Cyberselves: How Immersive Technologies will Impact our Future Selves

Lead Research Organisation: University of Sheffield
Department Name: Psychology

Abstract

People have long been fascinated with the idea of transcending the limits of our physical bodies, of projecting ourselves outside of our bodies, into a different body, or even into a radically different world. From mystical experiences brought about through trance or psychedelic drug use, to film fantasies such as The Matrix, Avatar and Surrogates, such experiences are the source of dreams and aspirations, but also give rise to great anxiety and fear about the future.

With the development of next generation virtual reality and telepresence technologies, the possibility of experiencing the world from a point-of-view other than that from behind our own eyes is becoming a possibility for all of us. Such immersive technologies, through which you have the compelling feeling of being in another place or body, are here now. As more and more people devote time and energy to life in social media, virtual or 'cyber' realities, our cyberselves, the people who we become in these virtual worlds could become as important to us as our 'real' selves. We may start to find it hard to distinguish between these different versions of ourselves, or we may wish to lead distinct lives, one in 'meatspace' and one, or many more, in cyberspaces.

Since the technologies are advancing so rapidly, there has been little time to consider the transformative effects that widespread access to deep and prolonged immersion could have on people, their relationships, and our societies, both real and virtual. There is a pressing need, while these technologies are still being developed, to ask important questions, about the kind of selves we wish to fashion for ourselves, or the kinds of worlds we want to inhibit, and what rules we want to live by in those worlds.

Our Cyberselves project thinks it imperative that we examine the transforming impact of immersive technologies on our societies and cultures. Our project will bring an immersive, entertaining experience to people in unconventional locations, a Cyberselves Roadshow, that will give participants the chance to transport themselves into the body of a humanoid robot, and to experience the world from that mechanical body. Using state-of-the-art motion capture, virtual reality and robotics equipment, we have developed at Sheffield Robotics a system that will give participants a sophisticated experience of telepresence, and a chance to talk to cultural researchers, philosophers, engineers and robotics developers about their experiences: what is good, what is bad, what excites them for the future and what most worries them.

By collaborating with a wide cross-section of the public, industrial partners, educators and policymakers, we hope to understand better what people want, and do not want, from such technologies, so that these technologies are more genuinely useful to those people on whose lives they will have the most impact. We want to use our project to allow users to drive technological development, and have real, meaningful input into (i) the public conversations on what these technologies are for, and what they are doing to our concept of ourselves as 'humans' in different 'societies', (ii) the ethical and legal challenges that such technologies will inevitably force us to confront, and (iii) the direction and design of the technologies themselves.

We hope that by understanding what drives the dreams and aspirations behind technology, and the nightmares that new technologies so often give rise to, we can promote a culturally- and scientifically-informed debate about the potential benefits and risks of living as cyberselves.

Planned Impact

The technology for immersive virtual reality is improving very rapidly. We may think first of virtual reality in gaming or entertainment, but there are also important applications of immersive technologies in civil and commercial domains: for example, teleoperation of remote equipment can clean hazardous environments (such as in the nuclear industry, oil & gas, space); telepresence can be used as an effective means of delivering healthcare, or for conducting business, or for helping children with long-term disabilities attend school virtually; augmented reality can be used in areas such as design (e.g. planning and architecture), tourism, and retail. Perhaps most controversially, these technologies have also found military applications, such as the remote piloting of aircraft ("drones"). The increased use of these technologies in so many different areas raise concerns that people, especially children, could be put at risk of cognitive, physical or emotional damage through exposure to immersive technologies, or that we might be exposed to dangerous or malicious content that could have much more harmful effects than content displayed through more conventional interfaces (e.g. TV) due to the compelling nature of immersion. Thus, while important economically, the broadening use of immersive technology is a major concern both for policy-makers and the wider public. Given this context, there are many potential beneficiaries of our plans for disseminating our work on Cyberselves and expanding the conversations we have with all stakeholders:
* The public will benefit from being able to engage with an example of immersive technologies that will allow them to consider and explore these issues in an entertaining but sophisticated way. The engagements we offer will provide more detailed information on ideas or concepts that are often misrepresented in the popular press, and we will seek to understand public anxieties surrounding immersive technologies, both conscious and unconscious, which might provide obstacles to some of the important benefits that such technologies offer, now and in the future.
* People with disabilities, illness, or recovering from injury, will benefit through exploration of the potential benefits of immersive technologies for telehealth, for using telepresence as a means to interact with their familiar social groups while in hospital or unable to leave the home, for gaining better control over the environment through teleoperation, and of the use of mixed-reality immersive technologies in rehabilitation.
* Organisations and companies employing teleoperation of equipment in remote or hazardous environments, or working to deliver healthcare, will benefit from a better understanding of the user experience of immersive technologies.
* Manufacturers and end-users of cybertechnologies will benefit from investigation of the societal impacts of virtual reality devices and environments in both established markets, such as gaming, and in emerging ones, such as telecare.
* Ethicists, theologians, and lawyers who are concerned with the notion of what it means to be a 'person', will benefit from exploration of the concept of cyberselves in a humanities-grounded, but scientifically well-informed, context. This could allow progress in some major moral and legal debates about cyber-identities and rights.
* The artistic and scientific communities will benefit by exploring the mutual relationship between science fiction and science-led design, and between methodologies applied in the arts and those used in technology development.
* Government, and policy-making and advisory bodies will benefit from a better understanding of public perceptions and anxieties, and how these technologies are shaped by both cultural aspiration and fear. Policy, therefore, can be informed and shaped in genuine response to public concerns and aspirations.

