{"id":234381,"date":"2010-12-07T06:14:40","date_gmt":"2010-12-07T14:14:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/?post_type=msr-event&p=234381"},"modified":"2022-08-31T13:10:04","modified_gmt":"2022-08-31T20:10:04","slug":"think-computer-science-2010","status":"publish","type":"msr-event","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/event\/think-computer-science-2010\/","title":{"rendered":"Think Computer Science 2010"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n

Welcome to Think Computer Science 2010<\/h1>\n

Through our work at Microsoft Research in Cambridge, and our collaborative partnerships, we strive to inspire and support students early on in their education. Every year, for the past 6 years, we have invited a number of students to join us for an exciting day of talks, demos and interactive sessions, providing insight into the world of a computer scientist.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s event will take place on 7 December 2010. Registration is now closed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

09:15<\/strong> Registration<\/p>\n

09:45<\/strong> Welcome and Introduction Andrew Herbert, Chairman, Microsoft Research EMEA<\/p>\n

10:00<\/strong> Getting from A to B: fast route-finding using slow computers Simon Peyton-Jones, Principal Researcher, Microsoft Research Cambridge<\/p>\n

10:30<\/strong> Human Memory in the Digital Age. Abigail Sellen, Principal Researcher, Microsoft Research Cambridge<\/p>\n

11:00 <\/strong>Refreshment Break<\/p>\n

11:30 <\/strong>Changing the world one mobile at a time. Gary Marsden, University of Cape Town<\/p>\n

12:00 <\/strong>Does your system behave as you expect? From bits and bytes to wet and sticky. Muffy Calder, University of Glasgow<\/p>\n

12:30 <\/strong>Kinect for Xbox 360: How we made it work. Andrew Fitzgibbon, Principal Researcher, Microsoft Research Cambridge<\/p>\n

13:00 <\/strong>Lunch and demo showcase<\/p>\n

14:30 <\/strong>Panel Q&A<\/p>\n

15:00 <\/strong>The Big Quiz<\/p>\n

15:30<\/strong> Closing Comments. Andrew Herbert, Chairman, Microsoft Research EMEA<\/p>\n

15:45 <\/strong>Ends<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"peytonjones_img\"Getting from A to B: fast route-finding using slow computers<\/span><\/h2>\n

Simon Peyton-Jones, Microsoft Research<\/h3>\n

We all now take it for granted that online maps will rapidly display a fast route from A to B. But these maps are gigantic: a map of Europe has 20 million intersections and 40 million road segments. How can a computer find the shortest path in such a large map, without examining all those intersections and roads?<\/p>\n

This is a classic graph problem, known as the Shortest Path problem, with solutions that date back to 1960. But in the last few years there has been significant progress (some of it at Microsoft Research) that dramatically speeds up the solution.<\/p>\n

In this talk I\u2019ll explain both the old solutions and the new cool ideas. I hope you\u2019ll go away with a clear example of how some clever computer science can take a problem that previously required a big, fast computer, and make it fast enough to run on a slow, mobile device.<\/p>\n

Simon is a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research Cambridge. He spent 7 years as a lecturer at University College London, and 9 years as a professor at Glasgow University (where he is now a Visiting Professor), before moving to Microsoft Research in 1998.<\/p>\n

His main research interest is in functional programming languages, their implementation, and their application. He was a key contributor to the design of the now-standard functional language Haskell, and is the lead designer of the widely-used Glasgow Haskell Compiler (GHC). Simon holds an MA from Trinity College Cambridge, is a Fellow of the British Computer Society and the Association for Computing Machinery and is a Chartered Engineer.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"afitzgibbon_img\"Kinect for Xbox 360: How we made it work<\/span><\/h2>\n

Andrew Fitzgibbon, Microsoft Research<\/h3>\n

The Kinect sensor for the Xbox 360 is one of the most technologically advanced devices in existence today, and has the potential to introduce as great a change to entertainment as the invention of the original Atari game consoles. Its main ability\u2014tracking the movements of the human body at 30 frames per second\u2014was not possible, even in research labs, when project Natal (the original codename for Kinect) was started. The best tracking systems known back then were very slow, and very inaccurate. This lecture will be about the maths, engineering, and computer science that went into making project Natal a reality.<\/p>\n

Andrew Fitzgibbon is a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research, Cambridge.
\nHis research interests are in the intersection of computer vision and computer graphics, with excursions into neuroscience.<\/p>\n

