Erik Mannens

Research Erik Mannens

Research team

Expertise

Sustainable AI, Ethical AI, Semantic Web, (Linked) Open Data, Big Data Analytics, W3C standardization

Flanders Artificial Intelligence Research program (FAIR) – second cycle. 01/01/2024 - 31/12/2028

Abstract

The Flanders AI Research Program is a strategic basic research program with a consortium of eleven partners: the five Flemish universities (KU Leuven, University of Ghent, University of Antwerp, University of Hasselt, Vrije Universiteit Brussel) and six research centers (imec, Flanders Make, VIB, VITO, Sirris and ILVO). The program brings together 300+ researchers on new AI methods that can be used in innovative applications in health, industry, planet&energy and society. This way, the program contributes to a successful adoption of AI in Flanders. The ambition is for Flanders to occupy a strong international position in the field of strategic basic research in AI, and this within a strong and sustainable Flemish ecosystem. Five focus research themes have been selected: responsible AI, human-centered AI, sustainable AI (energy-efficient and high-performance), productive and data-efficient AI (systems that require little data, which perform by combining data with domain knowledge and experience of experts) and resilient and high-performant AI (robust against changes in the environment). The description of the work packages and their research tasks defines the aspects within these themes that will be investigated in the program. The AI solutions are demonstrated in real-life use cases. These results not only demonstrate the effectiveness, but also inspire companies for adoption and researchers for further research. The Flanders AI Research Program is part of the Flanders AI Policy Plan. More info: www.flandersairesearch.be

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  • Research Project

IDLab - Internet and Data Lab 01/01/2021 - 31/12/2026

Abstract

The IOF consortium IDLab is composed of academic supervisors at the IDLab Research Group, a UAntwerp research group with members from the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Applied Engineering. IDLab develops innovative digital solutions in the area of two main research lines: (1) Internet technologies, focusing on wireless networking and Internet of Things (IoT), and (2) Data science, focussing on distributed intelligence and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The mission of the IDLab consortium is to be the number one research and innovation partner in Flanders and leading partner worldwide, in the above research areas, especially applied in a city and its metropolitan surroundings (industry, ports & roads). To realize its mission, IDLab looks at integrated solutions from an application and technology perspective. From an application point of view, we explicitly provide solutions for all stakeholders in metropolitan areas aiming to cross-fertilize these applications. From a technological point of view, our research includes hardware prototyping, connectivity and AI, enabling us to provide a complete integrated solution to our industrial partners from sensor to software. Over the past years, IDLab has been connecting the city and its surroundings with sensors and actuators. It is time to (1) reliably and efficiently connect the data in an integrated way to (2) turn them into knowledgeable insights and intelligent actions. This perfectly matches with our two main research lines that we want to extensively valorise the upcoming years. The IDLab consortium has a unique position in the Flemish eco-system to realize this mission as it is strategically placed across different research and innovation stakeholders: (1) IDLab is a research group embedded in the Strategic Research Centre imec, a leading research institute in the domain of nano-electronics, and more recently through groups such as IDLab, in the domain of digital technology. (2) IDLab has a strategic link with IDLab Ghent, a research group at Ghent University. While each group has its own research activities, we define a common strategy and for the Flemish ecosystem, we are perceived as the leading partner in the research we are performing. (3) IDLab is the co-founder of The Beacon, an Antwerp-based eco-system on innovation where start-ups, scale ups, etc. that work on IoT and AI solutions for the city, logistics, mobility and industry 4.0 come together. (4) Within the valorisation at UAntwerp, IDLab contributes to the valorisation within the domain 'Metropolitanism, Smart City and Mobility'. To realize our valorisation targets, IDLab will define four valorisation programs: VP1: Emerging technologies for next-generation IoT; VP2: Human-like artificial Intelligence; VP3: Learning at the edge; VP4: Deterministic communication networks. Each of these valorisation programs is led by one of the (co-)promoters of the IDLab consortium, and every program is composed of two or three innovation lines. This way, the IDLab research will be translated into a clear program offer towards our (industrial) partners, allowing us to build a tailored offer. Each valorisation program will contribute to the different IOF objectives, but in a differentiated manner. Based on our current experience, some valorisation programs are focusing more on local partners, while others are mainly targeting international and EU funded research projects.