Publications

10 25 50
 
Description This was a follow-on for impact and engagement award, it was therefore not a research-focused project. A summary of key outcomes is given under Narrative Impact.
Exploitation Route Our report on "Skills and Robotics and Education in Robotics and AI" has been widely circulated; some of the activities of the Cyberselves Roadshow are being continued under the auspices of the EU H2020 Human Brain Project. The telepresence technologies developed to support the outreach activities continue to be used extensively by Sheffield Robotics and the University of Sheffield for outreach activities, and have generated commercial opportunities for the University with commercial and third-sector organisations.
The University of Sheffield has established a spin-out company based partly on track record generated in this project and its predecessor: Cyberselves Universal Ltd, is involved in directly commercialising ideas developed in the project relating to human-robot interation and robotic telepresence. The spin-out has since won three funding awards and has received funding from a commercial fund for tech startups.
Sectors Creative Economy

Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software)

Education

Healthcare

URL https://cyberselves.wordpress.com/
 
Description Our project had the following non-academic impacts: (i) We engaged a broad public audience with the experience of temporal and spatial displacement of the self via immersion in a humanoid robot. (ii) We embedded this demonstration within an activity called the "Cyberselves Roadshow" which we took to multiple science festivals, museum events, trade shows and exhibitions and University engagement events (as listed under public engagement outputs) with the aim of inspiring people to think about how present and future technologies (e.g. social networks, gaming, telecommunications, artificial intelligence) will impact upon the way they see themselves and the way they construct their ideas of self. We estimate that the audience directly reached was at least 5,000 people. (iii) We engaged with academic, commercial and third-sector stakeholders through a variety of workshop-type events and public talks. (iv) We engaged with stakeholders in industrial telepresence users and talked to hospital (e.g. Sheffield Children's Hospital Trust) and care providers (e.g. Skills for Care). We also established links with major UK companies (e.g. Cornerstone, Mercer) interested in exploring the use of telepresence systems for their work or communications. (iv) We explored the use of robotics and telepresence in preparing people for the future world of work, much of public engagement activity was directed towards a schools audience (e.g. Cheltenham Science Festival). (v) We generate multiple communications via blog pieces, book chapters, and interviews for radio and television. We estimate that the audience reached was international and more 1 million people (e.g. Radio 4 Today Programme). (vi) We generated a report on "Skills and and Education for Robotics and AI" that has gained interest from multiple non-academic stakeholders including Nesta, BEIS and members of the Treasury Select Committee. (vii) Since the end of the project we have continued to do Cyberselves Roadshow events including contract work for commercial and third sector organisations such as CBRE, Nesta, and the UK-RAS Network. We are continuing to provide similar public engagement events that build on our roadshow technologies with funding from the Wellcome Trust. (viii) The University of Sheffield is creating a spin-out company Cyberselves Ltd, now renamed Bettering our Worlds (BOW) Ltd, to take these opportunities forward.
First Year Of Impact 2018
Sector Communities and Social Services/Policy,Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Healthcare,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections
Impact Types Cultural

Societal

Policy & public services

 
Description Spoken evidence to the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Future of Work
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
URL https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/business-energy-industri...
 
