Smart software makes classification easy

A UQ diagnostic tool used by US Customs, the British Museum and the Brisbane City Council has recently been released in a new and expanded version.

Created by the University’s Centre for Biological Information Technology (CBIT), Lucid3 is a powerful software system that allows experts to produce easy to use subject identification “keys” on DVD, CD-ROM and the internet.

CBIT assistant director Matt Taylor said the practical applications of the program were endless.

“Subjects can range from plants, animals and insects to medical problems, crop diseases and even minerals - anything that may need identifying or diagnosing.

“The software also supports the addition of supporting materials such as images, videos, URL links and fact sheets to help users when using a key.”

Thousands of information keys have been created using the program – a number of them by UQ researchers – detailing everything from Australian spider species and African flowers to medicinal plants and dragonflies.

The software has been particularly useful for the American Quarantine Service, who have used Lucid to produce guides so staff can quickly and easily identify suspect items.

The Brisbane City Council also uses the product, recently sponsoring the development of a new guide for environmental officers to identify troublesome weed species.

Mr Tayor said the software supported all languages, and was compatible across Windows, Macintosh, Linux and Solaris platforms.

“Lucid is unique in that it is the only identification system of its kind that supports a rich ‘scoring’ model to encode data rather than using a binary method.

“It also has the ability to scope parts of the key so that it unfolds when needed by the user. This is particularly useful in large keys where the user can be overwhelmed by the amount of information that can be presented.”

Lucid was launched in 1998 as a collaboration between CBIT staff and other UQ researchers.

Further information about the software and other technologies created by the Centre is available on their website.

Media: Matt Taylor (07 3365 1858, m.taylor@cbit.uq.edu.au), Greg Blackburn (3365 1872, g.blackburn@cbit.uq.edu.au), or Cameron Pegg at UQ Communications (07 3365 2049, c.pegg@uq.edu.au)