This year's System Identification (SysId) Competition will test thermal models of building materials, specifically wall components. 1995 and 1996 competitions will study unoccupied and occupied buildings. No prize, but the best modelers will collaborate on a paper. Obtain data from Jan Kreider ([email protected]), for use by 12/31/94. [connectionists, 8/27/94.]

Ublige Software & Robotics (Hunsville, AL) is selling "artificial insect" parts, including walking hexapod bodies and compound eyes. Also NN and GA control software. [EETimes, 8/15/94.]

Slick algorithms are not enough: Man Machine Interfaces Inc. (Melville, NY) sells a point-and-click Genetic Object Designer and an Evolutionary Object System for including GAs in C++ programs. Neuro-genetic-systems (Frederick, MD) offers Neuroshell for probabilistic and general-regression neural networks. Advanced Resource Development (Columbia, MD) sells a GUI neural simulator called Propogator. [EETimes, 8/15/94.]

The MLnet Machine Learning archive offers Mobal, Clint, Filp, Foil 6.1, Golem, Index, and Miles. The Consultant-2 MLT advice-giving system can help select a tool or algorithm. ftp://ftp.gmd.de/ml-archive/README.html, or ml-archive/MLT/public /software/Consultant for Consultant-2. Questions to ml-archive @gmd.de. [[email protected], comp.ai, 9/2/94. David Joslin.]

Lutz Prechelt examined 113 recent journal articles about NN learning algorithms. Only 6% show results for more than one problem using real-world data. One third present no quantitative comparison with any previous algorithm, and one third use no realistic problem at all. FTP (binary) /pub/neuroprose /prechelt.eval.ps.Z from archive.cis.ohio-state.edu. 9 pp., 70KB. [[email protected], connectionists, 8/30/94.]

UCIrvine's Machine Learning group has a WWW page at http://www.ics.uci.edu/AI/ML/Machine-Learning.html. You can access testbed databases, research papers, and the FOCL, Occam, and HYDRA programs. Also searchable archives of the Machine Learning List. [Tim Hume ([email protected]), KDD Nuggett 94:16. Chris J. Matheus.]

A large UPC scanner dataset is available from Kraft General Foods, for non-commercial research. Nominal cost for tape duplication. Mike Wolfe ([email protected]), (708) 646-2454 Fax. [KDD Nuggett 94:16. Chris J. Matheus.]