Football-playing robots, the iCub 'baby' and intelligent cars will all be in the spotlight when an international line-up of scientists and experts gather for a prestigious conference in Plymouth.
The inaugural Workshop on Robotics and Neural Systems will examine a host of different topics such as artificial intelligence, visual, audio and sensory recognition, and language learning in cutting edge robot technology.
It will also be casting an eye to the future and discussing exciting new developments during its two-day schedule on Thursday 26 and Friday 27 November, at Plymouth City Museum and the Portland Square building on the University of Plymouth campus.
Professor Angelo Cangelosi, a lecturer in Artificial Intelligence and Cognition, leader of the iCub project, and the event's organiser, said: "Plymouth has become one of the European hubs for robotic research and this is a tremendously exciting event because we have some truly world-leading experts taking to the stage.
"We will be covering a number of different topics, such as the next generation of computer chip and how its design could come to resemble the architecture of the brain. We will also be applying that to robots and looking at how human psychology could be incorporated into their construction."
There will be three keynote speakers, including Christian Goerick, Chief Scientist at Honda Research Institute Europe, whose robot ASIMO has become internationally recognised thanks to its appearances in company advertising and at events.
Goerick will be discussing how ASIMO has been developed to recognise objects and gestures, and how this technology could be incorporated into car design so that vehicles develop an awareness of their surroundings and react accordingly.
The other keynote speakers will be Hans-Georg Stork, from the Cognitive Systems Unit of the European Commission, and Professor Steve Furber, Fellow of the Royal Society at Manchester University, and one of the principal designers of the famous BBC Micro computer.
There will also be a number of speakers from the University of Plymouth, as well as a robotics demonstration on the second day, featuring the institution's champion football team, fresh from an international competition in Korea; BunnyBot - a teaching tool for robotics students - and the University's own robot superstar, iCub.
iCub is a one-metre tall 'baby robot' and the centre-piece of the multi-million pound ITALK project. ITALK - Integration and Transfer of Action and Language Knowledge - is a European Commission-funded, four-year study to examine the language learning capabilities of robots.
The project, which will result in iCub learning to identify colours, names and faces, has received a great deal of media attention, and recently featured on Channel 5's The Gadget Show.
Professor Cangelosi said: "Robot technology is advancing at an incredible rate, and here in Plymouth we are at the forefront with some incredibly exciting projects. As the technology develops, so we discover new and innovative uses which can benefit society."
ENDS