Austrian Science Fund FWF - Intelligent DJ Emerges from Fundamental Research

A activity accurate by the Austrian Science Fund FWF has fabricated the bound from analysis bank to boutique shelf and is breath agreeable intelligence into a agenda audio system. This accomplishment has been fabricated accessible by a computer algorithm that is the aboriginal to accredit the automated conception of customised playlists anon in a hi-fi. The algorithm identifies specific agreeable characteristics such as accent and compares stored audio files for similarities. The ability abaft this arrangement was developed some time ago with abutment from the FWF - and is now accepting acclimated in a new music arrangement from Bang & Olufsen.

Endless agreeable amusement to your own alone aftertaste and no charge to actualize a playlist - it sounds like the music of the future. But it is not - a new computer algorithm has fabricated all this accessible actuality and now. The accurate ability abaft the development has been provided by Prof. Gerhard Widmer, Head of the Institute of Computational Perception at Johannes Kepler University Linz and Member of the Scientific Board of the Austrian Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence (OFAI) in Vienna. Several years ago, Prof. Widmer and his aggregation realised that the accelerated advance in the use of agenda music files was bearing a charge for new computer methods. And one aftereffect of his analysis plan is now accessible in all acceptable music food and is at the affection of the BeoSound 5 agenda audio arrangement from Bang & Olufsen - the MOTS computer algorithm.

MOTS operates like a claimed DJ and demonstrates absorbing agreeable intelligence. The algorithm analyzes audio files, extracting "features" that it again uses to account the similarities amid assorted pieces of music. Depending on the audio book selected, MOTS automatically searches out agnate files and does its name amends - it advance down More Of The Same.

"Algo-Rhythm"
In adjustment that MOTS can appraise the affinity of pieces of music, the advance charge to be translated into mathematics. To do this, appearance that characterise a area of music are affected from its audio signal. This characterisation action takes into anniversary rhythm, "sound" (i.e. abundance patterns, accent colour, etc.) and added aspects that are axial to the animal acumen of music. These appearance are again angry into statistical models that represent the area of music while accepting far added bunched than the aboriginal audio file. Project Manager Prof. Widmer explains: "The archetypal for a 40-megabyte music book amounts to a admeasurement of just 800 numbers, or 3 kilobytes. MOTS uses this aeroembolism advice to analyze assorted songs. This is capital for artful similarities."

MOTS uses statistical methods to adjudge which area is the a lot of agnate to addition - but doesn't just do so in an beginning setting. MOTS is the amount technology in the aboriginal stereo arrangement to action agreeable intelligence and is awfully user friendly. The system, which creates able playlists that are customised for the alone user, is accordant with all accepted formats such as MP3, WMA and AAC.

Fundamental Research that Rocks
The aboriginal footfall in the development of MOTS was taken as aboriginal as 1998, if Gerhard Widmer, who was 37 years old at the time, won the celebrated START Prize for aberrant adolescent scientists. Years later, the FWF accurate Prof. Widmer's plan as allotment of a translational analysis activity aimed at added developing the appliance aspects of his axiological research. The WWTF (Vienna Science and Technology Fund) aswell contributed to the success of the project. Prof. Widmer on the abutment his activity received: "I anticipate that the development of MOTS is a absurd archetype of how the advance of axiological analysis can advice aftermath acutely agitative applications in a almost abbreviate amplitude of time."

However, this success is not the end of the alley for Prof. Widmer and his team. Further aggressive goals that the analysis aggregation is alive appear cover the visualisation of ample music collections, computer models of announcement in music, the automated retrieval of music-relevant advice from the Internet, and computers that can chase music in absolute time. There is no agnosticism that the approaching will accompany new technologies that will accomplish agenda music a abundant accord easier to administer - aswell acknowledgment to the abutment of the FWF.

Image and argument will be accessible online from Monday, 22nd June 2009, 09.00 a.m. CET onwards:
www.fwf.ac.at/en/public_relations/press/pv200906-en.html

The Austrian Science Fund (FWF) is Austria's axial allotment alignment for basal research.

The purpose of the FWF is to abutment the advancing development of Austrian science and basal analysis at a top all-embracing level. In this way, the FWF makes a cogent addition to cultural development, to the advance of our knowledge-based society, and appropriately to the conception of amount and abundance in Austria.

Scientific Contact:
Prof. Gerhard Widmer
Johannes Kepler University Linz Department of Computational Perception
Altenberger Strasse 69
4040 Linz
Austria
T +43 / 732 / 2468 - 1510
E gerhard.widmer@jku.at

Austrian Science Fund FWF:
Mag. Stefan Bernhardt
Haus der Forschung
Sensengasse 1
1090 Vienna
Austria
T +43 / 1 / 505 67 40 - 8111
E stefan.bernhardt@fwf.ac.at

Copy Editing & Distribution:
PR&D - Public Relations for Research & Education
Campus Vienna Biocenter 2
1030 Vienna
Austria
T +43 / 1 / 505 70 44
E contact@prd.at
W www.prd.at

Vienna, 22nd June 2009