Description Imagining Technologies for Disability Futures 
Organisation University of Leeds
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Wellcome Trust Collaborative Award with Universities of Leeds, Exeter and Dundee
Collaborator Contribution Co-investigator in the five year collaborative project. Sheffield contribution focused on robotics
Impact None yet
Start Year 2020
 
Description Imagining Technologies for Disability Futures-- Public Enrichment 
Organisation Wellcome Trust
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution This project will provide robot demonstrations for large public events including New Scientist Live and BlueDot festival.
Collaborator Contribution The project builds on robotic telepresence technologies developed in the Cyberselves project and will involve some of the original Cyberselves team members.
Impact In progress, events will take place in 2023-4.
Start Year 2022
 
Description Nesta 
Organisation Nesta
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution We are providing demonstrations of our technologies and of robotics more generally at various Nesta events, including FutureFest, science festivals, and events related to their Longitude Explorer Prize.
Collaborator Contribution Nesta provide venues and access to students, industry leaders and educational partners.
Impact Still in development.
Start Year 2018
 
Description University of Bologna 
Organisation University of Bologna
Country Italy 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution The University of Bologna are adopting the teleoperation and programming technologies developed through Cyberselves. Researchers in the AIAS at Bologna are going to use Animus and Teleport to program and control robots that they use in their work with children with ASD and in special needs education.
Collaborator Contribution Bologna are running projects (funded and operated in Italy) with children with autism and special educational needs.
Impact In development.
Start Year 2019
 
Title Software for robotic elepresence 
Description System for immersive telepresence into multiple robot platforms via VR headset. 
IP Reference  
Protection Copyrighted (e.g. software)
Year Protection Granted
Licensed Commercial In Confidence
Impact Licensing to one commercial partner.
 
Title Animus 
Description Animus is a middleware library that allows the coding of all robots using any platform on any operating system. 
Type Of Technology Software 
Year Produced 2020 
Impact Animus has already been used to develop the telepresence application Teleport, with many more planned in the future. It is the central IP for the forthcoming spin-out Cyberselves. 
 
Title Telepresence software 
Description We have made significant improvements in the software and middleware we use to provide an immersive telepresence experience and to communicate with different robot platforms. 
Type Of Technology New/Improved Technique/Technology 
Year Produced 2018 
Impact We are in discussion with the University of Sheffield about creating a spin-out company to further exploit these developments 
 
Company Name BOW 
Description BOW develops apps and software which aim to make programming robotics more simple. 
Year Established 2020 
Impact Spun-out from the University of Sheffield in March 2020. Renamed as Bettering Our Worlds (BOW) Ltd in 2022.
Website https://www.usebow.com/
 
Description 2018 Human Brain Project Innovation Expo, Science Museum, London 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact The Cyberselves Roadshow attended (and was pivotal in organising) the Human Brain Project's Innovation Expo at the Science Museum in London, 23 March 2018.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://hbpinnovationexpoorg.wordpress.com/
 
Description AHRC Featured Article-Droid Dreams: Robot Companions in Imagination and Reality 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact The AHRC website commissioned and published an article by Tony Prescott on robot companions
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://ahrc.ukri.org/research/readwatchlisten/features/robot-companions/
 
Description AI Summit London 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact The AI Summit global series uniquely has the support of tech's elite, with our premium sponsors and partners including AWS, IBM Watson, Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle, Google, Samsung, Facebook, Publicis Sapient, Genpact, Intel alongside an ecosystem of 5,000+ start-ups and over 30,000 delegates annually.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://london.theaisummit.com/
 
Description AI Summit, 2018 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact The Cyberselves Roadshow attended the Ai Summit at London's ExCel Centre, 13 & 14 June, 2018. Organisers estimate over 10,000 people attended the conference over 2 days.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://london.theaisummit.com/
 
Description AISB Convention 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Cyberselves hosted a panel at the Society for the Study of Artificial Intelligence and Simulation of Behaviour (AISB)'s 2018 convention at the University of Liverpool, specifically discussing the challenges in engaging the public and other stakeholders on AI, robotics and other new technologies.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL http://aisb2018.csc.liv.ac.uk/programme.html
 
