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Knowledge Discovery
The Knowledge Discovery (KD) Group, one of the NRC Institute for Information Technology's research groups, focuses on research, development, and application of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
KD Group staff interests include the automation and improvement of the corporate decision making processes, the discovery and representation of knowledge from data, and the development of tools to facilitate this decision making and discovery.
The Knowledge Discovery Group recognizes that:
- to solve complex real-world problems it is often necessary to integrate multiple reasoning techniques and algorithms.
- effective reasoning systems must be integrated with organizations' existing information technology infrastructure.
- viable real-world knowledge-based systems must integrate the tools and techniques for knowledge-based management (machine learning, knowledge management) with the tools and techniques that apply that knowledge.
Key Technologies
- Case-based Reasoning
- Machine Learning
- BioInformatics
- Data Visualization
- Knowledge Discovery
- Soft Computing (fuzzy logic, neural networks, genetic algorithms)
- Rule-based Reasoning
How We Help Canadian Industry
Our aim is to help Canadian industry to be more efficient, and therefore more competitive with organizations around the world. We can do this by helping with the complex decision making processes that are commonplace in industry. We use our experience in Data Mining to explore the large quantities of corporate data, which have become increasingly prevalent in recent years. By finding patterns in the data, we can extract knowledge to better understand different aspects of the enterprise. We can also use this data to predict future problems, thus allowing the company to react in a timely, and cost efficient, manner.
Equipment Health Management
More and more industry is reliant on complex, costly equipment. If this equipment is out of service, large costs can accrue. But carrying out unnecessary maintenance is itself extremely costly. Careful considered decisions must be made about what maintenance actions are needed and when should they occur. It is here that our expertise in data mining can help. Based on data already collected by the company, we can search for patterns that predict equipment failure of particular components of the system. Using this information we can advise the maintenance manager how specific maintenance tasks might best be scheduled.
BioIntelligence
Research in Biointelligence is focused on developing and advancing information technologies for use in new applications that will improve the quality of health care. It also involves discovering methods to structure and disseminate new knowledge discovered from genomics and proteomics data mining applications, and integrating it with other forms of knowledge, such as clinical documents and patient information available through medical labs, pharmaceutical companies, or other medical organizations.
Our Applications of the Technology
Artificial intelligence has become an engineering discipline, focused on providing solutions to real life problems. AI systems are now in routine use in economics, medicine, engineering and the military, as well as being built into many common home computer software applications, traditional strategy games like computer chess and other video games (from Wikipedia). We are particularly focused on three goals:
- The automation and improvement of corporate decision making processes as applied to Equipment Health Management.
- The discovery and representation of knowledge from data as applied to BioIntelligence.
- The development of tools to facilitate decision making and discovery.
Some Current Collaborations
- Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)
- NRC Institute for Biological Sciences (NRC-IBS)
- NRC Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics (NRC-HIA) – Solar Activity and Space Weather
- NRC Institute for Aerospace Research (NRC-IAR)
- NRC Biotechnology Research Institute (NRC-BRI)
- Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO)
- University of Montreal - Forecasting Solar Activity Cycles
- Laval University
- University of Quebec
- CNB (Centro Nacional de Biotechnologia- CSIC) and CNIO (Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas), Spain
- CeSViMa - Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain – Data Mining and Bioinformatics Research
- Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Spain - Climatic Data Variation Analysis with Multivariate Times Series Model Mining
- Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain - Climatic Data Variation Analysis with Multivariate Times Series Model Mining
Additional Information
Research Contact
Dr. Fazel Famili
Group Leader
Knowledge Discovery
NRC Institute for Information Technology
1200 Montreal Road
Building M-50, Room 366
Ottawa, ON K1A 0R6
Phone: 613-993-8554
Fax: 613-952-0215
E-mail: Fazel.Famili@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
Business Contact
Georges Corriveau
Business Development Officer
Business Development Office, Atlantic
NRC Institute for Information Technology
100 des Aboiteaux Street, Suite 1100-C
Moncton, NB E1A 7R1
Phone: 506-861-0954
Fax: 506-851-3630
E-mail: Georges.Corriveau@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
