PolyLAB Projects

About

PolyLAB works on projects that actually deliver on our desire to provide sophisticated, network-based, environments for working in all areas of science. We focus on the real needs of research groups, industry, and other teacher and scientists, and deliver solutions now. we try to avoid studies that are simply academic, but concentrate on building products and solutions which support critical needs, especially in space exploration and public safety.

PolyLAB is studying the latest technologies, in cooperation with a wide number of national and international partners, and the projects we are working on reflect those collaborations.

From the classroom to space, the PolyLAB projects are as follows:

• M3Plexus: Multi-Modal Mathematics, our original CECM-based project in advanced TeleLearning in the mathematical sciences.
• Island Pacific School Project, an experiment in Participatory Pedagogy in a real middle school.
• PolyBook Manager, our window and resource manager for online textbooks. Restricted Access.
• Book Management System, a next-generation system that allows arbitrary math engines to be incorporated into HTML pages using JavaScript. System provides full session management. Restricted Access.
• Algebra Interactive, a system being developed by our close partners, RIACA for interactive, activated, math education. We work with them on understanding the needs for the underlying technology.
• Advanced Multicast Videoconferencing, a CANARIE-funded, Calgary-led project, in which we delivered a course across the country via the MBONE system.

• PolyLAB SpaceSystems Group, the pages and projects of our space team.

• PDG OpenMath Dev Team, the folks here at PolyLAB who have actually implemented OpenMath systems over the past three years.
• NAOMI, the North American OpenMath Initiative, co-founded by PolyLAB. Part of our work with the international OpenMath Consortium.
• The NAOMI OpenMath Java Library, our advanced implementation of the OpenMath standard.
• The OpenMath JavaBean System, for rapid application development of scientific tools.
• Semantic Mathematical Translation, systems that extract the mathematics from documents and translate it into a form that can be manipulated on a computer:
  • Latex2OM:
    A system that translates LaTeX into an early form of OpenMath using Wildlife, an artificial intelligence language. We have a demo available.
  • OM2All:
    Our OpenMath to everything else translators, one in Wildlife (for Maple), and one in Java. We also have a version that feeds maple directly.

• Distributed Institute Networking, our study of potential collaborative communication systems for scientific environments like those found at CECM and the Pacific Institute of Mathematical Sciences, as well as forming the core for our M3Plexus systems. Technologies in development are based around PolyNet, our next-generation core network communication system for the mathematical sciences, for talking between anything from tools to people. The idea is to distribute sophisticated computing resources throughout the world to anybody with `basic' network and computing access in a way that does not compromise functionality, and enhances communication, collaboration, research, and education.
• Components:
  
  • PolyNet X2:
    the advanced prototype which represents the next phase of our networking research, in which we move into distributed object computing, and high-speed (ATM and faster) communication. PolyNet X2 supports both distributed object networking and standard socket communication, to provide a bridge between many different types of services.
  • PolyServ:
    our project working on the management of distributed scientific services.
  • Mediated Resource Brokerage:
    our Pioneer project for Canada's High Performance Computing network, on the provision of a National agent-oriented computing resource brokerage system.
  • Virtual Institute Network :
    This is our first proof of concept investigation into the technologies needed for distributed institute networking. The resulting ideas are then applied to our more advanced PolyNet systems.
  • XML:
    We are working on a range of projects using the latest forms of XML and XSL technologies. Indeed, these pages are built via XSLT! This allows us to bring information online quickly, simplifying the construction of collaborative environments.
    • Dynamic Repurposing:
      Our latest projects store data in XML that is then translated to the form needed. You can see this in our Denali site, in which content is built for the web and the emerging wireless web.
• Mobile Computing:
  We are working on many different ways to bring full collaborative computing to the mobile user.
  • Wireless Web Systems:
    The wireless web can be an important mechanism for collaboration in the science and engineering areas. PolyLAB is working on ways to automatically ensure that technical content is available on the wireless web.
  • Java-based handheld computing:
    We are implementing Java collaborative networking systems on handheld computing devices to allow people to work together in real time from mobile computing devices.
  • Rapid Application Development for Mobile Computing:
    PolyLAB has been using the OpenMath JavaBean system to implement scientific tools on mobile devices rapidly, using distributed network computing to simplify deployment.
  • Voice Activation:
    It is often important to access and generate scientific information in collaborative situations without access to a keyboard or pen input device. PolyLAB is working on speech recognition and text to speech environments for just such a reason.
• Collaborative Networking for Disasters:
  One of the most essential forms of collaborative networking is the kind that happens when people are trying to work together during a disaster. Working with the Telematics Research Lab, NATO, the UN, provincial and national organizations, we are trying to build the infrastructure, both ground and space-based, and both hardware and software, to provide our world community with what is needed.

• The Inverse Symbolic Calculator:
  from numbers back to equations, now developed into RevEng.
• Colour Calc:
  a Java implementation, using PolyLAB OpenMath JavaBean Technology, of a fascinating way to view numbers.
• Java Maple Form Interface:
  A Java interface into Maple, using an OpenMath JavaBean-built interface.
• The Pi Pages:
  A fun page with a interesting approach to the digits of pi!
• EZFace Plus, Java:
  Evaluation of Euler Sums.
• Distributed Maple Server:
  A advanced distributed server using PolyServ technology to provide OpenMath-compatible access to a full symbolic math system
• Distributed LiE Server:
  A project with RIACA to build a sophisticated OpenMath-compatible server for Lie Group calculations.