The use of probabilities in Court to analyse is controversial and has on occasion lead to miscarriages of justice. One area of research that aims to address develops Bayesian networks that model certain types of evidential reasoning scenario. The output of this work tends to be disseminated through conference papers and journal articles.
This project aims to produce a web application that serves as a repository for such Bayesian networks. In other words, this project aims to produce an application that has the basic Bayesian network editing and inferencing features of Hugin Lite, but in the form of a web application (where Hugin Expert is a desktop application. The application will provide a means to store scenario types, annotated explanations and Bayesian networks. It will provide a means to create and visualise Bayesian networks and use the networks for the valuation of evidence.
This project involves the following technical challenges:
Please beware that this project is potentially very challenging. The project involves full-stack web development, with extensive front-end development in Javascript. There is not much of a safety net in case you struggle to produce a web front-end for editing and visualising Bayesian networks.
Before you do anything else, have a look at Hugin Lite. This is a limited and free version of Hugin Expert. You will be building a web based version of this application. You should also read an introductory tutorial on Bayesian networks, so that you understand the models your application will be used to develop.
This project is suitable for both BSc and MSci students with an interest in Artificial Intelligence and Software Engineering. A student taking on this project should be particularly keen on front-end development. It is not advisable to take this project without at least some experience in Javascript, so that you understand what is involved.
Q: Can I discuss this project with you in person?
A: Yes, I have arrange a project Q&A session on Thursday 27 September, 18:00%—20:00 in Bush House (SE) 2.12. All students in an undergraduate Computer Science programme doing an individual project this year are welcome. I'm afraid it is not feasible to meet all students with questions on a one-to-one basis this week. I am supervising 11 undergraduate projects this year and usually receive 5-6 meeting requests per project on average (because most students explore a range of different projects). As it is simply not feasible to schedule that many meetings in a single week, a group Q&A session seems to me to be the fairest approach to meet everyone.