He has twice received the IEEE\u2019s Marr Prize, the highest in computer vision; and software based on his work won an Engineering Emmy Award in 2002 for significant contributions to the creation of complex visual effects.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"asellen_img\"Human Memory in the Digital Age<\/span><\/h2>\n

Abigail Sellen, Microsoft Research<\/h3>\n

Can computers ever completely capture our past experiences? As more and more photos, videos, documents, texts, email and Facebook content is produced, how will we see ourselves and look back on our lives in the future? This talk will look at the fate of human memory in the Digital Age. It will look at new trends such as life-logging, in which wearable devices allow you to continuously record events in your everyday life. It will also discuss other issues such as: How do we manage these vast archives in the future? And, what happens to all of that data when someone dies? The focus is not just on the technology, but what all of this will mean into the future. It will also show how we need to design computer technology with people in mind, thinking about the social and even ethical issues this raises. Along the way, the talk will feature various new prototypes we have developed within the lab to help preserve, enrich, and be creative with our memories.<\/p>\n

Abigail is a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research Cambridge in Socio-Digital Systems, an interdisciplinary group with a focus on the human perspective in computing.<\/p>\n

Abigail joined Microsoft in June 2004 from Hewlett Packard Labs, where her research ranged from appliance design to web use to mobile technologies. Prior to HP, she spent 7 years at Xerox\u2019s research lab in Cambridge UK and was a Research Fellow at Darwin College, Cambridge.<\/p>\n

Abigail has a doctorate in Cognitive Science from the University of California, San Diego. She also has an M.A.Sc. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Toronto, where she also did her undergraduate degree in Psychology.<\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\"gmarsden_img\"Changing the world, one mobile at a time<\/span><\/h2>\n

Professor Gary Marsden, University of Cape Town<\/h3>\n

Almost two thirds of the world\u2019s population own a mobile phone. Many of these are first time users from the developing world, who have never owned any form of computing device before. This talk explores what people in Africa are doing with their handsets and how mobile phones are saving lives, educating people and changing how whole countries do business.<\/p>\n

Gary is a Professor in the Computer Science Department at the University of Cape Town. His research interests are in mobile interaction design and ICT for development. He has co-authored a book, with Matt Jones titled \u201cMobile Interaction Design\u201d which was published in 2006.<\/p>\n

He is currently director of the UCT ICT4D research centre and the UCT-Hasso Plattner Research School. He won the 2007 ACM SIGCHI Social Responsiveness award for his research in using mobile technology in the developing world. Despite all of this, he still cannot use all the features on his mobile phone.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"mcalder_img\"Does your system behave as you expect? From bits and bytes to wet and sticky<\/span><\/h2>\n

Professor Muffy Calder, University of Glasgow<\/h3>\n

Muffy is Professor of Formal Methods in the Department of Computing Science and Dean of Research for Science and Engineering at The University of Glasgow.<\/p>\n

Her research is in modelling and reasoning about the behaviour of complex software and biochemical systems using computer science, mathematics and automated reasoning techniques. From her point of view there is little difference between telephone systems, wireless networks, cancer and cardiovascular disease: they all involve complex communication that sometimes goes wrong.<\/p>\n

She has a PhD in Computational Science from the University of St. Andrews and a BSc in Computing Science from the University of Stirling. She has over 75 scientific publications and has been awarded 18 external research grants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Magic of Computer Science<\/h2>\n

\"cards_thumb\"Learn some clever conjuring tricks and try to work out how they are done. Then discover how the same techniques that make the \u2018magic\u2019 work are responsible for some of the most interesting computer science applications around.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kinect for Xbox 360<\/h2>\n

\"kinect_thumb\"The new gaming experience from Xbox contains technology that was developed at Microsoft Research Cambridge. Principal Researcher Andrew Fitzgibbon will be giving a talk on the science behind Kinect and how Microsoft Research contributed to it. This demo is your opportunity to see the science in action and try out the finished product.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3D Segmentation of Images<\/h2>\n

\"3d_thumb\"Our researchers are exploring more effective ways of segmenting 2D images, extracting an object from the background and altering the depth of different object parts to create a 3D image. We will demo an application that can produce images that can be inserted in existing 3D scenes or visualised on a 3D display. It is hoped that this application will be the basis of future features in Microsoft Office.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Embracing Uncertainty<\/h2>\n

