Latest News
Walking With Robots at Parliament
On 22nd April Walking With Robots, the Institute of Physics and the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology organised a special parliamentary reception to highlight the potential of the UK's robotics research and industry. Download the Press Release or the Programme below, for more information.
Walking With Robots on Blue Peter
Network member Professor Noel Sharkey, from the Neurocomputing and Robotics Group at the University of Sheffield, appeared on Blue Peter on 9th April. See more pictures in the Gallery
Science and Engineering Ambassadors Awards
The work of the Open University Robotics Outreach Group was recognised at a Science and Engineering Ambassadors (SEAs) Celebration and Awards Evening for the West Midlands, held at the Enginuity Centre in Shropshire on Friday 7th March.
Yvonne Baker, Chief Executive of STEMNET, presented the award for Outstanding Contribution to the Science and Engineering Ambassadors Programme to Dr Ashley Green, who has been a member of the Robotics Outreach Group since July 2002.
Ashley will be representing the West Midlands at the National SEAs Awards 2008 Reception in the House of Lords on Tuesday 18th March.
UWE Investigate Evolving Swarm Robots
Network member Professor Alan Winfield, from Bristol Robotics Laboratory, is leading research as a partner of 'Symbrion', a ground breaking new European funded project, into how swarms of robots can evolve and adapt into different organisms based on bio-inspired approaches.
The project aims to develop the ways in which swarms of robots can work together and to eventually apply these principles to real-world situations, such as search and rescue functions in collapsed buildings.
Upcoming events
Rise of the Robots
- Date: 17th - 18th May 2008
- Location: National Space Centre, Leicester
- Contact: Dr Ashley A Green
- Visit: National Space Centre
Event Themes:
Heart Robot at Bath Fringe Festival
- Date: 23rd May 2008
- Location: Bath
- Contact: Dr Matt Studley
- Visit: Bath Fringe
Event Themes:
Walking With Robots at the Royal Bath and West Show
- Date: 28th May - 1st June 2008
- Location: Royal Bath and West Agricultural Show
- Contact: Dr Claire Rocks
- Visit: Imagineering Fairs
Event Themes:
Directions and Funding of Robotics Research in the UK
- Date: 29th May 2008
- Location: Bristol Robotics Laboratory
- Visit: Robotics Funding
Event Themes:
Themes
The business of doing robotics integrates an extraordinary range of disciplines. The traditional core disciplines of electrical, mechanical and software engineering are no longer sufficient. Intelligent robotics is increasingly biologically inspired and now involves disciplines as wide ranging as insect ethology, animal behaviour, psychology and the social sciences; biology, biochemistry and computational neuroscience; artificial intelligence and evolutionary computing.
The Walking with Robots activities have been divided into five separate themes. Each theme is designed to be broad ranging but to act as a focus for the Walking with Robots programme of events.
The current theme is People, with the following aims:
Robots are real entities with whom interactions are possible, and as robots become increasingly intelligent humans will interact with robots in new and quite probably surprising ways. This theme looks at the issues surrounding robots and people, and robots as people.