IBM Research | Brazil

Dr. Bruno Flach

Dr. Bruno Flach is Director of the Research Laboratory at IBM Research Brasil, one of the 12 IBM research centres around the world, where he leads a phenomenal team that brings together scientists, engineers, developers and designers dedicated to the development of science and technology in areas that ranging from artificial intelligence and mathematical modelling to experimental physics and hybrid cloud computing. Bruno joined IBM in 2011, conducted basic and applied research projects covering a variety of disciplines and industries, as well as tactical and strategic planning processes.

Bruno obtained a PhD and MSc in Operational Research / Mathematical Programming from the Department of Electrical Engineering at PUC-Rio, graduated in Telecommunications and Industrial Engineering from the same university and was a visiting researcher at the Center for the Analysis of Risk and Optimization Modeling Applications at Brunel University in England.

AgroPad

Digital agriculture solutions use technologies such as the Internet-of-things (Iot) and articificial intelligence (AI) to help farmers better manage crops and more efficiently bring fresh produce to our tables. At IBM Research – Brazil, we are developing solutions to address a variety of agriculture industry challenges, from streamlining the production and usage of seeds and fertilizers to better understanding plant genetics, and improving farm management and product distribution.

Digital Agriculture Solutions

Digital agriculture projects in development include:

• Precision agriculture: applying advances in data science, AI, IoT and forecasting from The Weather Company -- an IBM Business -- to improve farming techniques, preserve natural resources and optimize crop output.
• Computer vision on the farm: using advances in AI and cognitive computing to collect, recognize, analyze and interpret images to better understand crop health and growth.
• Field analysis: platforms and solutions for conducting customized tests on a range of factors impacting agribusiness such as soil composition, water quality, machine functionality and irrigation.
• Information for producers: a solution using the power of Watson to simplify access to information critical for successful agriculture producers -- from weather patterns and pest control to seed variation and government regulation. This project involves collecting and cataloging public information about agriculture production and making it easily accessible and searchable.

Advancing natural language processing

The Social Cognitive Technologies group of IBM Research - Brazil focuses on technologies and applications based on the analysis of human-related data. Our mission is to realize the potential of human/social data in businesses and society.

Our approach is to investigate and develop technologies based both on personal data, such as social media posts, and on social data, such as the network of friends, news articles and dialogue systems.

Conversational cognitive agents, or chatbots, are autonomous agents that use natural language to communicate with a human or other chabots to exchange information about a common topic. At IBM Research – Brazil, we are conducting research and developing new methods and tools to advance the state-of-the-art on chatbots that can interact using natural language in a multi-party, mixed-initiative conversation. The chatbots are enhanced with information extracted from social media networks and news websites. For example, a chatbot that serves as an investment adviser can exchange information about Brazilian finance in Portuguese and can also offer financial advise using natural language.

Oil and gas exploration

Advances in AI and cognitive computing are enabling new methods and approaches to oil and gas exploration and business processes, from improving seismic imaging to transforming industry processes and decision-making. Related IBM Research – Brazil projects in development include:

• Information extractor: a solution for collecting and extracting large volumes of data from technical and business content to simplify and improve access to critical information.
• Seismic interpretation: The use of AI and cognitive computing to analyze seismic images, recognize patterns and determine geological risk.
• Project advisor: The use of AI and cognitive computing to encourage more informed operations in the process flow for oil and gas extraction.

Browse publications by research area

Industrial Cloud Technologies

Visual Analytics and Insight

Social Data Analytics

Industrial Technology & Science