• Our capabilities
• Our research 
  • service computing
  • semantic data management
  • human-computer interaction 
  • machine learning  
• Applications
• Commercialisation success

The modern world doesn't suffer from a lack of information, the problem we face is how to find, sort, filter and assimilate the information we need.

Another aspect of modern life is that services account for more than 75 per cent of economic activity in advanced countries. Services are also increasingly delivered anytime, anywhere and over computer networks such as the Internet.

CSIRO’s experts in information engineering deal with both information and services.

Our capabilities

Our underlying capabilities include:

• natural language processing and social media technologies
• information retrieval, integration and customised delivery
• interoperability of web services
• knowledge mapping
• cloud computing
• adaptive systems
• semantic web technologies
• ontologies for sensors and sensor networks
• advanced workspace and application sharing technology
• computational theory
• software engineering
• computer collaboration tools
• information security and privacy.

Our research

Our research expertise spans:

• service computing
• semantic data management
• human-computer interaction
• machine learning.

Service computing

To make services delivered over computer networks, such as the web, easier to use, we are improving their design and delivery, and developing technologies for better monitoring, quality assurance and evaluation of them.

We are further developing our technologies to improve the security, privacy and trust of computer-based services.

Our research also includes cloud computing. A cloud is a set of computational resources – such as data storage facilities, processing power, high capacity and high speed networks, services and applications – that are typically shared by many users. We are developing cloud-based services and applications, as well as systems and frameworks to facilitate the use of clouds.

Semantic data management

Semantic data is designed to be ready by a machine, such as a comptuer or sensor node. Semantic data often has extra information (metadata) added to tell the machine how the bits of data are related, this helps with tasks such as searching.

Among other things, we are developing tools that allow semantic modelling, data integration and semantic querying of many different data repositories and information services at the same time.

Human-computer interaction

Our research focuses on the design and evaluation of algorithms and technology that make it easier for people to interact with information, use hardware and interact with each other while in separate locations.

The area includes:

• user-centric design
• immersive environments
• mixed reality interfaces
• visualisation technologies.

We are also devising technologies, tools and interfaces for the mining, analysis and summarisation of information from many sources simultaneously, making it easier for people to find what they need in a secure environment in which they feel comfortable.

Our research in this area encompasses social informatics, such as analysis of trends and relationships in social media.

Machine learning

Humans learn how to perform many tasks simply by watching someone else do them. Traditionally, computers have to be told what to do by a software program. Machine learning is about giving computers or robots the ability to learn from example, rather than following a set of rules.

We applying machine learning techniques to perform tasks such as data mining to detect and classify complex events and patterns, deal with uncertainty, detect anomalies, make decisions and recommend actions − with or without human supervision.

We also develop intelligent information systems that automatically improve through experience and adapt to changing circumstances.

Applications

Our research has many applications in many sectors, including:

• human services and eGovernment
• water management and environmental monitoring
• health and education
• remote operation and telework
• system monitoring and cyber security
• eResearch.

Commercialisation success

Among our achievements has been the formation of two companies:

• Semantic Services − commercialising data analysis software which automatically crosslinks and queries huge datasets to only present information relevant to the task
• Funnelback P/L − providing web search solutions based on CSIRO's Panoptic™ CSIRO’s enterprise search engine.