Sparrho
 | |
| Created by | Vivian Chan, Nilu Satharasinghe |
|---|---|
| URL | www.sparrho.com |
| Written in | Clojure[1] |
Sparrho combines human and artificial intelligence to help research professionals and layman users stay up-to-date with new scientific publications and patents.[2] Sparrho's recommendation engine provides personalized scientific news-feeds by using proprietary machine learning algorithms to "aggregate, distill and recommend" relevant content.[3] The platform aims to complement traditional methods of finding relevant academic material such as Google Scholar and PubMed with a system which enables the serendipitous discovery of pertinent content and across relevant scientific fields through user input-aided machine learning and contextual analysis.[4]
Recommendation engine
Sparrho uses a "three pronged approach" to content recommendation. Firstly, "data-data analysis" is tackled using techniques such as natural language processing to provide appropriate research based on data provided by users.[5] Secondly, "user-user interactions" are utilized to propose a wider range of potentially relevant subject areas to users with similar interests . Finally, "user-data interactions" such as labeling articles as "relevant" or "irrelevant" within a particular scientific field allows Sparrho to personalize user newsfeeds.[6]
History
Sparrho was founded in 2013 by Vivian Chan and Nilu Satharasinghe as a solution to issues in staying up to date with scientific literature encountered over the course of Chan's biochemistry PhD at the University of Cambridge.[7][8][9] Initially established at Ideaspace in West Cambridge, the company offices have now moved to Camden, London.[10] In 2014, Chan was a semi-finalist for the 2014 Duke of York New Entrepreneur of the Year Award,[11][12] and in 2015, Chan was included on the 35 Women Under 35 list compiled by Management Today.[13] In 2016, Sparrho was a semi-finalist in Pitch@Palace 5.0.[14]
Competitors
Sparrho's primary competitors within the academic content recommendation field include PubChase and Scizzle,[9][15] though both PubChase and Scizzle are targeted towards biomedical sciences and solely recommend academic journal papers.[16][17]
References
- ^ "Sparrho's technology stack". StackShare.
- ^ "About Sparrho". Sparrho.
- ^ "Sparrho: the discovery platform with a bird's eye view on science". Oxbridge Biotech Roundtable.
- ^ "INTERVIEW: Content Recommendation Platform Sparrho Talks Staying On Top Of Science". StrategyEye - Digital Media.
- ^ "Peeking under the hood: Sparrho's Discovery Engine". Sparrho.
- ^ "Sparrho - How does our recommendation engine for science work?". Sparrho.
- ^ Nicola Davis. "Cambridge's leading tech startups". The Guardian.
- ^ "Why EF". ef.
- ^ a b "How to tame the flood of literature". Nature News & Comment.
- ^ "Sparrho finds a new nest!". Sparrho.
- ^ "National Business Awards 2014 - Finalists". nationalbusinessawards.co.uk.
- ^ "Vivian Chan of Sparrho one of ten semi-finalists competing for the Duke of York New Entrepreneur of the Year Award next week". Cambridge News.
- ^ "I've never been regarded as weak' - 35 Women Under 35 2015". Management Today.
- ^ "Sparrho will attend Pitch@Palace 5.0 hosted by HRH The Duke of York at St James Palace on 7th March 2016". Sparrho.
- ^ "Diving into the haystack to make more hay?". plos.org.
- ^ "PubChase - discover life sciences research of interest to you". PubChase.
- ^ "Scizzle - Frequently Asked Questions". Scizzle.