Description ARTificial ~ Exploring (with) "The Trial of the Superdebthunterbot": Technology, Art, Law and the Posthuman 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Cyberselves hosted a screening of the film, ARTificial ~ Exploring (with) "The Trial of the Superdebthunterbot": Technology, Art, Law and the Posthuman, in association with the 2018 AISB Convention at the Liverpool Medical Institution & Conference Centre, 4 April, 2018.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.eventbrite.com/e/artificial-exploring-with-the-trial-of-the-superdebthunterbot-tickets-4...
 
Description BBC Free Thinking 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Joy Buolamwini, founder of the Algorithmic Justice League and MIT media lab researcher, Anders Sandberg of the Future of the Human Institute at Oxford, artist Anna Ridler and Sheffield Robotics' Michael Szollosy join Matthew Sweet and an audience at the Barbican to debate whether creativity is something uniquely human.

AI: More Than Human runs at the Barbican Gallery until August 26th 2019.

Part of a week-long focus Free Thinking the Future. You can find more interviews and discussions to download and catch up with on the playlist on our website
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03zwn4d
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0005nml
 
Description BBC Sunday Morning Live 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact We brought parts of the Cyberselves Roadshow into Broadcasting House as part of a live recording of Sunday Morning Live, BBC One, 8 April, 2018. Estimate average audience figures for this show is 700,000 per episode.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06d86rx
 
Description BETT Show 2018 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact We brought robots to demonstrate at the 2018 BETT (British Educational Training and Technology) Show at ExCel Centre, London, 24 - 27 Jan. 2018.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.bettshow.com/
 
Description Bluedot Festival 2017, Jodrell Bank, Cheshire 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact We exhibited robots and provided coding workshops at the Bluedot Festival at Jodrell Bank, Cheshire (sponsored by the University of Manchester), 7 - 9 July, 2017. Organisers estimate that 30,000 people were in attendance over the 3 days.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL http://www.discoverthebluedot.com/news_article/thank-you-2017!
 
Description Bluedot Festival 2018, Jodrell Bank, Cheshire 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact The Cyberselves Roadshow attended (for the second year running) the Bluedot Festival of music and science at Jodrell Bank, Cheshire, from 19 - 22 July, 2018. Organisers estimate an annual attendance of 30,000 people.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.discoverthebluedot.com/
 
Description CBRE Amsterdam Managing Directors' Conference 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact We presented our technologies and demonstrations to the European managing directors of CBRE, the international Fortune 500 company.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description Cheltenham Science Festival 2018 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact The Cyberselves Roadshow attended Cheltenham Science Festival, Cheltenham, UK.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/science
 
Description Cheltenham Science Festival 2019 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact The Cheltenham Science Festival is one of the UK's largest science festivals.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/science
 
Description Chorley Youth Zone 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact We exhibited the Cyberselves Roadshow at the Chorley Youth Zone at the invitation of Nesta.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description CogX 2018 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact The Cyberselves Roadshow attended the 2018 CogX Festival of AI and Emerging Technology, focussed on industry and organisations. Organisers estimate 6500 people attended at Tobacco Docks, London. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyZN7zng9DQ&t=2s)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://cogx.co/
 
Description Cornerstone Convergence 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact The Cyberselves Roadshow attended and demonstrated at the Cornerstone Convergence conference, 2018, held at the InterContinental Hotel, London, 13 & 14 November, 2018.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL http://www.cornerstoneconvergence.eu/
 
Description Cyberselves website 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Website for all Cyberselves activities, including announcing events for the Cyberselves Roadshow, reporting on events and news, articles and blogs on current events, etc..
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017,2018,2019
URL http://cyberselves.org
 
Description DigiFest 2018 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact The Cyberselves Roadshow attended DigiFest, Jisc's edutech conference, at the Birmingham ICC, 6 - 7 March, 2018.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.jisc.ac.uk/digifest
 
Description Dutch Brain - Human Brain Project Open Day, Amsterdam. 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact We brought the Cyberselves Roadshow to contribute to the Human Brain Project's open day in Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2 March, 2018.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.flagera.eu/dutchbrain-national-outreach-event-of-the-human-brain-project/
 
Description EU Robotics Forum 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact The European Robotics Forum 2019 (#ERF2019), the most influential meeting of the robotics community in Europe, took place in Bucharest, Romania, on 20-22 March 2019. ERF2019 brought together over 900 leading scientists, companies, and policy makers for the largest robotics networking event in Europe.

