13 Sep 2005
BAE Systems - an international leader in developing, delivering and supporting advanced systems for the aerospace, defence and security sectors - has teamed up with five universities to develop new technologies that could help robots to make decisions and multi-task like humans. The five-year 1.9 million Reverse Engineering the Vertebrate Brain (REVERB) project aims to improve understanding of how the vertebrate brain processes sensory information to make behavioural decisions.
The team, funded by the Engineering and Physical Research Council (EPSRC) will combine brand new understanding about the animal brain and its visual system with cutting edge robot and chip technology to develop new answers to the question how can robots better interact with their environment?
The research will start by capitalising on current knowledge of how animals process visual information in complex, dynamic environments. This information will be used to build computational models of the relevant brain processes, which will be programmed into autonomous robots. This approach will give the robots an ability to make decisions that could in principle be as good as those taken by the animals themselves.
As an example, a robot could notice and respond flexibly and adaptively to sudden changes in its surroundings and make an immediate decision as to whether the change warrants any action. It is impossible to pre-programme a robot to deal with every possibility it might face, so the robot must combine or integrate all possible actions and behaviours in order to respond appropriately, and have the ability to learn from its mistakes and successes.
BAE Systems plans to use these technologies in autonomous vehicle research programmes, with the aim of understanding opportunities for more effective operations in hazardous environments. This could include unmanned cooperative exploration, autonomous search and rescue and mine clearance robots.
Hector Figueiredo, from BAE Systems Advanced Technology Centre said: In many situations, it is better to have autonomous systems or robots to undertake tasks that would be dangerous or onerous for humans.
In addition to BAE Systems, the REVERB project includes the University of Manchester, the University of Sheffield, the University of Bristol, the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, the University of Wales (Aberystwyth), the University of Dundee and the Advanced Information Processing Dept. of BAE Systems, Advanced Technology Centre.
About BAE SYSTEMS
BAE Systems is an international company engaged in the development, delivery, and support of advanced defence and aerospace systems in the air, on land, at sea, and in space. The Company designs, manufactures, and supports military aircraft, combat vehicles, surface ships, submarines, radar, avionics, communications, electronics, and guided weapon systems. It is a pioneer in technology with a heritage stretching back hundreds of years and is at the forefront of innovation, working to develop the next generation of intelligent defence systems. BAE Systems has major operations across five continents and customers in some 130 countries. The Company employs over 90,000 people and generates annual sales of approximately 14.8 billion through its wholly owned and joint-venture operations.
For further information, please contact:
Richard Coltart, BAE Systems
Tel: +44 (0) 1252 383074
richard.coltart@baesystems.com
