Brains on Board: Neuromorphic Control of Flying Robots
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Sheffield
Department Name: Computer Science
Abstract
What if we could design an autonomous flying robot with the navigational and learning abilities of a honeybee? Such a computationally and energy-efficient autonomous robot would represent a step-change in robotics technology, and is precisely what the 'Brains on Board' project aims to achieve. Autonomous control of mobile robots requires robustness to environmental and sensory uncertainty, and the flexibility to deal with novel environments and scenarios. Animals solve these problems through having flexible brains capable of unsupervised pattern detection and learning. Even 'small'-brained animals like bees exhibit sophisticated learning and navigation abilities using very efficient brains of only up to 1 million neurons, 100,000 times fewer than in a human brain. Crucially, these mini-brains nevertheless support high levels of multi-tasking and they are adaptable, within the lifetime of an individual, to completely novel scenarios; this is in marked contrast to typical control engineering solutions. This project will fuse computational and experimental neuroscience to develop a ground-breaking new class of highly efficient 'brain on board' robot controllers, able to exhibit adaptive behaviour while running on powerful yet lightweight General-Purpose Graphics Processing Unit hardware, now emerging for the mobile devices market. This will be demonstrated via autonomous and adaptive control of a flying robot, using an on-board computational simulation of the bee's neural circuits; an unprecedented achievement representing a step-change in robotics technology.
Planned Impact
Primary beneficiaries of this research will be the UK science and technology research base, and the UK robotics and mobile computing industries, where rapid technological impact will be facilitated by close collaboration with project partners NVidia and Movidius. Both companies are leaders in the development of low energy and low weight, high-performance computing devices and are both currently partnering with drone manufacturers.
We also anticipate impacts in areas where energy and weight constraints exist, in particular in both space and agricultural robotics where we have existing collaborations. Other relevant areas are mobile technology, wearables, and pervasive computation.
We will further pursue industrial impact through foundation of a spin-out company specialising in software solutions for AI controllers, and application for follow-on funding (e.g. with Innovate UK).
Academic impact will be substantial, continuing the applicants' track record of publishing in the highest profile general science and engineering journals; foundational results in the areas of cognitive, behavioural and computational neuroscience are also anticipated, as the team takes an integrated experimental, computational and robotic approach to understanding the neural bases of complex behaviours including flight control, sensory integration, and decision-making.
There will be direct impacts through the training of the researchers on the grant. They will acquire a unique portfolio of expertise including key technologies of aerial robotics, bio-mimetic AI, and GPU accelerated computing. Their expertise will be much sought-after in the future. We will broaden this impact by offering training sessions in these key technologies to students and researchers in the involved institutions in conjunction with our regular project meetings.
The applicants have an excellent track record in public outreach both through media (e.g. lead PI Marshall interviewed on Discovery Science, BBC tv, BBC Radio 4) and outreach to schools locally, and nationally. Other activities include science festivals and public events. The team already has a long track record of such engagement with the public on all levels from school children to adults (e.g. http://greenbrain.group.shef.ac.uk/outreach/, http:// users.sussex.ac.uk/~tn41/outreach.php). Outreach activities will increase the impact of the project on the general public, which is relevant for public understanding of science and the technological potential offered by biomimetic control and robotics, as well as increasing interest in further study in STEM subjects among early secondary-age school children. Engaging strongly with the public will also be instrumental in avoiding misconceptions about the risks related to autonomous robots, something which otherwise could become a serious problem for this rapidly developing technology.
We also anticipate impacts in areas where energy and weight constraints exist, in particular in both space and agricultural robotics where we have existing collaborations. Other relevant areas are mobile technology, wearables, and pervasive computation.
We will further pursue industrial impact through foundation of a spin-out company specialising in software solutions for AI controllers, and application for follow-on funding (e.g. with Innovate UK).
Academic impact will be substantial, continuing the applicants' track record of publishing in the highest profile general science and engineering journals; foundational results in the areas of cognitive, behavioural and computational neuroscience are also anticipated, as the team takes an integrated experimental, computational and robotic approach to understanding the neural bases of complex behaviours including flight control, sensory integration, and decision-making.
There will be direct impacts through the training of the researchers on the grant. They will acquire a unique portfolio of expertise including key technologies of aerial robotics, bio-mimetic AI, and GPU accelerated computing. Their expertise will be much sought-after in the future. We will broaden this impact by offering training sessions in these key technologies to students and researchers in the involved institutions in conjunction with our regular project meetings.
The applicants have an excellent track record in public outreach both through media (e.g. lead PI Marshall interviewed on Discovery Science, BBC tv, BBC Radio 4) and outreach to schools locally, and nationally. Other activities include science festivals and public events. The team already has a long track record of such engagement with the public on all levels from school children to adults (e.g. http://greenbrain.group.shef.ac.uk/outreach/, http:// users.sussex.ac.uk/~tn41/outreach.php). Outreach activities will increase the impact of the project on the general public, which is relevant for public understanding of science and the technological potential offered by biomimetic control and robotics, as well as increasing interest in further study in STEM subjects among early secondary-age school children. Engaging strongly with the public will also be instrumental in avoiding misconceptions about the risks related to autonomous robots, something which otherwise could become a serious problem for this rapidly developing technology.
