The Advanced Information Systems Laboratory (IAAA) was founded in 1993, focused on the creation of technology and knowledge oriented towards the development of information systems capable of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) techniques.

One of the problems found in the beginning was the need for information resources that could justify the need for new knowledge organization systems and new developments in AI. It is for this reason that in 1998 an approach to the world of geographic information systems was initiated. This problem domain offers interesting challenges due to the complexity, variety and size of its data.

In addition to this, regulatory developments in the United States (1994) and in the EU (2007) ensured that geographic data owned by public administrations had to be publicly accessible. The geographic field is therefore one of the earliest cases, possibly the very first, in which the generalized release of large and complex data for reuse was promoted, well before the term “Open Data” became popular.

Nowadays, the IAAA’s team consists of 9 professors (3 full professors, 6 associate professors), 5 PhD students and 2 graduates in computer science engineering who carry out technical support tasks.

Objectives and research lines

Our general objective is to carry out research and technology development, at the frontier of knowledge, for the discovery and processing of information and its application to data-driven decision making, in collaboration with public and private entities. The achievement of this general objective is based on the following lines of work:

  • Facilitating the discovery of existing information resources on the web. This requires addressing, among other aspects, the discovery of patterns that enable the creation of automatic data collection processes in different domains, the development of methodologies to analyze data repositories (dataset profiling), and the design of automatic methods to improve the annotation of datasets.
  • Applying data engineering to existing information resources to enable their integration into analysis pipelines. These pipelines will feed data to AI components and various types of interactive models. This includes, among other things, the reconstruction of data series and the combination of data with different temporal and spatial scales, and the reuse of open data.
  • Developing interactive models on which to build decision support systems in various problem domains (agriculture, urban environment etc.). This requires the analysis and simulation of relevant processes in these domains and the incorporation of existing information resources, with a special emphasis on spatial data.
  • Collaborating with public and private entities on the publication and consumption of data in an inclusive, circular and user-driven way. This includes the analysis of their current data generation, publication and usage processes, the identification of new opportunities and application scenarios, including the integration of these entities into open data ecosystems, and the implementation of operational prototypes and industry solutions.

Social responsiblity

This research group sets up a number of complementary objectives linked to our role as part of society. These objectives are:

  • Open Science. At the IAAA we have been committed to open science in its different aspects for more than 20 years. Already in 2002 we published the free software project CatMDEdit, which was followed by others such as ThManager and SpatiumCube. Similarly, our website has always facilitated, as far as possible, an open access to the articles we have published, even before the era of institutional repositories. Today, of course, all our scientific-technical work is open by default.
  • Teamwork. The IAAA has always facilitated the integration of different experiences, knowledge, backgrounds, gender, and cultural origins. We are a diverse group, where it is understood, and recognized, that each member brings unique characteristics, knowledge and levels of experience. We are a team in the sense that there is a core that gives continuity over time to a way of understanding research, and in the sense that successes and failures are collective, without this implying that the individual merits of each member are not recognized when appropriate.
  • Minimization of environmental impact. We have always been committed to reducing our environmental impact as much as possible, focusing early on recycling, reducing the use of paper, prioritizing the use of public transport, and minimizing intercontinental flights. We have also tried to focus part of our R&D on areas that can make a positive contribution to mitigating the effects of Climate Change.
  • Collaboration. Since its inception, the IAAA has collaborated with public and private entities, pursuing improvement based on research and development. The IAAA’s commitment is to achieve mutually beneficial advances. This open and receptive attitude towards working together with other actors is a clear example of our social responsibility.