Francisco José Vico Vela

Francisco Vico
Francisco Vico at the Seoul Digital Forum panel session "Redefining 'Intelligence': What can we expect from Artificial Intelligence?"[1]
Known forContributions to the field of artificial creativity (Melomics project)
Scientific career
FieldsComputer science
InstitutionsUniversity of Málaga
Websiteuma.es

Francisco José Vico Vela is a scientist and engineer who is a full professor of artificial intelligence at the University of Málaga. As a researcher, Vico is founder and head of the Biomimetics and EdTech research groups at the University of Málaga, and founder and CEO of the university spin-offs Melomics Media and Digitomica as an entrepreneur. His work is mostly known for using evolutionary computation in the field of automated computer composition and industrial design.

Education and career

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Vico graduated from the University of Málaga with a BA in computer science in 1991 and was the recipient of a doctoral grant, receiving his PhD in 1995. After doing a postdoc in Buffalo, New York,[2] Vico started working as a lecturer in computer science at the University of Malaga in 1996, and then became an assistant professor in 2000 and full professor in 2012.

Basic research

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Vico developed research in computational neuroscience[3][4][5] and computer vision[2] from his doctoral thesis (contributing with models of neuron function) until 2005, where his interests turned to evolutionary computation[6][7] and artificial life.[8][9] He has advised or co-advised eight PhD theses, led more than 40 research projects as principal investigator,[10] mostly with public funding, and has two patents.[11][12]

Applied research

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Despite his basic research in brain function and form evolution, Vico's interest has been mainly focused on the applicability of the results. His research projects with industry have ranged from day trading to knee replacement surgery.[13]

Artificial creativity

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An early research project with Alcatel in the field of automating industrial design resulted in his most cited paper.[14] A decade later, Vico led the Melomics project, which was a milestone in the application of artificial intelligence[15][16] to computer music.[17][18] This research produced Iamus,[19][20][21] a computer cluster for automated composition, which composed music that was recorded in the album Iamus, and a piece interpreted by the London Symphony Orchestra, described by New Scientist as "The first major work composed by a computer and performed by a full orchestra."[22] For its disruptive novelty in the artistic and technological disciplines,[23] Melomics was acknowledged as one of the scientific contributions of 2012 by Discover magazine.[24] It also found applications in health,[25][26][27] and was presented in the Seoul Digital Forum in 2015.

Educational technologies

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Since 2015, Vico's activity has focused on educational technologies. ToolboX is a programming environment developed by Vico that adapts modern computer technology to coding education.[28]

Games

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Vico has also designed Selfo, a connection board game.

