Greetings from Lyon

Amit Eliav, a graduate student in the information processing and data science track, is focusing on developing algorithms for assistive robots, designed to be used in crowded areas such as hospitals. “My part in the research, a vast collaboration between European labs sponsored by the EU’s Horizon 2020 program, is developing an algorithm that detects active speakers and examines overlap. To that end, I research the combination of audio and video data to improve the algorithm’s precision, as opposed to using solely audio,” he explains. “This algorithm is extremely important for controlling the rest of the algorithms we are developing at the lab. The research combines tools of machine learning and deep learning.”

Amit (32) got his undergraduate degree from the combined electrical engineering and music track at the Bar-Ilan Faculty of Engineering. “I play piano and guitar, so it was a great combination for me, a convergence of engineering and my love of music,” he shares. It was there that he met Prof. Sharon Ganot, head of the track, who later became his graduate thesis supervisor. “Throughout my graduate studies, Sharon and I meet weekly to catch up on how the research is progressing and brainstorm solutions and new paths, and he is always available to support and help with anything I need. Sharon is an immensely knowledgeable in his field, and beyond – he has incredible knowledge in nearly any field we discuss, even beyond the research topics.”

Last August, Amit visited Lyon, France, to participate in the European Signal Processing Conference (EUSIPCO). Organized by the European Signal Processing (EURASIP), the conference covers various topics in signal processing and hosts thousands of participants each year. “I gave a 20-minute talk at the conference, presenting my published article on audio segment classification and understanding whether there is an active speaker and an overlap between active speakers. It’s fascinating and exciting to give a talk when most of the leading researchers in the field are in the audience, and they understand every professional detail.”

Response to his talk, says Amit, was positive, and even bore some interesting conversations afterwards. “I met other students and researchers at the conference, most of them in the midst of their postgraduate studies, from Germany, Poland, Greece, and other countries; students in similar fields of research who showed interest in similar applications for their research as well. Some have been working with Sharon for years, and even visited our lab,” he adds. “It was fun to meet them and catch up.”