Francisco José Vico Vela is a scientist and engineer who is a full professor of

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...

at the University of Malaga. As a researcher, Vico is founder and head of the Biomimetics and EdTech research groups at the University of Malaga, and founder and CEO of the

university spin-off University spin-offs (also known as university spin-outs) are companies that transform technological inventions developed from university research that are likely to remain unexploited otherwise. They are a subcategory of research spin-offs. Promi ...

s Melomics Media and Digitomica as an

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

. His work is mostly known for using

evolutionary computation In computer science, evolutionary computation is a family of algorithms for global optimization inspired by biological evolution, and the subfield of artificial intelligence and soft computing studying these algorithms. In technical terms, they ...

in the field of automated computer composition and

industrial design Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical Product (business), products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advan ...

Education and career

Vico graduated from the University of Malaga with a BA in

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

in 1991 and was the recipient of a doctoral grant, receiving his PhD in 1995. After doing a

postdoc A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to p ...

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, Vico started working as a lecturer in

at the University of Malaga in 1996, and then became an assistant professor in 2000 and full professor in 2012.

Basic research

Vico developed research in

computational neuroscience Computational neuroscience (also known as theoretical neuroscience or mathematical neuroscience) is a branch of neuroscience which employs mathematical models, computer simulations, theoretical analysis and abstractions of the brain to u ...

and

computer vision Computer vision is an interdisciplinary scientific field that deals with how computers can gain high-level understanding from digital images or videos. From the perspective of engineering, it seeks to understand and automate tasks that the hum ...

from his doctoral thesis (contributing with models of neuron function) until 2005, where his interests turned to

and

artificial life Artificial life (often abbreviated ALife or A-Life) is a field of study wherein researchers examine systems related to natural life, its processes, and its evolution, through the use of simulations with computer models, robotics, and biochemistry ...

. He has advised or co-advised eight PhD theses, led more than 40 research projects as

principal investigator In many countries, the term principal investigator (PI) refers to the holder of an independent grant and the lead researcher for the grant project, usually in the sciences, such as a laboratory study or a clinical trial. The phrase is also often us ...

, mostly with public funding, and has two patents.

Applied research

Despite his basic research in brain function and form evolution, Vico's interest has been mainly focused on the applicability of the results. His research projects with industry have ranged from

day trading Day trading is a form of speculation in securities in which a trader buys and sells a financial instrument within the same trading day, so that all positions are closed before the market closes for the trading day to avoid unmanageable risks an ...

knee replacement Knee replacement, also known as knee arthroplasty, is a surgical procedure to replace the weight-bearing surfaces of the knee joint to relieve pain and disability, most commonly offered when joint pain is not diminished by conservative sources a ...

surgery.

Artificial creativity

An early research project with

Alcatel Alcatel may refer to: * Alcatel, a former French telecommunications equipment company, which became Alcatel-Lucent and is now part of Nokia * Alcatel Mobile, a brand of mobile phones, tablets and wearables, formerly a joint venture between Alcatel ...

in the field of automating industrial design resulted in his most cited paper. A decade later, Vico led the

Melomics Melomics (derived from "genomics of melodies") is a computational system for the automatic composition of music (with no human intervention), based on bioinspired algorithms. Technological aspects Melomics applies an evolutionary approach t ...

project, which was a milestone in the application of

computer music Computer music is the application of computing technology in music composition, to help human composers create new music or to have computers independently create music, such as with algorithmic composition programs. It includes the theory and ap ...

. This research produced

Iamus In Greek mythology, Iamus (Ancient Greek: Ἴαμος) was the son of Apollo and Evadne, a daughter of Poseidon, raised by Aepytus. Mythology Evadne loved Apollo and by him she became pregnant, but was shamed by Aepytus for her pregnancy. When ...

, Accessed: 10 January 2013. a

computer cluster A computer cluster is a set of computers that work together so that they can be viewed as a single system. Unlike grid computers, computer clusters have each node set to perform the same task, controlled and scheduled by software. The comp ...

for automated composition, which composed music that was recorded in the album ''

'', and a piece interpreted by the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

, described by ''

New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publishe ...

'' as "The first major work composed by a computer and performed by a full orchestra." For its disruptive novelty in the artistic and technological disciplines, Melomics was acknowledged as one of the scientific contributions of 2012 by ''

Discover Discover may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Discover'' (album), a Cactus Jack album * ''Discover'' (magazine), an American science magazine Businesses and brands * DISCover, the ''Digital Interactive Systems Corporation'' * Di ...

'' magazine. It also found applications in health, and was presented in the Seoul Digital Forum in 2015.

Educational technologies

Since 2015, Vico's activity has focused on

educational technologies Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, edtech, it often refers ...

ToolboX A toolbox (also called toolkit, tool chest or workbox) is a box to organize, carry, and protect the owner's tools. They could be used for trade, a hobby or DIY, and their contents vary with the craft. Types A toolbox could refer to several typ ...

is a programming environment developed by Vico that adapts modern computer technology to coding education.

Games

Vico has also designed Selfo, a connection board game.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vico Vela, Francisco Jose Academic staff of the University of Málaga Spanish computer scientists Living people Year of birth missing (living people)