Tibor Vámos

Paper: Adapting automation to man, culture and society

Anxiety about the effects of automation on workers and society is at least 150 years old. The recent explosion of microelectronics and robotic applications has sharpened our understanding of both the gains and the risks: mismatch to human physiological, psychological and cultural characteristics; alienation from fulfillment and dignity in work; widening of the gap between skilled and unskilled workers and between technologically developed and underdeveloped communities; decrement in individual security. Attention to these problems can ensure that automation results in a better society. The control engineer, who is responsible for enlarging the scale of automation, should also play a role in adapting it to people. For the time being, technology should be individually designed to each culture.

Fuzzy signatures in data mining

Fuzzy signature has a special role in data mining, concerning data mixed with human estimates. The semantics of the fuzzy concept is a relevant issue of data interpretation. A software system was developed to implement these ideas and works on a rather extensive database of a two-decade neuro-developmental project. Another project initiated in the subjects of transition economy and society is ongoing. Delicate problems of sensitivity and the re-thinking of principal component and factor analysis for fuzzy data are current research issues.

Cooperative systems based on non-cooperative people

So saying he embarkedon an address which both humorously and seriously focused on the problems inherent in large-scale systems, both engineering and political. Those attending the CDC had the opportunity to view slides which accompanied the presentation. Except for several sentences which specifically refer to these slides, thetalk, aspublishedhere,iscomplete. A always, the opinions of an author are his own. The hope is that Tibor V h o s ’ s address will stimulate thought and discussion on cooperative systems. Below is the revised version of the talk which Academician V h o s sent to CSM after the conference.

Epistemic background problems of uncertainty

Basic quality of uncertainty is uncertainty itself. This statement is proved by analysis of the different kinds of uncertainty, the different model-origins of the various calculation methods which relate to different semantics. Logic and language are deeply connected with these uncertainty interpretations as uncertainty representations work like switches among different possible worlds. The human brains answer is different, it is based more on pattern-like coherence structures. The epistemic analysis of models is a practical tool for design and selection of computation tools.<<ETX>>

A strategy of knowledge representation for uncertain problems: modeling domain expert knowledge with patterns

Patterns as sets of somehow coherent information are feasible metaphors and tools for representation of weakly structured or unstructured knowledge in an open, infinite world. This view follows the evolutionary theory of mind representation. A practical computational formulation is given with pattern relationships based on the metapattern concept. The pattern space is mostly nonmetric due to the limited dimensional view of infinite dimensional objects. The faults of the metric suggest directions in exploring further knowledge and eliciting tacit knowledge of experts. Man-machine interaction has a special role in the process, explored by cognitive psychology methods and special graphic tools for input-output representation. >

A knowledge-based interactive robot-vision system

A robot-vision project is reported which incorporates several existing AI methods and some new results. The ambition of the project is a system which can economically complete various intelligent tasks within the scope of mini-and microcomputers. The tuned composition of the applied methods provides a new and powerful approach to RandD, engineering and workshop-operation.

Research needs and challenges in application of computer and information sciences for industrial engineering

Abstract By invitation from the Editor of IIE Transactions, a research forum was established in 1987 to develop and prepare this article. The objective: to write on the directions, needs and challenges for research by the IE com-munity in applying computer and information sciences. The motivation: realizing the major advancements in computer and information sciences in the recent decade and their significant impact on the IE profession, it is vital to examine how IE research activities can respond effectively to current and emerging needs. This article is viewed as a useful contribution to such an examination. Forum members were invited from academia, government and industry based on their experience in and commitment to research in this area. The forum was chaired by Shimon Y. Nof and the members are the co-authors of this article. Forum members communicated and deliberated throughout 1987 and met for a review and planning session dur-ing the IIE Conference in Washington, D.C. in May, 1987 (Forum, 1987)....

Adapting Automation to Man, Culture and Society

Abstract Anxiety about the effects of automation on workers and society is at least 150 years old. The recent explosion of microelectronics and robotic applications has sharpened our understanding of both the gains and the risks: mismatch to human physiological, psychological and cultural characteristics; alienation from fulfillment and dignity in work; widening of the gap between skilled and unskilled workers and between technologically developed and underdeveloped communities; decrement in individual and national security. Attention to these problems can insure that automation results in a better society. The control engineer, who is responsible for enlarging the scale of automation, should also play a role in adapting it to people. For the time being, technology should be individually designed to each culture.

Bird's eye view on control theory — Motion, spaces, transformations

Abstract The origins of system and control theory in theoretical mechanics, and specially in the Hamiltonian-Lagrangean interpretation are well discussed in the literature. The paper intends to follow that line by showing the nearly ubiquitous close relations of visual patterns rooted in our fundamental perception of motion, space and transformation, and interpretations by higher mathematics. This relation, by applying animation, enables us to incorporate system knowledge into the general educational and erudition requirements. Control science claimed from the very start that the active sense of system dynamics is a powerful vehicle for rational understanding of most different phenomena but this prerequisite can be fulfilled only by visual reference to the referred primitives of cognition. A multimedia CD demonstrates the ideas.

A strategy of knowledge representation for uncertain problems: experiments and relations to similar concepts

Vamos (1995) outlined the general schemes of pattern representation of knowledge. Extensive experiments proved the feasibility of the methods, e.g., a twelve-year project in early brain developmental problems, a sociolegal project and a search for patterns in economy. All these are characterized by overwhelming soft-type knowledge. The paper presents an overview of these research efforts, discussing similarities to and differences from the pattern method. >