cultural diversity... are at the core of SMIT's research concerns. SMIT research, in its methodological articulation, and depending on the topic under scrutiny, combines user, policy and business analysis (see scheme) with both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. In order to develop new methodological tools, a continuing dialectic between theory and empirical research is one of the centre's high-level objectives. Over the years, three methodologies have become the core of SMIT's research agenda: * user analysis, encompassing * policy analysis * business modelling 1. User analysis Understanding the everyday use of ICT through socio-technological research is one of SMIT's key objectives. We investigate how sociological and economic trends influence ICT developments and vice versa. This process of 'mutual shaping' between society and technology is at the core of the research approach. On the one hand this implies a thorough examination of how and why new media are adopted and used. On the other hand this also requires an investigation of how these media technologies can influence and support developments on different levels in society. Our mission is to translate these findings to industry and policy settings. For this we envisage three main outputs. First of all the research on ICT usage feeds into technological design and development decisions, preferably early on in the R&D process. Second a critical reflection on the interplay between society and ICT supports social, economic and technological policy decisions. Third the user research looks at how the role of 'the user' changes and reconfigures business models of converging ICT and media industries. In order to examine the ICT user we use different techniques, with a focus on qualitative methods. The interpretative approach is ideal for understanding why and how the (potential) user makes sense and behaves in certain ways, when being confronted with (new) media technologies. For this we ground our research on analytical induction, which involves different techniques like in-depth interviews, focus group interviews and ethnographic observations. These techniques are complemented with quantitative methods, like logging analyses and (online) surveys, to enable triangulation of empirical findings. The most optimal set-up for examining everyday use of ICT is confronting (potential) users and (demonstrators of) communication technologies in a real life setting. This kind of test and experimentation platform is called a 'living lab'. It is an experimentation environment in which technology is given shape in real life contexts and in which (end) users are considered 'co-producers'. Setting-up and conducting living lab research is one of SMIT's core expertise domains. 2. Policy Analysis Policy considerations have always been at the heart of our research on media, ICTs and telecommunications policy. SMIT sees policy analysis as an overall analytical framework to understand government policy--both in its actions and inactions--and regulation. In our studies on policy formulation we often start from a political economic point of view and look at how policy comes about, how different stakeholders influence policy and how different layers of policy formulation interact and what the consequences are. We complement this analysis with more evaluative approaches, both formal--assessing outcomes and impacts against formal objectives and goals--and normative--assessing outcomes and impacts against theoretical and moral frameworks. SMIT has--both at the fundamental and more applied level--worked at different policy levels, from the regional (Flanders), over the national (Belgium, Holland, South Africa), to the supranational (EC) and international level (WTO, World Bank, ECA, etc.). In terms of our prescriptive studies we mainly rely on methods and insights related to our political economic studies, user studies and business modelling. In 2003 e.g. we conducted a preparatory study for Cultuurnet Vlaanderen, looking at user aspects of ICTs and cultural participation, formulating recommendations for a segmented approach. In 2004 e.g. we formulated a best-practice study on eDemocracy in Europe and recommended lessons for Flanders for viWTA/Flemish Parliament, etc. More recently SMIT is starting to extend its methodological toolkit in the direction of foresight studies making use of more qualitative research methods, both in its policy and business modelling studies. E.g. in 2005 we elaborated scenario's on home care in Flanders for the next 10 to 15 years on the basis of scenario brainstorms with stakeholders. 3. Business Modelling Increasingly, innovation in ICT services is carried out by networks of private (but also public and semi-public) actors. A common business model is a prerequisite for the success of such innovations. Interest in the concept of business models has been closely linked to the rise of Internet-based e-commerce. The (additional or alternative) channels offered by the on-line environment spurred firms to devise new ways of interacting with their customers, be it end users or other companies. Through various forms of disintermediation and re-intermediation, more direct or value-added ways of interaction between firms and customers seemed to become possible. In the telecommunications sector, interest in the concept of business models has been fuelled by the (partial) unbundling of technical functions and economic roles, caused mainly by technological developments and regulatory pressure, and the expectation of a range of new value-added telecommunications services. For telecommunications firms, the main questions to be solved by new business models are those connected with shifting firm boundaries and the complex provision of new services. The growing notion of a telecommunication