\"eu_thumb\"Scientists have worked for decades to try to create intelligence in computers. Traditional approaches relied on hand-crafted solutions and had limited applicability. New techniques being developed at Microsoft Research Cambridge and other institutions around the world are based on computers which can learn for themselves by analysing large sets of data. This capability is known as machine learning. This demo features some of our Machine Learning projects including medical imaging, a movie recommender, a drug trial, LiveObject and background removal.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A Ferromagnetic Interface<\/h2>\n

\"ferromagnetic_thumb\"This demo shows a novel hardware device based on ferromagnetic sensing, capable of detecting the presence, position and deformation of any ferrous object placed on or near its surface. Compared to existing sensing technologies, this device has the advantage that users can easily reconfigure the interface, tailoring it to their individual needs. You can interact with the device using a variety of objects to control a virtual sculpting application and also using the device as a musical interface.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Memory Making System<\/h2>\n

\"memory_thumb\"The Memory Making System examines the issue of family archiving and presents a system designed to enable families to capture, manage, create, and store new kinds of digital memorabilia. The system, using a Surface table as its hub, shows how families can upload photos and videos quickly and easily, and also scan in physical memorabilia, such as children\u2019s artwork or a child\u2019s first pair of shoes. The system enables families to view these media in many flexible ways and to create new, compelling kinds of digital objects, such as multimedia scrapbooks and even a digital pi\u00f1ata. We further will show how this system would fit into a larger ecosystem of devices in the home and link to new kinds of media displays.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Terminator: Making sure that programs don\u2019t hang<\/h2>\n

\"terminator_thumb\"Here\u2019s an example of a python program that never terminates:<\/p>\n

def loop (x):
\nprint \u201chogging your machine\u201d
\nloop(x)<\/p>\n

You wouldn\u2019t deliberately want to write such a program. In fact, the software that controls your mouse or keyboard definitely needs to terminate, otherwise your computer would hang or \u2018crash\u2019. We\u2019ll demo a tool that proves that industrial software isn\u2019t going to hang.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Designing DNA computers<\/h2>\n

\"dna_thumb\"DNA is the primary means of data storage within the cells of our bodies, but it can also be harnessed to perform computations on data. DNA computers could perform highly parallel computations as well as interfacing directly with biological systems such as living cells. This makes them ideal for medical applications such as smart drugs which detect whether a particular cell is infected with a disease and respond in some way, for example by releasing an antidote or killing the cell. We have designed a web-based tool for designing DNA computers and analysing their behaviour.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The F# Programming Language for .NET.<\/h2>\n

\"fsharp_thumb\"What does F# offer to Computer Science students? First, it is the language. F# combines functional (e.g. OCAML and ML) and object-orientated (e.g. C# and Java) styles of programming. The ML languages are expressive, popular in universities but have been hard to learn. The F# tools help overcome this and make F# both accessible and fun!<\/p>\n

Second, F# has direct access to many libraries through the .NET Framework. The combination makes F# a great option for student projects and beyond!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Depth shadows: moving on up from touch screens<\/h2>\n

\"shadow_thumb\"Touch screen technology has boomed in recent years and now features in many of our everyday devices. While interactive surfaces have many unique and compelling qualities, the interactions they support are bound to the display surface. In this demo we present a device where users can switch between interacting on a table top surface to above it, to allow more intuitive manipulation of digital content in three dimensions. Come and see how virtual objects can be \u2018picked up\u2019 off the tabletop surface to manipulate their position.<\/p>\n

<\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/h1>\n

RipOff!<\/h2>\n

Cooperation and competition are two cornerstones of our social lives, but sometimes they push us in different directions. Researchers at Microsoft Research have come up with an online game called \u201cRipoff\u201d that demonstrates just that.<\/p>\n

In Ripoff, each player is assigned a \u201cweight\u201d (between 0 and 1) and players have to try and form teams with a total weight of at least 1 to win a \u00a31 reward. But there\u2019s a catch! Before the reward is given, the team members have to agree how to share it. Each player chooses their desired share and if these add up to more than \u00a31, the game continues, prompting further negotiation. When negotiations reach the point where the reward shares add up to \u00a31 or less, each player in the team gets their share and the game ends. Sounds easy? Not when it\u2019s all over in seconds!<\/p>\n

\"ripoff_thumb\"<\/p>\n

The goal is to get as much money in your jackpot after a large number of games. Come and see whether you\u2019ve got what it takes to \u2018Ripoff\u2019 our artificial intelligence software (sorry, no real money is at stake)!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Building Windows Phone 7 Apps<\/h2>\n

Find out how you can build apps for Windows Phone 7.<\/p>\n

\"windows_thumb\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n