Organisations
- University of Sheffield, United Kingdom (Lead Research Organisation)
- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) (Collaboration)
- Rothamsted Research, United Kingdom (Collaboration)
- Macquarie University, Australia (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- National Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing, China (Collaboration)
- Julich Research Centre, Germany (Collaboration)
- Malloy Aeronautics Ltd (Project Partner)
- Sensapex (Project Partner)
- nVIDIA, United States (Project Partner)
- Parrot (Project Partner)
- Movidius (Project Partner)
- Albert-Ludwigs University Freiburg (Project Partner)
Publications
Wang MY
(2018)
Bumblebees Express Consistent, but Flexible, Speed-Accuracy Tactics Under Different Levels of Predation Threat.
in Frontiers in psychology
Woodgate JL
(2017)
Continuous Radar Tracking Illustrates the Development of Multi-destination Routes of Bumblebees.
in Scientific reports
Wystrach A
(2019)
Running paths to nowhere: repetition of routes shows how navigating ants modulate online the weights accorded to cues.
in Animal cognition
Wystrach A
(2020)
Rapid Aversive and Memory Trace Learning during Route Navigation in Desert Ants.
in Current biology : CB
| Title | Release of the Killer Bee Queens' concept album Strange Flowers |
| Description | Prof Chittka is also singer/songwriter for the band Killer Bee Queens. He wrote the lyrics and music for the album Strange Flowers, which is released on Bandcamp (see URL below). All lyrics are inspired, one way or another, by Chittka's work on bees. All proceeds of the album go to insect conservation charity Buglife. |
| Type Of Art | Composition/Score |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | The release of the album was covered globally in the media, e.g. Reuters News, Russian newschannel NTV, The Daily Mail, The Sun, Technology News, Mirage News, El País. and the Russian edition of Esquire. It is hoped that it will alert the general public to the fascination of the biology of bees and the current plight of pollinators in the face of habitat loss, pesticides and emergent disease. |
| URL | https://killerbeequeens.bandcamp.com/album/strange-flowers |
| Description | Submission to House of Lords Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Gave evidence to a government review |
| URL | http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/artificial-intellig... |
| Description | (ASENT) - Foundations of Animal Sentience |
| Amount | € 1,499,864 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | 851145 |
| Organisation | European Commission |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | European Union (EU) |
| Start | 01/2020 |
| End | 12/2024 |
| Description | ActiveAI - active learning and selective attention for robust, transparent and efficient AI |
| Amount | £953,584 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/S030964/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2019 |
| End | 10/2022 |
| Description | Beamtime at DESY Photon Science at PETRA III beamline P10 from 28-MAY-2018 to 30-MAY-2018; DESY Drosophila experiments 28-30 May (grant I-20170823 EC) |
| Amount | € 0 (EUR) |
| Organisation | Deutsches Electronen-Synchrotron (DESY) |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | Germany |
| Start | 05/2018 |
| End | 05/2018 |
| Description | DESY Beamline P10: I-20190808 EC 'Do all invertebrate photoreceptors contract photomechanically to enhance their visual capacities? ? an in vivo evolutionary study' |
| Amount | € 0 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | I-20190808 EC |
| Organisation | Deutsches Electronen-Synchrotron (DESY) |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | Germany |
| Start | 05/2020 |
| End | 05/2020 |
| Description | Public Engagement Fund awarded to further develop bee robot activity |
| Amount | £750 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Sussex |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2018 |
| End | 04/2019 |
| Title | A new high-resolution fibre-optic Cardan-arm-controlled visual stimulus display system |
| Description | This 2D stimulus display unit allows controlled presentation of hyperacute moving visual objects to photoreceptors and visual interneurons (with their responses being by detected conventional sharp microelectrodes). Such information is important for establishing the visual acuity limits of the insect compound eyes and its early neural implementation. We are currently performing in vivo experiments to test these open questions. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | N/A; This new method was generated only a few months ago and we are currently testing it. |
| Title | A new high-speed calvanometric mirror/laser simulation system for generating fast moving visual objects for intracellular electrophysiology |
| Description | This system allows us to measure intracellularly how well insect photoreceptors and visual interneurons (LMCs) to hyperacute moving visual objects (as detected conventional sharp microelectrodes). Such information is important for establishing the visual acuity limits of the insect compound eyes and its early neural implementation. We are currently performing in vivo experiments to test these open questions. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | N/A; This new method was generated only a few months ago and we are currently testing it. |
| Title | A new high-speed camera/microscope system for measuring in vivo photomechanical photoreceptors contractions across the Drosophila compound eyes |
| Description | We designed and built a new instrument that allows one to measure in vivo photomechanical photoreceptors contractions across the Drosophila compound eyes. The system uses stepping motor-based two-axis goniometers to rotate a fly along the centre of its head under IR-illumination while stimulating selected photoreceptors through the compound eye lens systems and recording the resulting photomechanical movements. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This system is now used to produce data about how compound eyes enable stereovision that we intend to publish shortly. |
| Title | A new high-speed projector system for driving virtual reality environment in the Drosophila 2-photon imaging system |
| Description | We constructed a new high-speed high-resolution projector system with software tools for driving the virtual reality environment (close/open-loop) in the Drosophila 2-photon imaging system |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This system allows us to test and measure how well visual interneurons in different processing centres of the Drosophila brain/optic lobes respond to hyperacute visual objects (as detected by 2-photon calcium or voltage imaging). Such information is important for establishing the visual acuity limits of the insect compound eyes and its neural implementation. We are currently performing in vivo experiments to test these open questions. |
