Meet next week’s robots
This week, we’ve seen how we can borrow successful biological traits from nature to develop robust, intelligent systems. Our final week is all about teamwork. We’ll discover how we’ll work …
Course: Building a Future with Robots
How might bioinspired robots help us in our future?
We take a look into a realistic future for robots inspired by nature. Emily Collins is a PhD student in Psychology and in this video, she explains her research which …
What does the future hold for nature inspired research?
What is biomimetics? Biomimetics is a research field that is achieving particular prominence through an explosion of new discoveries in biology and engineering. The field concerns novel technologies developed through …
The challenges of controlling robots using our thoughts
In recent years, BCI research has lead to a large variety of proof-of-concept BCI systems. However, despite this impressive expansion, none of the BCI systems described in the literature are …
Using mind control to empower those with disabilities
In October 2016, Switzerland hosted the world’s first Cybathlon, where pilots with severe physical disabilities complete a series of challenges using advanced assistive technologies. The Cybathlon provides a platform for …
The potential applications of mind control for gaming
Available BCI applications can be divided into two main categories. The first and most important category is the medical domain. Indeed, the main objective of BCI is to serve disabled …
Using a brain-computer interface
Dr Mahnaz Arvaneh is developing a brain-computer interface (BCI) which uses electroencephalography (EEG) technology to read brain signals and convert them into actions on a computer screen. In this video, …
Brain controlled robots
An exciting, emerging area where biology meets robotics is in brain computer interfaces (BCIs). BCIs have the potential in the future to enable direct mind control of robots and other …
Using biomimicry to build robust robots
Natural organisms, through millions of years of natural selection, have evolved to take on the challenges of their environment. These attributes make them adaptable, versatile and robust and it is …
Studying natural swarms
So far this week, we have seen how bioinspiration can influence the design of individual robots. But the natural world can also offer a solution for multi-robot systems where robots …
Synthetic psychology
Traditional psychology and neuroscience can often struggle to fully understand how humans work. Synthetic psychology offers a complementary approach, taking theories and testing them out in robotic models to see …
Taking inspiration from nature
Robots of the future will need to operate around humans safely and effectively in uncontrolled, unstructured environments. This step explains why bioinspiration is of interest in robotics for tackling this …
Meet next week’s robots
This week, we’ve been introduced to our resident drones, a youBot and a pioneer robot who have all helped to demonstrate how researchers are developing robots that can sense, map …
What is the future for robots that can sense the world?
This week, we’ve looked at some of the different types of robots that are being developed here at Sheffield to be able to sense the world around them. What applications …
Humans making responsible decisions
We’ve talked about the importance of designing a robot to make responsible decisions, but what about making responsible decisions when designing robots? In this video, Professor Noel Sharkey talks about …