The LAMI
Laboratoire de Microinformatique
Microprocessor and Interface Lab Go to LAMI - DI - EPFL

Introduction

The LAMI (Laboratoire de Microinformatique) is not active any more, due to the departure of Prof Nicoud, who devotes his time to DIDEL, a vompany he created in 1972, but froze when he preferred to be professor at EPFL. The LAMI is replaced by the

Building intelligent mobile robots, based upon our experience of microprocessors and real time software. We get sophisticated behaviours (navigation between obstacles, coordination with other mobile robots, social behaviours) from robots built around various sensors, microprocessors, neural nets, fuzzy logic, etc.
The development of the Pemex robot initiated an important activity on sensors for humanitarian demining. The work continues with Claudio Bruschini, who updates the DETEC pages.
Studying of neural networks both in their theoretical and practical aspects. New directions based on neuro-biology studies (spiking nerons) are taken by professor W. Gerstner, who took the direction of the Mantra group in August 1996.

The aim of this server is to provide our visitors and interested potential researchers a detailed view of our past. The LAMI has benefitted from its environment and its epoch. It has understood early the power of microprocessors, and the Smakys are still in use. The lab has been most productive in applied research and efficient technological implementations, but the new orientations generate more PhD theses and original theoretical results.

A little bit of history.

The Institute of Technology of Lausanne, founded in 1853, becomes Federal in 1969 and its Electricity Department was enlarged. The Logical System Laboratory (Prof Daniel Mange) is funded and within this group an activity headed by J.D. Nicoud is developped in the field of pocket calculators and minicomputers.

In 1974, this group is transformed into the Laboratoire de Calculatrices Digitales (LCD), which changes its name in 1980 for its present name LAMI. The Computer Science Department was established in 1987. The LAMI has also very strong connections with the Microengineering Department, due to its activities in smart microsystems, and the microprocessor courses given to the students of this department, which result in many microengineering students making projects and diploma work at the LAMI.

Overview of the LAMI

Financially supported by EPFL (30%) and by research projects and industrial contracts (70%), the Lab conducts research and is in charge of undergraduate courses on Microprocessors, Interfacing and Neural Networks. Every year, 5-12 students do their graduation thesis in the Lab. 2-3 PhD thesis are obtained every year. Reseach topics include autonomous robots, neural nets and smart microsystems.

The LAMI team consists of 2 professors, 2 secretaries, 2 technical engineers, 3 senior engineers and scientists, about 20 assistants and 1 to 3 foreign trainees. PhD's are being prepared by most of the assistants. A PhD is obtained through research and takes 3 to 5 years after the diploma. PhD assistants are paid 75% of an enginneer salary, 100% if they have teaching or maintenance duties. The lab is organized as 8 groups of activities, listed on the LAMI home page.

The major activities of the Lab are:

Microprocessor and Interface education. Four books have been written. The last one on digital design is available in three languages. Specific laboratory equipments have been developped over the past 25 years in order to improve the pedagogic efficiency of the practical exercises associated with the lectures (logidules, microcomputers, local networks, I/O devices).
Mastering the implementation of advanced technology: 32-bit microprocessors, DSP's, multi- microprocessors, communication buses (USB), performance evaluation, neural network and fuzzy accelerators. The MicroNeuro'96 (12-14 February 96) has been organized by the lab in cooperation with the CSEM in Neuchatel.
Participation to the MANTRA Center for Neuro-Mimetic Systems, in which 5 professors are envolved. Six researchers have been occupied in 93-95 with modelizing and implementing advanced applications with state of the art neural network technology. A systolic neural network VLSI chips has been built in 92-94 and the 400-neuron system Mantra-I has reached more than 200 MCUps. Mantra is organizing on October 7-10, 1997, ICANN'97, the 7th International Conference on Artificial Neural Networks.
Research and development on intelligent mobile robots. Genetic algorithms, neural networks and fuzzy logic are applied to the development if adaptive and collective algorithmes. Experiments are performed on the Khepera robot developed at the Lab. The Khepera robot is only 6cm in diameter; it carries a 68331 microprocessor and has an extension bus for vision sensors, grippers, radio transmissions, positioning systems. A larger robot, the Koala, is now ready for production after 3 years of development.
Demining Technology Center (DeTeC). Triggered by the support of John Walker in 1994-95, a very strong activity is being developed now for helping finding solutions to the problem of antipersonnal mines. In 1995, a simple and low cost robot platform, the Pemex-B has been developed. Its metal detector is not appropriate for mine detection, and no metal detector can make the difference between one of these many metal pieces found in a minefield and a minimum-metal mine.
Hence the work is now concentrated on a combination of sensors (Ground Penetrating Radar, magnetometer, odor) for a reliable mine detection. Financial support has been obtained by the "Fondation Provictimis", a humanitarian institutions, and the Swiss Department for Foreign Affairs.

You consider visiting our group?

The EPFL is located 5km from Lausanne close to the lake and the highway, and is well serviced by public transportation. The LAMI is in building INF, at the South-West of the campus. Look here for directions to reach our campus.

J.D. Nicoud, August 1997. Send me an E-mail for any question or comment.

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