| Title | A new high-speed projector system for intracellular electrophysiology |
| Description | This system allows us to measure intracellularly how well insect photoreceptors and visual interneurons (LMCs) to hyperacute moving visual objects (as detected conventional sharp microelectrodes). Such information is important for establishing the visual acuity limits of the insect compound eyes and its early neural implementation. We are currently performing in vivo experiments to test these open questions. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | We have already recorded hyperacute intracellular voltage responses from house fly (Musca domestica) photoreceptors, suggesting that our decent discoveries and new theory (Juusola et al., ELife, 2017) about how acuity depends upon photoreceptor function and eye movements are likely applicable to all compound eyes. |
| Title | A new portable remote-controlled LED stimulation/ERG recording system for recording photoreceptor activation during x-ray stimulation/imaging in DESY and ESRF |
| Description | This new method was devised to record the Drosophila eyes' global electrical responses, so-called electroretinograms (ERGs), to both white LED and x-ray flashes. The method was first used in November 2018 in ESRF Grenoble to record ERGs from a living intact wild-type fly at ESRF beamline ID16b, after carefully positioning a recording microelectrode in its right eye and a reference electrode in its thorax. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The method was successfully used to demonstrate that high-intensity x-rays can directly activate phototransduction. New publications are in preparation. |
| Title | Virtual reality track-ball system for measuring honeybee behaviour |
| Description | We have constructed a novel VR system for honeybee vision research. It is based upon a spherical projection of computer-generated images using a modified commercial data projector with an add-on fish-eye lens. This system provides equidistant visual stimulation with extensive coverage of the visual field, high spatiotemporal resolution and flexible stimulus generation using a standard computer. It also includes a track-ball system for closed-loop behavioural experiments with walking honeybees. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Not so far - the system was constructed only 6 months ago. |
| Title | Photoreceptor-LMC synaptic feedback: information transmission and energy usage models |
| Description | These software link in vivo and ex vivo experiments with detailed stochastically operating biophysical models to extract new mechanistic knowledge of how Drosophila photoreceptor-interneuron-photoreceptor circuitry homeostatically retains its information sampling and transmission capacity against chronic perturbations in its ion-channel composition, and what is the cost of this compensation and its impact on optomotor behaviour. |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Enables accurate simulations of photoreceptor-LMC voltage output to any light intensity time series (visual) stimuli. |
| URL | https://github.com/JuusolaLab/SK_Slo_Paper |
| Title | Raw flight track date for the following paper: Woodgate et al 2017 Scientific Reports 7: 17323 doi: 10.1038/ |
| Description | As required, this database makes available the raw data and data visualisations that form the basis of the following paper: Woodgate JL., Makinson JC., Lim KS., Reynolds AM. & Chittka L. (2017) Continuous Radar Tracking Illustrates the Development of Multi-destination Routes of Bumblebees. Scientific Reports 7: 17323 doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-17553-1. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | There have not been any impacts yet, though we anticipate that the open accessibility of this database will be very useful for other scientists |
| URL | https://osf.io/ykmdh/ |
| Description | Brains on Board is a Human Brain Project Partnering Project |
| Organisation | Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | We are contributing research in GPU accelerated Spiking Neural Networks and bio-mimetic robotic control inspired by insects as a benchmark/counterpoint to similar efforts in the HBP focussed more on neuromorphic solutions and mammalian models. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Parallel work on related research questions in neuromorphic computing and neurorobotics. Some partnership activities. Note: I have indicated EPFL who currently is the coordinator of the HBP but the partnership is with the entire project that encompasses some 150 Institutions. |
| Impact | Thomas Nowotny presented Brains on Board as a partnering project at the 2020 Human Brain Project Summit in Athens. The partnership is highly interdisciplinary but the main interactions are of like-minded neuromorphic engineers and computer scientists. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Collaboration with Forschungszentrum Juelich in the "Learning to Learn" project |
| Organisation | Julich Research Centre |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We are participating in a consortium of research groups who are investigating the use of Learning-to-learn methods on a variety of machine learning and computational neuroscience tasks. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Other partners contribute their models and time for testing learning-to-learn methods. Juelich has provided the required compute time on their HPC systems. |
| Impact | Outputs are still in preparation. The collaboration involves computer scientists, physicists and computational biologists. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Expansion of the available harmonic radar equipment for insect tracking at Rothamsted Research for threedimensional tracking |
| Organisation | Rothamsted Research |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We provide the biological and behavioural expertise of insect navigation that is needed for this collaboration. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partner institution has constructed a 3-dimensional harmonic radar unit that will allow long-distance tracking of insect flight in all three dimensions. They are currently in the process of developing the necessary software. |