References

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  1. ^ "Artificial Intelligence: A reality check - Nicolelis, Picard & Vico". SBS TV SDF. 2 August 2005.
  2. ^ a b "Visual Attention for Foveal Machine Vision". SBIR·STTR. SBA. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  3. ^ Veredas, F; Vico, F; Alonso, JM (2005). "Factors determining the precision of the correlated firing generated by a monosynaptic connection in the cat visual pathway". The Journal of Physiology. 567 (3): 1057–1078. doi:10.1113/jphysiol.2005.092882. PMC 1474214. PMID 16020458.
  4. ^ Seamari, Y; Narvaez, JA; Vico, F; Lobo, D; Sanchez-Vives, MV (2007). "Robust off- and online separation of intracellularly recorded Up and Down cortical states". PLOS One. 2 (9): e888. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0000888. PMC 1964538. PMID 17849017.
  5. ^ "Functional circuitry of complex cells in visual cortex". University of Connecticut. 4 April 2000. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  6. ^ Lobo, D; Vico, F (2010). "Evolutionary development of tensegrity structures". BioSystems. 101 (3): 167–176. doi:10.1016/j.biosystems.2010.06.005. hdl:10630/6744. PMID 20619314.
  7. ^ Fernandez, JD; Vico, F (2011). "Automating the search of molecular motor templates by evolutionary methods". BioSystems. 106 (2): 82–93. doi:10.1016/j.biosystems.2011.07.002. hdl:10630/6715. PMID 21784125.
  8. ^ Lobo, D; Vico, F (2010). "Evolution of form and function in a model of differentiated multicellular organisms with gene regulatory networks". BioSystems. 102 (2–3): 112–123. doi:10.1016/j.biosystems.2010.08.003. hdl:10630/6717. PMID 20837096.
  9. ^ Fernandez, JD; Vico, F; Martin, G; Doursat, R; Vico, F (2011). "Emergent diversity in an open-ended evolving virtual community". Artificial Life. 18 (2): 199–222. doi:10.1162/artl_a_00059. hdl:10630/6707. PMID 22356151. S2CID 7624628.
  10. ^ "Group of Studies in Biomimetics - Vico's Projects as PI". UMA. Archived from the original on 28 January 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  11. ^ "System and method for managing traffic". European Patent Office. Espacenet. 25 January 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  12. ^ "Olive oil extraction optimization by continuous sampling comprises feed of the sample to a container with a camera detecting water in the oil". European Patent Office. Espacenet. 1 March 2005. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  13. ^ "Group of Studies in Biomimetics - Current and Past Projects". UMA. Archived from the original on 17 February 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  14. ^ Vico, F; Veredas, F; Bravo, JM; Almaraz, J (1999). "Automatic design synthesis with artificial intelligence techniques". Artificial Intelligence in Engineering. 13 (3): 251–256. doi:10.1016/S0954-1810(99)00014-X.
  15. ^ Sánchez, C; Moreno, F; Albarracin, D; Fernandez, JD; Vico, F (2013). "Melomics: A Case-Study of AI in Spain". AI Magazine. 34 (3): 99–103. doi:10.1609/aimag.v34i3.2464. hdl:10630/6735.
  16. ^ Fernandez, JD; Vico, F (2013). "AI Methods in Algorithmic Composition: A Comprehensive Survey". Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research. 48: 513–582. arXiv:1402.0585. doi:10.1613/jair.3908.
  17. ^ Ball, Philip (1 July 2012). "Iamus, classical music's computer composer, live from Malaga". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  18. ^ Ball, Philip (2012). "Algorithmic Rapture". Nature. 188 (7412): 456. doi:10.1038/488458a.
  19. ^ Smith, Sylvia (3 January 2013). "Iamus: Is this the 21st century's answer to Mozart?". BBC News Technology.
  20. ^ Peckham, Matt (4 January 2013). "Finally, a computer cluster that writes contemporary music without human help". Time.
  21. ^ Smoliar, Stephen (4 January 2013). "Thoughts about Iamus and the composition of music by computer". The Examiner. Accessed: 10 January 2013.
  22. ^ "Computer composer honours Turing's centenary". New Scientist. 5 July 2012.
  23. ^ Stieler, Wolfgang (December 2012). "Die Mozart-Maschine". Technology Review. Germany: 26–35.
  24. ^ Berger, Kevin (25 January 2013). "Digital Composer Records With London Symphony Orchestra". Discover.
  25. ^ Bosker, Bianca (13 January 2013). "Life As Francisco Vico, Creator Of The Incredible Computer-Composer Iamus". The Huffington Post.
  26. ^ Seinfeld, S; Bergstrom, I; Pomes, A; Arroyo-Palacios, J; Vico, F; Slater, M; Sanchez-Vives, MV (2016). "Influence of music on anxiety induced by fear of heights in virtual reality". Frontiers in Psychology. 6: 1969. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01969. PMC 4700138. PMID 26779081.
  27. ^ Raglio, A; Vico, F (2017). "Music and technology: The curative algorithm". Frontiers in Psychology. 6: 2055. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02055. PMC 5715368. PMID 29250008.
  28. ^ Otiniano Pulido, Carlos (13 November 2018). "Francisco Vico: 'Los niños pueden aprender a programar desde preescolar'". El País. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
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