Under the theme "Robots for Humans: AI for the real world", the over 50 workshops covered current societal and technical themes.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.eu-robotics.net/robotics_forum/info/history/erf-2019-bucharest-romania.html?changelang=3
 
Description Edinburgh International Science Festival 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Tony Prescott presented an invited talk "Are Friends Electric? Our Future Lives with Robots" to the 2018 Edinburgh International Science Festival sponsored by the British Computing Society (BCS)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL http://www.edinburgh.bcs.org/events/2018/180331.htm
 
Description Esperienza Insegna, Palermo, Italy 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact As part of the Human Brain Project's contribution to Esperienza Insegna, hosted by Universita di Palermo in Palermo, Italy, Cyberselves Roadshow demonstrated robots and engaged with Sicilian pupils about robotics and psychology.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://tgs.gds.it/programmi/telegiornale/2018/02/24/alluniversita-di-palermo-il-progetto-esperienza...
 
Description Festival of the Mind 2018, Futurecade 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact For 2018 Festival of the Mind, Cyberselves created an 'artists' collective', which presented 2 works of art related to robotics and the Futurecade theme of 'utopia/dystopia', which stayed on permanent display at the Millenium Galleries, Sheffield, from 20 - 27 September, 2018.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://festivalofthemind.group.shef.ac.uk/
 
Description Festivals Congress 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact We exhibited at the Festivals Congress 2019 in Sheffield at the invitation of the organisers of Sensoria.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://aiforg.com/festivalcongress/
 
Description Five reasons why you don't need to fear the robopocalypse (and two why you might) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Blog post to accompany the Platform for Investigation: Our Robot Friends, at the Machester Science Museum. Was picked up by other outlets.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://blog.scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk/five-reasons-dont-need-fear-robopocalypse-two-might/
 
Description Human Brain Project Open Day 2018, Maastricht 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Cyberselves contributed to the Human Brain Project Open Day, 15 Oct., 2018 in Maastricht, Netherlands. (https://cyberselves.org/2018/10/18/the-cyberselves-roadshow-in-maastricht-with-the-human-brain-project/)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.humanbrainproject.eu/en/follow-hbp/news/hbp-open-day-2018-the-flagship-reaching-the-half...
 
Description Human Brain Project Open Day, 2017 (Glasgow) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact The Cyberselves Roadshow demonstrated robots as part of the University of Sheffield's contribution to the EU Flagship Human Brain Project's Open Day in Glasgow, 17 Oct., 2017.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL https://www.humanbrainproject.eu/en/follow-hbp/news/a-fun-and-fascinating-open-day-in-glasgow/
 
Description ICT 2018: Imagine Digital - Connect Europe 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Cyberselves attended the ICT 2018: Imagine Digital - Connect Europe conference in Vienna, Austria, 4 - 5 December, 2018, demonstrating robots to 4800 visitors, including many EU policy-makers and related European industry stakeholders.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/events/ict-2018-imagine-digital-connect-europe
 
Description ICub robot hosting the Radio 4 Today Programme 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Our iCub robot hosted the Radio 4 Today programme on 30th December 2017, in a series with other guest hosts including Prince Harry and Barack Obama. An Ai chatbot was developed specifically for the programme and was interviewed by Radio 4 Host Michel Hussain.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05s9ng9
 
Description Interactive Telepresence visit for Trinity Wakefield School 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact The University of Sheffield provided an interactive telepresence activity for students from Trinity Wakefield School on 10th February 2022, in which students were able to remote control a robot at Sheffield Robotics Lab via immersive telepresence. The activity included controlling the animal-like MiRo through a maze, and controlling the humanoid Pepper robot to tour around the laboratory. The activity was part of the Trustworthy Autonomous Systems "Open Labs" pump-priming project. It was also supported by two companies Cyberselves Ltd, and Consequential Robotics Ltd and by the not-for-profit Discovery Stem. Student numbers, approx. 15-20. from the School's coding club, and Y7-10 Computer Science students.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://seras.org.uk/open-labs/
 
Description Invited talk to the Edinburgh International Science Festival 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Are Friends Electric? Our Future Lives with Robots. Talk sponsored by the British Computing Society to the Edinburgh International Science Festival, March 31st, 2018.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://edinburgh.bcs.org/events/2018/180331.htm
 
Description Jisc Connect More, London 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Connect More is a series of events designed to help you enhance learning and teaching through the use of technology.