| Impact | A first publication has resulted and is listed under the relevant output section. It is Woodgate JL., Makinson JC., Lim KS., Reynolds AM. & Chittka L. (2017)Continuous Radar Tracking Illustrates the Development of Multi-destination Routes of Bumblebees. Scientific Reports 7: 17323 doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-17553-1. The work is multidisciplinary insofar as it a collaboration between radar engineers and biologists. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Honeybee computational neuroscience collaboration with Andrew Barron |
| Organisation | Macquarie University |
| Country | Australia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Computational modelling expertise |
| Collaborator Contribution | Expertise in invertebrate neuroscience and behaviour |
| Impact | - |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | PI of a research laboratory in National Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing, China |
| Organisation | National Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing, China |
| Country | China |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Minimum of 2 months/year to work on information processing in Drosophila visual system and in the mammalian cortex in BNU, China. National Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning has provided me with a fully-equipped research laboratory, including fly facilities; three experimental rooms, two of which are electrically shielded for behavioural and electrophysiological studies; and office rooms for workers (currently funding 2 Ph.D. students and a lab manager). Their total investment into my BNU laboratory already amounts to ~£1,400,000. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Basic research infrastructure and funding including studentships, totaling £1,400,000 so far. |
| Impact | In 2015, I was selected as a High-End Foreign Expert by the Chinese National Recruitment Program of High-End Foreign Experts (2015). This was 3-year fellowship (ending on 31 Dec 2017). National Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning has since extended my BNU professorship for further 3 years, with the same level of base funding. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Title | Angular Velocity Dectector Unit (BeeFLOW) |
| Description | A novel method of estimating Angular Velocity from video signals that performs better that the state of the art solutions. |
| IP Reference | WO2018203094 |
| Protection | Patent application published |
| Year Protection Granted | 2018 |
| Licensed | Yes |
| Impact | This discovery forms part or all of two Journal Publications (https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004887 & https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0172325) and is key to ongoing research and commercialisation |
| Title | BoB Robotics |
| Description | This repository contains code for interfacing with various robot platforms and other associated hardware, as well as code for running simulations and visualising data. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| Impact | N/A |
| URL | https://brainsonboard.github.io/bob_robotics/ |
| Title | GPU enhanced Neuronal Networks (GeNN) |
| Description | Software package to simulate neuronal networks on GPU accelerators using a domain specific language/ code-generation approach. (latest release 1.2, 2014) |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2013 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| Impact | The tool is still in alpha. Notable impacts are expected somewhat later. |
| URL | https://github.com/genn-team/genn |
| Title | Software code used in Li et al (2019) Ca2+-activated K+ channels reduce network excitability, improving adaptability and energetics for transmitting and perceiving sensory information. Journal of Neuroscience |
| Description | Code to reproduce the model simulations in Li et al (2019) Ca2+-activated K+ channels reduce network excitability, improving adaptability and energetics for transmitting and perceiving sensory information. Journal of Neuroscience. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| Impact | Code to reproduce the model simulations in Li et al (2019) Ca2+-activated K+ channels reduce network excitability, improving adaptability and energetics for transmitting and perceiving sensory information. Journal of Neuroscience. The software can be easily adapted to other invertebrate photoreceptor models. |
| URL | https://www.jneurosci.org/content/39/36/7132 |
| Title | brian2genn |
| Description | This software provides an interface from the popular "Brian" simulator (version 2) to our GPU enhanced neuronal networks (GeNN) framework that allows users to define computational neuroscience models in Brian 2 and with a single command run them on a GPU accelerator. Depending on the type of model and accelerator, considerable speedups are possible without any additional effort by the users. The software is in pre-alpha stage and will be released in beta together with the first full release of Brian 2. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2015 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| Impact | We are waiting on measurable impacts which we expect upon the first public release. |
| URL | https://github.com/brian-team/brian2genn |
| Description | A press release by Queen Mary University of London about our Science paper on cross-modal recognition in bees |
| 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 | A press release about our Science paper on cross modal object recognition was released in February 2020. This resulted in global media coverage, for example in The Times, ABCNews, Discover Magazine, Scientific American, Cosmos, Daily Mail, BBC World Service and many others. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/2020/se/bumblebees-can-experience-an-object-using-one-sense-and-la... |
| Description | Article in The Times following AAAS 2020 |
| 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 | The Times published an article on the project 'Bees help drones to find their bearings', on 17/02/2020, following on from us exhibiting at AAAS 2020 with URKI on 15/02/2020. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bees-help-drones-to-find-their-bearings-jfnfgs8x2 |
| Description | Article published by The Telegraph following on from AAAS 2020 |
| 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 | The Telegraph published an article on the project 'Bees are being mapped to help develop driverless cars and drones by scientists glueing tiny antennas to their heads', on 17/02/2020, following on from us exhibiting at AAAS 2020 with URKI on 15/02/2020. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/02/17/bees-mapped-help-develop-driverless-cars-drones-scientis... |