system as a complex structure of cultural, process and technology components engineered to accomplish organisational goals, creates the need to analyse just what happens in such systems. This integrated view is what sets business models apart from other models for business design, i.e. process models, business cases etc. Therefore, we define ""business model"" as a description of how a company or a set of companies intend to create and capture value with a product or service. A business model defines the architecture of the product or service, the roles and relations of the company, its customers, partners and suppliers, and the physical, virtual and financial flows between them SMIT helps private and public actors to increase the value of ICT innovations through: * Analysis and benchmarking of existing business models * Scenario construction and development of new business models * Analysis of viability and potential implications of future business models" "Translation and Technology, Antwerp Campuses" "Ayla Rigouts Terryn" "Translation Research and Technology Campus Sint-AndriesProfileThe RG Translation and Technology is an interdisciplinary RG for the study of translation of specialized texts, translation assessment  and translation technology from different perspectives. The RG Translation and Technology will also offer methodological support to other RG’s projects in the field of translation studies as well as interpreting studies. In addition the RG Translation and Technology will enhance its own methodological expertise through close collaboration with other RGs within KU Leuven as well as on an international level. AimsThe RG Translation and Technology sets the following aims: to promote research into various aspects of the translation of specialized texts (Translation of Language for Specific Purposes) (with a special focus on legal and medical texts), translation assessment, and translation technology, with a special focus onTranslation of legal and medical / scientific texts;Translation assessment;Terminology research, notably in the legal and medical domainsTranslation technology;Corpus linguistics and parallel corporaConcept modeling and the development of ontologiesRegister variation in Language for Specific Purposes (LSP)The focus of the RG Translation and Technology is defined as follows:Assessing efficiency and quality of translation processes, translation tools and translated texts as end products on the basis of methods which allow: (a) assessment of the impact of translation technology on translators, translation processes and translation quality; (b) objectivized and standardized assessment of translation quality, translators and translation processes; optimal use of information from (parallel) corpora for the optimization of  translation processes and for the determination of functional equivalence of terms in legal texts originating in different legal systems;Testing and enhancing the different methods of assessment relative to and through corpuslinguistic data. Different methods, such as term extraction, assessment of the relevance of translation suggestions and semi-automatic selection of test items for quality assessment offer useful additions to the domain of translation studies.The RG accommodates both qualitative and quantitative research." "Software Technology and Application Research" "The involvement of the non-computer scientist domain expert is one of the biggest challenges of today's computer science, and will become an important factor within STARLab. These domain experts are often not very familiar with formal techniques; so we must investigate methods that make those formal techniques more accessible. We should look at computer linguistics, since natural language represents a universal communication medium that supports negotiation between information analysts and domain experts, and at computer-based learning equipment, and more generally look at tools that more deeply support the underlying cognitive communication process of co-operative intelligent agents (e.g. Groupware, CSCW, computer-supported co- operative work). Multimedia systems can achieve a fundamental link here. The thread running through all of this is a higher level of knowledge representation and the theory, techniques and methods needed for it. Because of the domains under study and the demand of applicability, STARLab research is partly of an experimental nature, which translates in specific equipment and infrastructure. Nevertheless there is also an important and emphatic fundamental theoretical component in this research, e.g. in connection with the representation of semantics of information as needed for mutual communication between information systems." "Translation and Technology, Leuven" "Ayla Rigouts Terryn" "Translation Research and Technology, LeuvenProfileThe RG Translation and Technology is an interdisciplinary RG for the study of translation of specialized texts, translation assessment  and translation technology from different perspectives. The RG Translation and Technology will also offer methodological support to other RG’s projects in the field of translation studies as well as interpreting studies. In addition the RG Translation and Technology will enhance its own methodological expertise through close collaboration with other RGs within KU Leuven as well as on an international level. AimsThe RG Translation and Technology sets the following aims: to promote research into various aspects of the translation of specialized texts (Translation of Language for Specific Purposes) (with a special focus on legal and medical texts), translation assessment, and translation technology, with a special focus onTranslation of legal and medical / scientific texts;Translation assessment;Terminology research, notably in the legal and medical