Group of Application of AI Methods in Mechanical Engineering

Our goal is to solve hard engineering, economic and financial problems by the development, integration and application of artificial intelligence and combinatorial optimization methods.

Description

Research Activity

The group focuses its research on various artificial intelligence and combinatorial optimization methods – specifically, planning and scheduling methods, linear and constraint programming, agent technology – and their applications in production engineering and management. Our main areas of interest are design, process planning, production planning and scheduling, as well as the interplay of engineering and economic decisions. We have an interest in the methodology of agent-based simulation and in its application in modeling social behavior.

Recently, the group has been involved in a large-scale R&D project and developed novel models and techniques for solving production planning and scheduling problems of real-life complexity and size. On-site testing of a deployed production planner system at a major multinational manufacturer is underway. For more details, see our projects.

All members of the group participate in teaching at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BUTE). Recently, our members gave courses also at Eötvös Lóránd University (Budapest), Kobe University, EPFL (Lausanne), and Harvard University (Boston).

Development and Consulting

We are active in the Institute for Production and Business Management (IPBM) that was jointly established by the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA), Stuttgart, and MTA SZTAKI. Primary activities of IPBM involve consulting, research and development, and education in the areas of production management and informatics.

International Programme Involvement

PLANET - European Network of Excellence in AI Planning
GEM-Europe - Global Education in Manufacturing
ERCIM WG on Constraints
AgentLink - the European Network of Excellence for Agent Based Computing

Scientific Events

Joint Annual Workshop of the ERCIM Working Group on Constraints and the CoLogNET area on Constraint and Logic Programming, MTA SZTAKI, Budapest, Hungary, 30 June - 2 July, 2003.