| Description | BBC Radio Sussex interview 08/03/2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Andrew Philippides took part in a radio discussion on 'Would you trust a robot to mind your child?' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | BRANDY summer school, June 2019. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of GeNN, by Thomas Nowotny. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Big Bang Fair South East 2019 |
| 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 | James Bennett participated as a competition judge at Big Bang Fair South East (outreach event), 26 June 2019. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Big Bang South East 2018 |
| 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 | Event for children/pupils to get them interested in STEM fields, Bee VR. 27-28/06/2018 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Bright Sparks (Brighton Science Festival 2017) |
| 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 | We ran a series of workshops on bio-inspired robotics, aimed at children aged 7-14 years, over two the course of days (11-12 Feb), as part of the Brighton Science Festival. This event also provided ample opportunity to informally discuss the project with parents and other members of the public. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.brightonscience.com/bright-sparks-2017/ |
| Description | Bright Sparks (Brighton Science Festival 2018) |
| 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 | We ran a series of workshops on bio-inspired robotics, aimed at children aged 7-14 years, over two the course of days (10-11 Feb), as part of the Brighton Science Festival. This event also provided ample opportunity to informally discuss the project with parents and other members of the public. Additionally, the event generated media coverage in the form of an interview with ITV news as part of an item about the science festival. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.brightonscience.com/events/bright-sparks-saturday-2018/ |
| Description | Brighton Summit: local industry event. October 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Demonstration of insect-inspired navigation, by Andrew Philippides and Alex Dewar |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | British Science Festival 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 | As part of the national British Science Festival, the Brains on Board team ran a public engagement event in a local pub. The event took place on 6 Sept 2017 over the course of an evening and featured stalls from a number of our researchers, which aimed to be fun and informative. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.britishsciencefestival.org/event/north-laine-brewhouse-getting-buzzed/ |
| Description | CBC News feature "Stopping killer robots before they get to us first" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | "James Marshall was interviewed by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation about Brains on Board's ethical manifesto, as part of the news feature "Stopping killer robots before they get to us first" 10th April 2018. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7v_9jEotVI&feature=youtu.be |
| Description | Cafe Scientifique talk October 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | James Marshall was invited to give a talk on "AI: Is it intelligent?" at the Cafe Scientifique in Sheffield (public science initiative) on 1st October 2018. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/events/238498386954261/ |
| Description | Commercial UAV Show, November 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 | Exhibition stand and three talks: Next Generation Autonomy - A Bio-Inspired Approach - "An overview of the Brains on Board research project", "A description of how insect-based vision is implemented for drone navigation and control", A bee in drone's clothing "Emulating honeybee flight on a quadrotor aircraft" (by James Marshall, Alex Cope and Fadl Isa) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.terrapinn.com/exhibition/the-commercial-uav-show/speaker-jamesar-MARSHALL.stm |
| Description | EMAEE conference, June 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Thomas Nowotny and Alex Dewar gave a short presentation and a robot demo for snapshot navigation |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | EPSRC Programme Grant Workshop, July 2019. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Participation in the EPSRC program grant workshop, oral presentation by James Marshall, poster by Thomas Nowotny. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Exhibit at AAAS 2020 International Reception hosted by UKRI |
| 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 project was invited by UKRI to showcase at their VIP International Reception, hosted as part of AAAS 2020 in Seattle, February 2020. James Marshall, Alex Cope, Jamie Knight and Joe Woodgate exhibited the project,providing an overview of the research and technology emerging from the project, and demonstrations of drone and ground-based robotics. This resulted in significant international media coverage of the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.ukri.org/aaas/ |
| Description | Featured in BBC Click roundup 22.02.2020 |
| 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 | Project research featured briefly in the BBC Click technology roundup on 22.02.2020 (10 minutes in) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000g3rs/click-saudi-cyber-security |
| Description | Financial Times article following AAAS 2020 |
| 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 | The Financial Times published an article on the project 'Scientists look to bees to develop drone technology', on 17/02/2020, following on from us exhibiting at AAAS 2020 with URKI on 15/02/2020. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.ft.com/content/bf3c83fe-5081-11ea-8841-482eed0038b1 |
| Description | Human Brain Project Exhibition at The Science Museum, 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 | Exhibitions of innovations highlighting work from within and outside the Human Brain Project with series of talks about the exhibits and the challenges of turning science into innovation. Aim is to engage with people in the external community. Free public access to the afternoon exhibition. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | I was an invited lecturer in The National Cognitive Neuroscience Summer in Beijing Normal University, Beijing China and gave a research talk and demonstrations. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I was an invited lecturer in The National Cognitive Neuroscience Summer in Beijing Normal University, Beijing China and gave a research talk and demonstrations: "Using Drosophila as a model system for cognitive neuroscience research: "Using Drosophila as a model system for cognitive neuroscience research". 17.07.2018. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | International Robotics Showcase 2019 |