These are key events in the academic calendar for learning and teaching practitioners and you'll leave equipped with a host of new ideas to put into practice at your organisation.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.jisc.ac.uk/events/connect-more-in-england-london-11-jun-2019
 
Description Jisc Connect More, Scotland 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Connect More is a series of events designed to help you enhance learning and teaching through the use of technology.

These are key events in the academic calendar for learning and teaching practitioners and you'll leave equipped with a host of new ideas to put into practice at your organisation.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.jisc.ac.uk/events/connect-more-in-scotland-04-jun-2019
 
Description Jisc DigiFest 2019 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Digifest is the leading UK education technology event for middle and senior-level managers, and those leading change across the further and higher education sectors.

The event provided a unique opportunity to see, hear and network with leaders at the forefront of the edtech industry, sharing the latest trends in further and higher education and thinking through an innovative, motivating and challenging agenda of thought-leading keynote sessions, hands-on workshops and lightning talks.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.jisc.ac.uk/events/digifest-12-mar-2019
 
Description Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier on DaveTV 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact We recorded a segment for Jon Richardson's Ultimate Worrier, a comedy panel game broadcast on Dave TV. Broadcast first on 14 August, 2019 (and available thereafter on streaming services.)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/jon_richardson_ultimate_worrier/episodes/2/7/
 
Description Macquarie HQ, London 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact The Cyberselves Roadshow made a special appearance at Macquarie Group (investment bank) headquarters in London, as part of their Infinity Technology Conference, 2018.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.macquarie.com/
 
Description Manchester Museum of Science and Industry: Lates, 25 Oct., 2017 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Professor Tony Prescott did a talk, 'Are Friends Electric'? ', on companion robots as part of the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry's Lates Series, 25 Oct., 2017, accompanied by demonstrations of robots.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL https://www.scienceandindusstrymuseum.org.uk/what-was-on/robots
 
Description MiRo Maze Telepresence 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact UK Robotics and Autonomous Systems network (UK-RAS) and the University of Sheffield in partnership with Cyberselves, Consequential Robotics, and the Trustworthy Autonomous Systems Hub (TAS) "Open Labs" pump-priming project created The Miro Maze as part of UK Festival of Robotics 2021 activities, taking place 21 - 25 June 2021. The MiRo Maze is a new experience in telepresence robotics allowing users can take control of a small robot in an immersive, engaging way. Users see the world from the robot's eyes, as if they themselves were the robot, and try to navigate their way through the maze. The University of Sheffield hosted the MiRo Maze for UK Festival of Robotics 2021 at their Engineering building, the Diamond. The event was live broadcast via YouTube and Twitch and also featured running commentary and interviews with leading roboticists.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://seras.org.uk/2021/05/20/the-miro-maze-festival-of-robotics-week/
 
Description New Science Live 2017 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact The Cyberselves Roadshow presented a variety of demonstrations at a very large stand at New Scientist Live, an event run by New Scientist Magazine at the Excel Centre London, 28 Sept- 1 Oct, 2017. Our stand was very popular and organisers say that over 30,000 people attended over 4 days.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL https://youtu.be/bfv-JcyZqmg
 
Description OUPS Talk 2020 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Live talk (by video call) to the Open University Psychology Society's Meeting on Technology and Psychology
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.oups.org.uk/recordings-presentations/technology-and-psychology-loups-conference-2020
 
Description Out of This World, 2017 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact The Cyberselves Roadshow demonstrated robots (on sci-fi/Halloween theme) at the Sheffield Out of This World Festival at Sheffield Town Hall, 29 Oct., 2017.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL https://sheffieldnewsroom.co.uk/news/thousands-expected-at-city-centre-halloween-extravaganza/
 