domainsTranslation technology;Corpus linguistics and parallel corporaConcept modeling and the development of ontologiesRegister variation in Language for Specific Purposes (LSP)The focus of the RG Translation and Technology is defined as follows:Assessing efficiency and quality of translation processes, translation tools and translated texts as end products on the basis of methods which allow: (a) assessment of the impact of translation technology on translators, translation processes and translation quality; (b) objectivized and standardized assessment of translation quality, translators and translation processes; optimal use of information from (parallel) corpora for the optimization of  translation processes and for the determination of functional equivalence of terms in legal texts originating in different legal systems;Testing and enhancing the different methods of assessment relative to and through corpuslinguistic data. Different methods, such as term extraction, assessment of the relevance of translation suggestions and semi-automatic selection of test items for quality assessment offer useful additions to the domain of translation studies.The RG accommodates both qualitative and quantitative research." "Translation and Technology, Brussels Campus" "Ayla Rigouts Terryn" "ProfileThe RG Translation and Technology is an interdisciplinary RG for the study of translation of specialized texts, translation assessment  and translation technology from different perspectives. The RG Translation and Technology will also offer methodological support to other RG’s projects in the field of translation studies as well as interpreting studies. In addition the RG Translation and Technology will enhance its own methodological expertise through close collaboration with other RGs within KU Leuven as well as on an international level. AimsThe RG Translation and Technology sets the following aims: to promote research into various aspects of the translation of specialized texts (Translation of Language for Specific Purposes) (with a special focus on legal and medical texts), translation assessment, and translation technology, with a special focus onTranslation of legal and medical / scientific texts;Translation assessment;Terminology research, notably in the legal and medical domainsTranslation technology;Corpus linguistics and parallel corporaConcept modeling and the development of ontologiesRegister variation in Language for Specific Purposes (LSP)The focus of the RG Translation and Technology is defined as follows:Assessing efficiency and quality of translation processes, translation tools and translated texts as end products on the basis of methods which allow: (a) assessment of the impact of translation technology on translators, translation processes and translation quality; (b) objectivized and standardized assessment of translation quality, translators and translation processes; optimal use of information from (parallel) corpora for the optimization of  translation processes and for the determination of functional equivalence of terms in legal texts originating in different legal systems;Testing and enhancing the different methods of assessment relative to and through corpuslinguistic data. Different methods, such as term extraction, assessment of the relevance of translation suggestions and semi-automatic selection of test items for quality assessment offer useful additions to the domain of translation studies.The RG accommodates both qualitative and quantitative research." "Business technology and Operations" "The research and education in the department of Business technology and Operations (BUTO) is focused on applying mathematical models and innovation strategies in several areas: logistics, manpower planning, business informatics, technology, location analysis and geomarketing. Interdisciplinary research is a must in these domains." "Department of Telecommunications and information processing" "Joris Walraevens" "The department consists of the following research groups Database Document and Content Management: Digital information sources are growing tremendously. 'Big Data' sets which are too large or too complex cannot be efficiently handled by traditional information management systems. More and more organizations nowadays put large efforts in efficiently collecting, organizing and managing their data. DDCM research aims to support these efforts by investigating and developing new technologies for coping with the many challenges that stem from 'Big Data' and from the natural heterogeneous and imperfect/uncertain character of information. Digital Communications: The topics studied in the DIGCOM research group are: Modulation/Demodulation, Coding/Decoding, Carrier and Clock Synchronisation, and Equalization. Image Processing and Interpretation: Within the IPI research group the following topics are being studied: Watershed Based Segmentation, Content Based Image Retrieval, Edges and Line Detection, Model-Based Image Interpretation, Motion Estimation and Motion-Based Segmentation, Scale Space, Stereo Vision, Texture segmentation, Image processing techniques for the detection of buried landmines, Techniques for restoration and quantitative image analysis of medical ultrasound images, Compression of medical images and video. Stochastic Modeling and Analysis of Communication Systems: The main applications of the work done by this group are situated in the performance assessment of digital communication systems and networks. The research activities of the SMACS Research Group can be more or less divided in two parts. The major topic is the statistical analysis of buffers for the storage of digital information, by means of discrete-time queueing models. The second (minor) topic is the design, analysis and optimization of ARQ retransmission protocols."