News & Press Releases: October to December 2006
News and information from October to December 2006.
BSC SGAI Workshop on the Ethics of AI
Tony Hirst organised a one-day workshop on the ethics of AI, as part of the BCS SGAI annual conference, at Peterhouse College, Cambridge, on the 11th December 2006. Speakers from the WWR network included Tony Hirst (OU), Owen Holland (Essex), Michael Walters (Herts) and Alan Winfield (UWE).
- Date: 14th December 2006
Robot Thought at Thinktank
The Birmingham leg of Robot Thought took place at the Thinktank Museum during October half term 2006. Alan Winfield visited on October 27th where he participated not only in Robot Thought but also for a "Meet the Scientist" session with visitors to Thinktank. Alan also gave an evening lecture at Thinktank on the 7th December 2006.
- Date: 9th December 2006
First Lego League South West Regional heat
Walking with Robots network coordinator Claire Rocks was a judge at the First Lego League South West regional heat. Up to 500 children aged 10 - 16, from over 30 secondary and primary schools in the South West of England, took part in this event, putting into action and robots of all shapes and sizes to complete a series of challenges with a nanotechnology theme. Organised by Wessex SETPOINT, the robotics challenge was part of the Advanced Engineering Skills Project (AESP) - a £4 million scheme designed to tackle skills shortages at all levels of the region's advanced engineering industry. The competition was part-funded by the South West of England Regional Development Agency, and designed to enthuse young people by giving them fun, practical experiences of engineering and science.
- Date: 5th December 2006
Café Scientifique in Bristol
Alan Winfield gave a talk about robots entitled "Please don't switch me off!" on November 27th in the Tobacco Factory in Bristol.
- Date: 29th November 2006
Ioannis at the Gadget Show
Walking with Robots network member Dr Ioannis Ieropoulos appeared on Channel 5's Gadget Show on 20th November 2006. A first for the show, Ioannis took along EcoBot - a robot that gains energy from organic/inorganic waste.
- Date: 22nd November 2006
Robofesta Annual Meeting
Educators, academic researchers and industry representatives met at the Open University on Thursday 2nd November 2006 to discuss the development of RoboFesta-UK, an exciting nationwide initiative to help children learn about science, engineering, technology and mathematics through building and experimenting with robots.
- Date: 5th November 2006
Walking With Robots Launch Event
"Possibly the largest ever gathering of robots and humans" took place at the Institution of Engineering and Technology, (IET), Savoy Place, London when we threw a launch party for 'Walking with Robots'. The launch took place on 23rd October 2006 and was attended by over 90 distinguished guests and attracted national media attention, including a profile in the Times Higher Education Supplement.
Robot researchers were asked to bring a robot 'friend' to the event to introduce to the other guests. Eight stations were set up around the room for roboticists involved in the project to showcase their research. The project was officially launched by WWR co-investigator Prof Noel Sharkey, and UWE Vice Chancellor, Sir Howard Newby.
- Date: 25th October 2006
1st meeting of WWR Advisory Group
The first advisory group meeting for Walking with Robots took place at UWE on 14th September.
- Date: 1st October 2006
Robot Thought at the Museum of Science and Industry
The first leg of Robot Thought was held at the Science Museum, London from Sat 27th May - Sun 4th June 2006. The Science Museum teamed up with roboticists at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth to produce a cracking show, with a space robotics theme, which they christened 'Robo-Rama'.
- Date: 1st October 2006
Pub Guide to robots at the Dana Centre
Robot Thought kicked off on 2nd May 2006, with the DANA Centre event for adult audiences entitled 'Pub Guide to Robots'. Three members of the Robot Thought team from Aberystwyth, (Mark Neal, Andy Shaw and Claire Rocks), attended the event, which had been organised by the DANA Centre in London. The audiences were very impressed with both the expertise and enthusiasm of the speakers as well as the robots they had taken down for display.
- Date: 4th May 2006