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  • Research Project

Support maintenance scientific equipment (IDLab). 01/01/2018 - 31/12/2024

Abstract

This project is devoted for the maintenance of the City of Things Hercules infrastructure . Within this project, we have developed the CityLab testbed which is a wireless edge computing platform for smart cities. This provides experimental access to wireless networking infrastructure, edge computing infrastructure and smart city sensors.

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  • Research Project

Research Program Artificial Intelligence 01/01/2023 - 31/12/2023

Abstract

The Flanders AI Research Program focuses on demand-driven, leading-edge, generic AI research for numerous applications in the health and care sector and industry, for governments and their citizens. The requirements were indicated by users from these application domains.

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  • Research Project

A-budget IMEC 2023. 01/01/2023 - 31/12/2023

Abstract

This project is part of the IMEC Frame Agreement and is being given as structural investment for fundamental research based on yearly set KPIs from the group to IMEC. This A-budget is defined within the IMEC Way of Working and part of the frame agreement of the University of Antwerp and IMEC.

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  • Research Project

OptiRoutS: private routing service that proactively contributes to meeting public mobility goals. 01/10/2022 - 30/09/2024

Abstract

Authorities have grown concerned over the negative impact of in-car routing services on smooth, safe and green mobility, as these often fail to consider the social cost inherent to the usage of the road by their users. Private partners (such as intermediaries, end-user service providers or mobility consultants) are increasingly involved in rectifying the worrisome aspects of these routing services, though still face the challenge on how to go from public mobility goals to impactful policy advice or route guidance. The key aspects of this challenge are the lack of: (i) a large-scale and robust methodology to quantify the social cost of traffic on a road network; and (ii) academic knowledge on how to implement impactful routing advice, e.g., via altruistic rewards. In OptiRoutS, three industrial partners (Be-Mobile, Movias and TML) and one public partner (AWV) team up with four academic partners (IDLab-Antwerp, IDLab-Ghent, CIB-KUL and SMIT-VUB) to address these challenges and build services that contribute to smoother, safer and more sustainable mobility.  The innovations in OptiRoutS will strengthen the partners positions in two promising markets – traffic policy support and interactive traffic management, thus providing significant scope for valorization. 

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  • Research Project

Intelligent, flexible and automated management of neutral host sharing of Open RAN with shared transport network (5GECO). 01/03/2022 - 29/02/2024

Abstract

5GECO (5G Intelligent Radio and Transport Edge Network Cross-Optimisation) aims to reduce the Open 5G RAN Total Cost Ownership (TCO) of Mobile Networks (MN) for ultra-dense urban and private industrial deployments. This will be achieved by developing an Intelligent Neutral Host (INH) platform with end-to-end (E2E) management, supported by orchestration and control capabilities that allow the INH operator to control its equipment, for example the Radio Access Network (RAN) and the Transport Network (TN), can share and its spectrum, whether licensed or shared, with other MN operators so that they can densify their coverage in the most cost-effective way, saving a private network owner's money earn with his private network.

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  • Research Project

AI For Food Logistics aims to achieve a highly reliable, just-in-time delivery experience for fresh food through end-to-end optimization of the logistics chain (AI4FoodLogistics). 01/09/2021 - 31/08/2023

Abstract

Demand forecasting in retail still suffers from the so called bullwhip effect: a small change in point-of-sale demand can cause a large fluctuation in demand at the wholesale, distribution center and supplier. For the food retail chain this materializes into (i) the inability to cope with unexpected events or (ii) to further reduce food waste, and (iii) a weaker position towards e-commerce. AI4FoodLogistics aims to tackle these challenges - focusing on fresh food delivery - by addressing key shortcomings of current tactics. A highly reliable, just-in-time delivery experience for fresh food is targeted, that leverages a novel data architecture capable to propagate data across the value chain in a more scalable, cost-effective way. The consortium spans the full value chain, from farm to fork, and will focus on advancing state-of-the art technology to increase the trustworthiness of demand forecasting, logistics scheduling and personalized recommendations. Key objectives of AI4FoodLogistics are lowering overall logistics cost (ca. 13M euro/year) decreasing food waste in Flanders (at least 15M euro/year), and increasing the share of locally produced healthy food. The outcome will be validated by combining a simulator with in-the-field-validated data-driven models.

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  • Research Project