| 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 | Alex Cope and Fadl Isa demonstrated work from the project at the International Robotics Showcase, June 2019, to a varied audience of researchers, government, and school students |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.ukras.org/robotics-week/showcase-event/ |
| Description | Interview for BBC World Service |
| 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 participated in the BBC's CrowdScience programme, with many members of the team at the University of Sussex involved in the process, in the form of interviews and demonstrations of our research. The programme airs on the BBC World Service and is also available as a popular podcast. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cswc8z |
| Description | Interview for local news |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | During British Science Week 2017, Latest TV (local television for the Brighton and Hove area) featured daily interviews with scientists about their research to be aired during their main news programme. One of these days featured interviews with researchers at the University of Sussex, including an interview with a member of the Brains on Board team on the topic of insect-inspired robotics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQc8iEFWZZ0 |
| Description | Interview with Sky News following AAAS 2020 |
| 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 | James Marshall was interviewed about the project by Sky News on 18/02/2020, following on the project exhibiting with UKRI at AAAS 2020, 15/02/2020. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Invited keynote at Kongsberg Systems engineering symposium, Norway |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Andrew Philippides was the invited keynote speaker at Kongsberg Systems engineering symposium, Norway, 20 June 2020. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Invited speaker at HBP Innovation Day: Neuroscience-driven Innovation and the Path Forward in AI and Robotics |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | This one-day event aimed to sensitize engineers and researchers working in the industry to the potential for innovation coming from neuroscience in general and from the Human Brain Project (HBP) in particular. It was intended to stimulate a technically-inclined audience and make them aware of the many unique and untapped possibilities to apply neuroscientific knowledge to their own field. James Knight was invited to give a talk on Brains-on-board and insect-inspired robotics in general. As well as generally engaging with the business community, discussions after this event led to an invite for representatives of the project to the HBP Innovation Forum and Exhibition in London. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.humanbrainproject.eu/en/follow-hbp/events/hbp-innovation-day-neuroscience-driven-innovat... |
| Description | Invited talk at ARM (Cambridge) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Thomas Nowotny gave a talk on GeNN and had some individual discussions with ARM developers |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Invited talk at Central Association of Bee Keepers Annual Conference 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | HaDi MaBoudi gave an invited talk on bee cognition and how our understanding of bees' behaviour helps us to create the future of AI. 16 November 2019. Also producing an information booklet for beekeepers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.cabk.org.uk/event/autumn-conference-2019/ |
| Description | Invited talk at the IET East Midlands Network, July 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk by Fadl Isa - presentation on the Brains on Board project '"Guided by Bees: Biologically-Inspired Navigation and Control" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://communities.theiet.org/communities/events/item/168/77/23476 |
| Description | Invited talk for IPAB Seminar at the University of Sheffield |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation and discussion of work, with further discussions to follow potentially leading to collaboration opportunities |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Invited talk: "How photomechanical photoreceptor microsaccades improve insect vision" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I gave an invited research talk for over 500 researchers at Neurofly (the 17th European Drosophila Neurobiology Conference), Krakow, Poland. (05.09.2018). The audience was excited about my research findings, and the discussions carried on long after my talk. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://neurofly2018.pl/gb/ |
| Description | Invited talk: "Hyperacute stereovision in Fruit fly, Drosophila melangaster." 16.03.2019. Technical University of Hefei, China. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 25 Scientists attended my invited talk: "Hyperacute stereovision in Fruit fly, Drosophila melangaster." 16.03.2019. Technical University of Hefei, China. This lead to lively discussions and planned collaborations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Invited talk: "Hyperacute stereovision in Fruit fly, Drosophila melangaster." 19.12.2019. Harbin University of Technology, Harbin, China |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | About 200 people attended my talk: "Hyperacute stereovision in Fruit fly, Drosophila melangaster." 19.12.2019. Harbin University of Technology, Harbin, China. This led to a lively discussion and plans to collaborate. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://rwxy.hit.edu.cn/2019/1217/c6938a234766/page.htm |
