About the AIC
SRI’s Artificial Intelligence Center (AIC) researches the computational principles underlying intelligence in man and machines. We develop methods for building computer-based systems to learn, perceive and interact with the world, reason, and make decisions. Our activities include:
- Machine learning, with applications to understanding text, speech, and video
- Mixed-initiative planning and workflow management for military and commercial processes
- Intelligent, personalized assistance for information and task management
- Vision, localization, navigation, coordination, and grasping for mobile robots and human-robot interaction
- Acquisition, visualization, and prediction of biochemical pathways in support of drug discovery and engineering new organisms
Leading AI Innovation from R&D to Application
Founded in 1966, the AIC is the source of many seminal contributions to AI in the areas of mobile robotics (Shakey and Centibots), search (the A* algorithm), expert systems (PROSPECTOR), image understanding (the RANSAC algorithm), information extraction from texts (FASTUS), and intelligent agents (PRS).
Technology developed in the center has been fielded in military applications, notably as part of the U.S. Army’s Command Post of the Future (CPoF), and has been licensed to several SRI spin-off ventures such as Siri (acquired by Apple), Trapit (merged with Addvocate), Tempo AI (acquired by Salesforce), Desti (acquired by Nokia), and Kasisto.