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C
omputer driven cars?
Computers that com-
prehend human
speech and cursive
handwriting? Such computer
wizardry is to be found at the
newly established Institute of
Computer Science at the
Hebrew University, which is
helping pave the way to the
future while building bridges
to the past.
One of the most exciting of
the Institute's laboratories is
Intelligent Robotic Sensing
(IRS). As its name suggests, it
concentrates on developing
computer-guided machines
which will listen to a driver's
spoken instructions and drive
autonomously, being guided
by a television camera look-
ing at the road. The day a
driver can sleep during his
morning commute to the of-
fice, however, is still far off.
According to Institute direc-
tor Shmuel Peleg, the In-
stitute is developing com-
puter technology which will
allow for the automatic brak-
ing of a car if the driver takes
too sharp a turn or gets too
close to the car in front. If a
driver is drunk, apparently by
the way the car is driven, the
computer will pull the car off
the road and turn off the
ignition.
Another IRS effort is to ex-
plore the computer's ability to
look at its environment and
interpret what it sees. Doc-
toral student Michal Irani is
currently developing a pro-
gram which can automatical-
ly erase images from a video
sequence, leaving the
background intact, and is ex-
cited about the program's im-
plications. "Imagine that
you're shooting a movie and
after four months your main
actor quits. You can either
shoot the whole thing again,
or - remove his image and
replace it with that of a dif-
ferent actor?'
"Of course, a number of
ethical questions arise in
light of this new technology,"
says Mr. Peleg. "Seeing is
believing will not work
anymore!'
Another IRS project which
promises to revolutionize the
world of personal computers,
is speech and handwriting
recognition. Using current
technology, computers can
understand very basic spoken
commands and handwriting
printed in block letters. At
the Institute, computer pro-
,
grams are being created to
comprehend both fluent
human speech and cursive
handwriting. When perfected,
a corporate executive will be
able to take notes at a
meeting to be relayed on to
his computer, or dictate a let-
ter directly to his PC.
According to doctoral can-
didate Yoram Singer, "The
Hebrew University is way
ahead of the field in this type
of research." Only Stanford
University, with a staff five
times the size of the Institute
and a much bigger budget,
can boast an equally sophis-
ticated approach.
The Institute, meanwhile,
has rejected a large grant
from an American company, -
preferring to wait for dona-
tions from Israeli business-
men. Says Mr. Singer, "We
prefer to keep it all in the
family, even if funding is
limited!'
Recently asked to solve a
unique Israeli problem, the
Institute's computer technol-
ogy helped restore a 1,500-
year-old mosaic of King
David.
The mosaic
languished for
several years in
a basement.
Discovered in Gaza in 1965
by a team of Egyptian ar-
chaeologists, the mosaic is a
remnant from a large
synagogue built on the shores
of Gaza during the Byzantine
period.
Using a technique called
computer warping, the IRS
lab compared original
photographs with more re-
cent photographs of David's
body, taken from above, and
the computer then mathe-
matically repositioned the
original photos to coincide
with the new ones. To the
delight of museum curators,
the computer displayed a face
distinct enough for
restoration.
'Ibday, the mosaic stands
proudly in the Israel
Museum's archaeological
wing, face, hands and all,
thanks to the Institute of
Computer Science's computer
wizardry. ❑
WZPS