Two DLSU projects get DOST support to boost country’s AI, data science

Two DLSU projects led by College of Computer Studies (CCS) faculty that seek to boost the country’s disaster management and public healthcare system through AI and data science have received support from the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD).

The research projects, “Intelligent Structural Health Monitoring via Mesh of Tremor Sensors (meSHM)” led by CCS Assistant Dean for Research and Advanced Studies Dr. Marnel Peradilla and
“Development of Multilingual Chatbot for Health Monitoring of Public School Children” spearheaded by Advanced Research Institute for Informatics, Computing and Networking Director Dr. Judith Azcarraga, were among the research initiatives launched in an event hosted by DOST-PCIEERD last April 8.

The meSHM project, which is also supported by the DLSU Advanced Research Institute for Informatics, Computing, and Networking, involves the development and deployment of low-cost multi-sensor nodes around a structure as a mesh, collecting data for a period of time, relaying then storing the data. Data is then analyzed to detect structural defects or anomalies based on relative sensor signals in the mesh using AI.

Peradilla said that the cost-efficient meSHM could help in the development of a concrete disaster-prevention policy for all public and private structures in the country.

Members of the meSHM team are Peradilla for network and communications; Dr. Arnulfo Azcarraga for AI visualization; Dr. Lessandro Garciano for structural engineering; Clement Ong for
mechatronics engineering; and Fritz Kevin Flores for network and communications machine learning.

For her part, Dr. Judith Azcarraga explained that the multilingual chatbot for health monitoring seeks to answer the need for routine wellness checking of public school children, in view of the limited number of health wellness experts and limitations in healthcare monitoring systems. It also aims to address the lack of technology specifically designed for Philippine languages.

The team aims to develop an automated physical and mental health wellness assessment system using chatbot, one that can converse with children in Filipino and Bisaya. As a regular healthcare monitoring system in public schools, it can be used even without the presence of a doctor or medical practitioner.

Targeted for completion in January 2023, the chatbot project also hopes to encourage the children users independence and accountability to their own health. Azcarraga further noted that the research also hopes to foster collaboration among experts from different fields.

The two projects were among the nine AI research and development projects launched simultaneously by DOST-PCIEERD and undertaken by the DOST-Advanced Technology Science Institute(ASTI). The other projects come from UP Mindanao, UP Los Baños, and Caraga State University.

Other members of the chatbot team are: Dr. Charibeth Cheng for natural language modelling; Dr. Ronald Pascual for audio signal processing; Ma. Christine Gendrano and Candy Joyce Espulgar
for knowledge building and telemedicine; Jaymee Pantaleon for mental health wellness; and Dr. Alona Ardales for the development of Filipino chatbot.

During the launch, DOST Secretary Fortunato De La Peña talked about the department’s 10-year Framework for AI R&D in the Philippines.