Description Outreach to Monmouth and Newport 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact Cyberselves Roadshow travelled to Wales to visit students at Monmouth Comprehensive School and Obsaston Primary School, and then to Newport to meet a club for autistic children and a general audience at the Newport Riverside Theatre. 11 December 2018
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://cyberselves.org/2019/01/04/cyberselves-roadshow-goes-to-wales/
 
Description PI: Platform for Investigation (Our Robot Friends) Manchester Museum of Science and Industry, 20 Jan., 2018 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact The Cyberselves Roadshow offered engaging hands-on demonstrations and talks at the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry's PI: Platform for Investigation series, called Our Robot Friends. Organisers estimated that we saw and spoke to around 1100 people that day.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk/whats-on/platform-for-investigation
 
Description Panel discussion at Barbican Centre, London. AI and Creativity: What Makes us Human? 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact A panel discussion: Joy Buolamwini, founder of the Algorithmic Justice League and MIT media lab researcher, Anders Sandberg of the Future of the Human Institute at Oxford, artist Anna Ridler and Sheffield Robotics' Michael Szollosy join Matthew Sweet and an audience at the Barbican to debate whether creativity is something uniquely human.

AI: More Than Human runs at the Barbican Gallery until August 26th 2019.

Part of a week-long focus Free Thinking the Future. You can find more interviews and discussions to download and catch up with on the playlist on our website
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03zwn4d
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0005nml
 
Description Prince's Trust Gala 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact The Cyberselves Roadshow attended the Prince's Trust Gala Dinner at the Tower of London, 11 June, 2018, to open London Tech Week.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://tmt.knect365.com/london-tech-week-opening-dinner/
 
Description QITCOM 2019 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact We were invited by the British Embassy, Doha, and the Department of Industry and Trade, to exhibit our technologies at the British Embassy stand at QITCOM 2019 in Doha.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://qitcom.qa/
 
Description Revo City, Manchester, 18 - 20 Sept., 2018 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact The Cyberselves Roadshow attended the Revo Conference and Exhibition at the Manchester Central Convention Complex, demonstrating robots as part of Revo City, a peek at what the integrated marketplace of 2030 will look like. 18 - 20 Sept., 2018
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.revocommunity.org/revo_liverpool_2019__conference_exhibition__17_-_19_september
 
Description Robotics in Paediatrics Showcase 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact The Cyberselves Roadshow attended NHS Sheffield Children's Hospital to demonstrate how robots can transform children's health care in the future. 14 February 2018.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Robots Family Playground, Manchester Museum of Science and Industry, 21 - 22 Oct., 2017 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Cyberselves Roadshow offered demonstrations of robots and discussions with the public at the Robots exhibit at the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry, 21 - 22 Oct., 2017. Organisers estimate we spoke to 9000 people over the two days.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL https://www.scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk/what-was-on/robots
 
Description Robots Revealed, Science Museum London 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact We presented robots to the public at the Science Museum in London, accompanying their Robots exhibit on 25 March and 12 & 13 April, 2017. The Science Museum public engagement team estimates we spoke to 6900 people over the 3 days.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/what-was-on/robots
 
Description SERAI Launch Event 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Cyberselves attended the launch of a report (to which we contributed) on Skills and Education in Robotics and AI (SERAI) at Mercer Tower, London. 28 January 2019
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://cyberselves.org/2019/01/30/serai-launch-review/
 
Description Science in Public 17: Question Time 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Our provided demonstrations and our robots took part in the discussions at a Question Time-styled panel discussion/debate in front of a live audience, hosted by BBC's Adam Rutherford and held at Sheffield Town Hall.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL https://dreamingrobotsblog.wordpress.com/2017/07/17/what-if-a-robot-ran-for-office/
 
Description Sensoria 2017 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact We brought and programmed a robot to do a talk introducing a screening of the film Metropolis at Magna science museum in Rotherham, 1 Oct. 2017. (Attdence according to organisers was 250.)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL http://www.sensoria.org.uk/events/factory-floor-live-soundtrack-to-fritz-langs-metropolis/
 
Description SensoriaPro, 2018 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Cyberselves demonstrated some robots and teleoperation technology at SensoriaPro, an 'informal gathering of composers, filmmakers, music publishers, music supervisors, games developers and festivals all under one roof to discuss the latest innovations in music and the moving image.' Held at Trafalgar Warehouse, Sheffield, 5 Oct., 2018.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL http://www.sensoria.org.uk/sensoriapro-2018/
 
Description Sheffield Museums Lates: Science of Sci-Fi 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact The Cyberselves Roadshow attended the Science of Sci-Fi, part of Sheffield Museums' Lates Series.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL http://www.museums-sheffield.org.uk/whats-on/events/2018/11/halloween-late-the-science-of-science-fi...
 
