The Department of Artificial Intelligence, commonly referred to as AI, has been focusing on three areas; agriculture, health and natural language processing. The Department is headed by Dr. Joyce Nakatumba Nabende.
In Agriculture, AI has focused on a cassava project. The project has been diagnosing PPD cassava detoriation using images. The images taken of cassava leaves help to detect the disease at early stage. No other technology would be able to detect the disease at this stage. The project also incentivises farmers by providing them with low cost smart phones. The farmers use the phones to take photos and share with the project managers.
In Health, the AI has developed a malaria diagnostic kit that uses a microscope and a smart phone. The kit is solving the problem of lack of lab technicians.
The kit uses 3D printable adapter to capture images of the microscopy through a smart phone.
Then the project works with lab technicians who detect pathogens in the images. The malaria parasites are detected with more accuracy. The Project is supported by Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and Grant Challenges – Canada.
The kit is intended to benefit to remote areas and is being tailored to achieve higher efficacy levels in different categories of patients such as pregnant mothers, children etc.
The kit will boost field malaria testing.
The third as aspect of AI has been Natural Languages Processing.
The project has developed a website www.commonvoice.mozilla.org/lg, where volunteers are doing text to audio translations and vice versa.
The AI department has innovated programmes that can be employed in the management of traffic or transport, health diagnostics and so on.