| Description | Invited talk: "Hyperacute stereovision in Fruit fly, Drosophila melangaster." 23.05.2019. Fudan University (Engineering), Shanghai, China |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | About 150 people attended my invited talk: "Hyperacute stereovision in Fruit fly, Drosophila melangaster." 23.05.2019. Fudan University, Shanghai, China. This led to lively discussions and plans for future collaborations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Invited talk: "Hyperacute stereovision in Fruit fly, Drosophila melangaster." 27.09.2019. Fudan University (Biology), Shanghai, China |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | About 50 scientists attended my talk: "Hyperacute stereovision in Fruit fly, Drosophila melangaster." 27.09.2019. Fudan University (Biology), Shanghai, China. THis led to lively discussions and plans to collaborate. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Invited talk: "Hyperacute stereovision in fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster." 09.08.2019. International Conference on Invertebrate Vision, Bäckaskog Castle, Lund, Sweden |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | ~350 scientists attended my talk "Hyperacute stereovision in fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster." 09.08.2019. International Conference on Invertebrate Vision, Bäckaskog Castle, Lund, Sweden. The talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.iciv.se/ |
| Description | Invited talk: How to sample a reliable neural estimate of the variable world? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | About 70 scientists attended for "Multimodal sensory transduction in insect neurons symposium" at the Physiological Society, London, which sparked questions and discussion afterwards, and the participants reported changing their viewpoints about insect vision/perception as stimulated by my new research findings. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Invited talk: Hyperacute stereovision in Fruit fly, Drosophila melangaster |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I gave an invited research talk in the Department of Psychology at the University of Hong Kong, China (17.02.2019). The audience was excited about my research findings, and the discussions carried on long after my talk. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.psychology.hku.hk/uploads/seminar/20190218_Professor_Mikko_Juusola.pdf |
| Description | Invited talk: Hyperacute stereovision in Fruit fly, Drosophila melangaster. 25.09.2019. Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | About 25 people attended my invited talk: "Hyperacute stereovision in Fruit fly, Drosophila melangaster." 25.09.2019. Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. This led to lively discussions and plans for collaboration. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Italy RAI 2 Television programme |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Section on BoB (QMUL and Sheffield) in 'Indovina Chi Viene A Cena' - an investigative TV programme where this episode they were looking at the decline of the honeybee population. Featured Alex Cope, Joe Woodgate, Eleni Vasilaki. 04/11/2018. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/IndovinaChiVieneACenaRai3/videos/943687835839608?t=700 |
| Description | KTN Connected Autonomous Vehicles & Nature Inspired Systems SIG Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Industry showcase event; exhibition stand and invited talk by James Marshall. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Lewes SEM Fair 2018 |
| 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 | Event for children/pupils to get them interested in STEM fields, Bee VR & Ant simulation, 28/04/2018 - James and Fabian from University of Sussex |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Lewes STEM Fair 2019 |
| 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 | Outreach STEM fair for children and teenagers, project demo by Fabian Steinbeck and Stefan Meyer. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www.stemfest.co.uk/stemfests/lewes-stemfest |
| Description | Lewes STEM fair |
| 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 | We participated in the Lewes STEM Fair (part of Lewes STEMfest 2017), running a stall with a few demonstrations for the Brains on Board project. The event is popular and attracted around 765 visitors. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.stemfest.co.uk/stemfests/lewes-stemfest |
| Description | Mike Mangan gave a talk at the UAS Drone Networking Workshop at Thales in June 2018 (industry) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The event's intent is to bring together UAS/Drone related projects that have been funded by Innovate UK, EPSRC and other organizations, so that you will: · present your work in a broader knowledgeable audience · learn what others in the field/domain are working on in UK · be able to network with other organizations working on the same area · explore/identify areas/topics for possible future activities |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Nature Inspired Solutions KTN special interest group launch |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Andrew Philippides and James Knight invited to speak at the launch of this KTN special interest group, as well a demo of project research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Nerd Nite Brighton, September 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Public lecture to an audience of about 60 people, 20/09/2018 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Pocket Science Fair, November 2019 |
| 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 | Bee VR demo, by Stefan Meyer and Norbert Domcsek. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www.brightonscience.com/events/pocket-science-funfair-2019-11-01/ |
| Description | Popular science article in 'Navigation News' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | James Knight co-wrote the popular science article "Insect Navigation: From Ants to Robots and Back Again", In Navigation News (Royal Institute of Navigation), March/April 2019. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Poster at The Commercial UAV Show 2018 - New Applications & Opportunities for UAVs |
| 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 | Brains on Board Project poster presented by Fadl Isa, in the Poster Zone of the Exhibition. 14th November 2018 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.terrapinn.com/exhibition/the-commercial-uav-show/index.stm |
| Description | Presentation to the Somerset Beekeepers' Association |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of Chittka's research (and Brains on Board more generally) about the psychology of bees and its engineering applications to approx. 400 professional and hobby beekeepers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.somersetbeekeepers.org.uk/members-blog/sbka-lecture-day-feb-15-2020 |
| Description | QUANTA magazine article on olfaction inspired AI |
| 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 | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | QUANTA magazine article on olfaction inspired AI "New AI Strategy Mimics How Brains Learn to Smell" 18/09/2018 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-ai-strategy-mimics-how-brains-learn-to-smell-20180918/ |
