05 June 2018

When Vinnova recently surveyed research within artificial intelligence in Sweden, Linköping University was ranked a strong second. One of the leading AI environments in Sweden can be found at the Computer Vision Laboratory at Linköping University.

Michael FelsbergMichael Felsberg, ranked highest among AI researchers in Sweden by the Vinnova report. Photo credit: Göran BillesonThe first research student to present a doctoral thesis within the major research programme WASP (the Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program) is Martin Danelljan, who has worked at the Computer Vision Laboratory in the Department of Electrical Engineering. This division is lifted in the Vinnova report (“Artificial intelligence in Swedish business and society – Analysis of development and potential") as one of the major and most successful research environments in AI in Sweden. The division is led by Professor Michael Felsberg.

The Vinnova report shows that Linköping University has the second highest number of publications in AI journals in the period 2010-2017 (second only to the Royal Institute of Technology), and is the most successful organisation in Sweden with at least five contributions to 19 highest ranked AI conferences in the same period.

Cited more than 2,000 times

Martin Danelljan, who has defended his thesis in object tracking, was author of more than 10 scientific articles cited more than 2,000 times even before he completed his doctoral degree.

Object recognitionObject recognition Credit: Martin Danelljan“We have made sure that we publish both the code and the applications, so that other researchers have been able to build on our results. Several of the research groups working in the field today base their work on code that we have put into the public domain,” says Martin Danelljan.

The Computer Vision Laboratory was founded by Professor Gösta Granlund in the 1970s, and was a pioneer in the use of machine learning for computer vision. Professor Michael Felsberg took over the leadership of the group 10 years ago. He is ranked highest among AI researchers in Sweden by the Vinnova report, and has coordinated several international AI projects through the years, including projects within the sixth and seventh framework programmes of the EU. He has also received grants from the Swedish Research Council.

Leading AI- research

The group, which has made a major contribution in establishing the concept of computer vision in Sweden, has also invested in educating students in image processing by engaging them in projects solving real-life problems in the field.

Research in AI is also conducted at LiU in the Department of Computer and Information Science where Professor Patrick Doherty and Docent Fredrik Heintz, among others, work in Artificial Intelligence and Integrated Computer Systems.

The AI research at LiU is well-suited to the investment made by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation in WASP, with financing of nearly SEK 3 billion in the years to 2026. The programme includes a specific initiative in the field of artificial intelligence. The first doctoral students in WASP were employed in the autumn of 2016, and are now completing their licentiate theses. Doctoral students who had already started research education in fields covered by WASP, such as Martin Danelljan, have, however, been incorporated into the WASP graduate schools and other arrangements associated with WASP.

Translation George Farrants


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