Representatives of the U.S. Navy visited the University of Nevada, Reno on May 25 to evaluate artificial intelligence training software being developed by computer science and engineering professors and students.

Since 2003, the Department of Computer Science and Engineering in the College of Engineering has received more than $2 million in grants from the U.S. Navy to develop gaming software using artificial intelligence to train naval personnel. This type of gaming software, known as ‘serious' software, allows training to be conducted in virtual reality settings, such as the San Diego Harbor.

"Research has allowed us to build controllers for naval ships and boats based on knowledge acquired from subject matter experts in the Navy. From there we can then convert that information into gaming software allowing naval instructors to control multiple boats in a variety of realistic settings," said Sushil Louis, director of the department's Evolutionary Computing Systems Lab.

"During their visit the Navy provided us with expert feedback to help us tailor the gaming software we have developed for them," Louis said. "This project embodies both the research and development aspects of computational intelligence and gaming."

The Navy representatives' visit coincided with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Symposium on Computational Intelligence and Gaming (CIG) and the second annual IGT-UNR Symposium. The two symposiums were held concurrently on the University campus in the Jot Travis Student Union, Monday, May 22 through Wednesday, May 24.

The symposiums brought together leading researchers and practitioners in computational intelligence, games and related areas, and featured research presentations and competition sessions for simulated and real-world games.

In addition to virtual reality training, examples of the application of computational intelligence and gaming software development include simulated ‘war games,' online or video games, and slot machines.

"The gaming industry is huge, worldwide," Louis said. "It is a $35 billion plus industry and growing and has been argued that it may be bigger than the movie industry. All of the research presented at this symposium will contribute to developing better games within the next three years. Gamers want realistic graphics and smarter characters and researchers are working to develop just that."

Keynote speakers for the conference included Murray Campbell, member of the Deep Blue Team, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center; Ian Lane Davis, CEO of MAD DOC software; Michael Van Lent, Institute for Creative Technologies; Norm Brown, CEO, Quadrant-One, Inc.; The 2005 CIG conference took place in the United Kingdom and the 2007 CIG conference is scheduled to take place in Hawaii.

For more information about the University's Department of Computer Science and Engineering, visit www.cse.unr.edu.

Founded in 1874 as Nevada's oldest, land-grant university the University of Nevada, Reno has more than 16,000 students, four campuses and hosts Cooperative Extension services in all Nevada counties. It is ranked as one of the country's top 150 research institutions by the Carnegie Foundation, and is home to America's sixth-largest study abroad program, as well as the state's oldest and largest medical school.