| Description | Radio Show discussion of the future of robotics |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Andy Philippidies took part in a discussion on the future of robotics on the Danny Pike Radio show, 25/01/2019 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p06w8csf |
| Description | Report on Polish TV - TVN24: Drones are supposed to be like bees. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Report on Polish TV - TVN24: Drones are supposed to be like bees. Researchers in the UK want to copy the brain functions of bees and use them in flying machines. They are to be as intelligent and useful as insects and also as autonomous. (http://www.tvn24.pl) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Research highlighted in Digital Trends Magazine article |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Interviewed for article in digital trends magazine about bio-inspired algorithms, May 2019. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/ant-inspired-gps-navigation/ |
| Description | Response to The Irish Sun article on violence towards robots |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Andy Philippides commented on a news article published about violence towards robots. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.thesun.ie/news/3666983/people-are-brutally-attacking-robots-from-sex-dolls-to-self-drive... |
| Description | Reuters news feature: "Autonomous bee brain-inspired UAV could revolutionise drone tech" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | News feature by Reuters: "Autonomous bee brain-inspired UAV could revolutionise drone tech", involving Andy Philippides and Alex Dewar. The longform version was used by 5 broadcast channels. Shown in Czech Republic, Italy, and three US channels, including CNN. The online version would have been used on up to 60 news website globally. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://mobile.reuters.com/video/2018/06/05/autonomous-bee-brain-inspired-uav-could?videoId=43315694... |
| Description | Robot demo for international visitors |
| 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 | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | General robot demo and detailed discussion, with several visitors from international businesses, November 2019. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Robot demo for local business |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Demonstration of insect inspired navigation with wheeled robot and drone, by Alex Dewar, Jamie Knight, Efstathios Kagioulis and Thomas Nowotny to visitors from a local business. October 2019. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Robot demo for visitors from international business |
| 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 | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Demonstration of insect inspired navigation with wheeled robot and drone, by Alex Dewar, Efstathios Kagioulis and Thomas Nowotny, October 2019. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Robotics and AI Showcase (KTN) |
| 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 | Alex Cope and James Marshall exhibited the project at the industry showcase event. 12 March 2019. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://ktn-uk.co.uk/news/highlights-from-the-robotics-and-artificial-intelligence-industry-showcase |
| Description | STEM Ambassador workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | James Bennett, University of Sussex, demonstrated several public engagement activities related to sensory perception, cognition, and computational principles of brain function. 14/11/2018 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Science for Progress podcast 09/04/2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Andrew Philippides and Thomas Nowotny invited to discuss: "Brexit: Its Impacts on Science and Scientists" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.scienceforprogress.eu/24-brexit-its-impacts-on-science-and-scientists-bd-with-guests/ |
| Description | Sheffield Robotics showcase event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Talk and demos throughout the day on biomimetic UAV controllers. Monday 25th June 2018. Research showcase event for members of Sheffield Robotics from Univeristy of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University, as well as external partners. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Sussex Community Festival |
| 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 | BeABee VR demo by James Knight, James Bennett and Paul Graham. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Sussex Community Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | "Odor objects and Brains on Board" public lecture by Thomas Nowotny |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Talk and panel discussion, IFRA Fragrance Forum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Thomas Nowotny gave a talk on insect olfaction and bio-inspired AI, and was also a panel member in the final panel discussion. October 2019. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Templeton Foundation outreach video |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Public outreach video, 'The Honeybee Brain', featuring Andrew Barron and James Marshall. July 2019. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=16&v=N_wei1OdK0E&feature=emb_logo |
| Description | The One Show feature on bee radar tracking, BBC One, 06.03.2020 |
| 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 | The One Show broadcast a feature on some of the project's bee radar tracking research, featuring Joe Woodgate and Joanna Brebner. Broadcast on 06.03.2020. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | University of Sussex undergraduate Open Day 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Bee eye on robot demo to prospective undergraduate students and families, by James Knight and James Bennett, 24/06/2017 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Visit of representative of German Chancellory, November 2019 |
| 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 | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Thomas Nowotny, Alex Dewar and Efstathios Kagioulis provided drone demos and discussion for visitors. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Visit to University of Sussex by Network Rail, September 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Demonstration of insect-inspired navigation, by Andrew Philippides and Alex Dewar |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |