[Seminar] "The next generation of smart machines", Prof. Rolf Pfeifer

Dear all,

Neural Computation Unit (Doya Unit) would like to invite you to a seminar as follows.

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Date: Tuesday, November 28
Time: 10:00-11:00
Venue: Meeting Room D015 - Lab1 Bldg
 

Speaker: Prof. Rolf Pfeifer
Dr. sc. techn. ETH, Scientific Advisor, “Living with Robots” Inc.
Visiting Professor, Dept. of Automation, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Professor. em. University of Zurich

Title: The next generation of smart machines – embodied intelligence, emergence, “soft robotics”, and deep neural networks

Abstract: Researchers from robotics and artificial intelligence increasingly agree that ideas from biology and self-organization can strongly benefit the design of autonomous robots. Biological organisms which are for the better part built from soft materials, have evolved to perform and survive in a world characterized by rapid changes, high uncertainty, indefinite richness, and limited availability of information. The term "Soft Robotics" designates a new generation of intelligent systems capable of functioning in the real world by capitalizing on "soft" designs at various levels: surface (skin), movement mechanisms (muscles, tendons), and interaction with other agents (smooth, friendly interaction). Industrial robots, by contrast, operate in highly controlled environments with no or very little uncertainty. By "outsourcing" functionality to morphological and material characteristics - e.g. to the elasticity of the muscle-tendon system - the distinction between control and controlled, which is at the heart of manufacturing and control theory, breaks down and entirely new concepts will be required. The key to understanding and designing smart machines, in particular “soft” systems, is a firm grasp of the concept of embodied intelligence and of emergence, whose basic principles will be introduced at the beginning of the lecture. This will also help us discover the fundamental differences between human intelligence/learning and deep neural networks. Finally, I will be introducing the ROBOLOUNGE project, designed to enable customers to “experience the future” in very close interaction with robots. I will conclude with some “lessons learned” and trends in robotics.

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We hope to see many of you.
Sincerely,
Kikuko Matsuo
Neural Computation Unit