Description Software Garden, Block Universe, London 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Our robots (and research team) helped Rory Pilgrim stage his multimedia performance artwork, Software Garden, at The Light in London, as part of the 2017 Block Universe Festival. We performed the work on 3 June, 2017, having had rehearsals in the lead-up to the performance.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL http://blockuniverse.co.uk/software-garden/
 
Description Software Garden, Festival of the Mind 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact A second collaboration (having performed a different version of the piece at Block Universe in 2017), Software Garden saw the Cyberselves team working with Rory Pilgrim and Sheffield poet Carol Kallend, looking at the connection between technology, disability and care. Performed on 29 & 30 Sept., 2018 in The Spiegeltent, Sheffield.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://festivalofthemind.group.shef.ac.uk/4351-2/
 
Description Swansea Science Festival 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact We attended the Swansea Science Festival, hosted by Swansea University, and invited by Nesta.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/in-the-community/swansea-science-festival/
 
Description Talk at Workshop on Robots and Artificial Intelligence in Social Care 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Third sector organisations
Results and Impact Tony Prescott gave a talk on the use of robots in social care to an event organised by the Charity "Skills for Care" (https://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/Home.aspx) on 20th November 2018 at the St Vincent's Centre, London
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Talk to Policy, Ethics, and Life Sciences (PEALS) Research Centre, Newcastle University 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Michael Szollosy gave a talk to the PEALS Research Centre at Newcastle University as part of their 20th-anniversary lecture series.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description TelFest 2018 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact We presented some of technologies in Innovation Corner at TelFest, the University of Sheffield's learning and teaching technologies event, where we demonstrated our ideas and suggested ways that they might be useful in post-secondary teaching.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/telfest
 
Description Thackray Museum of Medicine Interactive Exhibit 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact I support of the Thackray Museum of Medicine's "Can Robots Care?" Exhibition, the University of Sheffield provided an interactive telepresence activity during the schools have term week (21-23 February 2021). The exhibit allowed visitors to the museum to remotely operate a robot in Sheffield Robotics laboratory via immersive telepresence. Two robot were available, the humanoid Pepper, and animal-like MiRo that could be navigated through a maze. The activity was part of the Trustworthy Autonomous Systems "Open Labs" pump-priming project. It was also supported by two companies Cyberselves Ltd, and Consequential Robotics Ltd. The University also provided robots to feature in the main exhibition.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://seras.org.uk/open-labs/
 
Description UK Robotics School Challenge launch 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact The UK Schools Robotics Competition is an annual competition for 8 - 14 year olds, to encourage them to engage in STEM activities and think about robotics. It is sponsored by the UK-RAS network, and receives national press attention.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.ukras.org/school-robot-competition/
 
Description WER Winners Visit to Sheffield Robotics 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact In support of the World Educational Robotics (WER) Competition the University of Sheffield provided a lab tour and interactive telepresence activity for winning teams from the 2021 world robotics competition on 20th December 2021. International teams in Turkey and China were able to remote control a robot at Sheffield Robotics Lab via immersive telepresence. National teams visited the lab and engaged with the telepresence demo in person and well as receiving a tour of the lab facilities. The activity was part of the Trustworthy Autonomous Systems "Open Labs" pump-priming project. It was also supported by two companies Cyberselves Ltd, and Consequential Robotics Ltd and by the not-for-profit Discovery Stem.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://seras.org.uk/open-labs/
 
Description nesta's FutureFest 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact The Cyberselves Roadshow attended nesta's FutureFest at Tobacco Docks, London, 6 & 7 April, 2018, where we spoke (in addition to the other approximately 4000 delegates) First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon, TV presenter and author Ruby Max, and recorded segments for a number of media outlets and (international) shows, including Radio 5 Live's Suzi Perry.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.futurefest.org/