Robotville Festival at the Science Museum schedule

Saturday 3rd December 2011

• Robots: Doing What’s Best for Humans?

  by Noel Sharkey

  An exciting exploration of how robots may enter our daily lives over the next 20 years.

  At 11:00am to 11:30am, Saturday 3rd December

• Intelligent Robots: From Science Fiction to Reality

  by Alan Winfield

  Explore the amazing reality of intelligent robots and the future possibilities for them in society.

  At 12:30pm to 1:00pm, Saturday 3rd December

• Naturally Inspired

  by Andrew Spence

  Hear how biologists uncovered the secrets of fast-legged locomotion and made one of the world’s fastest-legged robots – Cockroach!

  At 12:30pm to 1:00pm, Saturday 3rd December

• Robot

  by Andrzej Klimowski and Danusia Schejbal

  Robot is a new graphic novel inspired by the science fiction stories of Stanislaw Lem. Hear the artists talk about their work.

  At 12:30pm to 1:00pm, Saturday 3rd December

• Robots: Doing What’s Best for Humans?

  by Noel Sharkey

  An exciting exploration of how robots may enter our daily lives over the next 20 years.

  At 2:15pm to 2:45pm, Saturday 3rd December

• Eastern European Robots

  by Wojciech Orlinski

  Explore the origin of the word ‘robot’, communist science fiction and robotic developments in Polish laboratories.

  At 3:30pm to 4:00pm, Saturday 3rd December

• iCub

  by Giorgio Metta

  iCub has been adopted by over 20 laboratories worldwide. Explore what makes this robot special and open-source research in robotics.

  At 3:30pm to 4:00pm, Saturday 3rd December

• Ready for Surgery?

  by Davide Zerbato

  Would you trust a robot surgeon? Find out about the advantages and limitations of using virtual environments to train and assist surgeons.

  At 3:30pm to 4:00pm, Saturday 3rd December

Sunday 4th December 2011

• Feel the Flow

  by Maarja Kruusmaar

  Living things have a multitude of senses. This talk is about how studying fish can inspire robots that sense water currents around them.

  At 11:00am to 11:30am, Sunday 4th December

• More Than Just the Tech

  by Peter McOwan

  Robots aren’t just about technology. Understanding how we humans work lets us build robots that can become a useful part of our in-crowd.

  At 11:00am to 11:30am, Sunday 4th December

• Sense and Sociability

  by Mick Walters

  This talk will explore how a robot’s appearance and social behaviour can help it interact with people in the real world.

  At 11:00am to 11:30am, Sunday 4th December

• Human-Robot Interaction and Autism

  by Kerstin Dautenhahn

  Discover how the humanoid robot KASPAR has been helping children with autism practise their social skills.

  At 12:30pm to 1:00pm, Sunday 4th December

• Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

  by Sophie Robinson

  UAVs play a significant role in the observation and attack of military targets. As the technology advances, how long will it be until we’re boarding pilotless planes to go on holiday?

  At 12:30pm to 1:00pm, Sunday 4th December

• We R Robots

  by Joanna Zylinska

  Do we have a kinship with robots? What ethical rules might we want in a human-robotic society? Explore these questions in this talk.

  At 12:30pm to 1:00pm, Sunday 4th December

• Ethics and Robotics

  by Illah Nourbakhsh

  How and why does robotics raise ethical questions? Consider what might happen as we enter an age of human and machine collaboration.

  At 2:15pm to 2:45pm, Sunday 4th December

• Intelligent Robots: From Science Fiction to Reality

  Explore the amazing reality of intelligent robots and the future possibilities for them in society.

  At 2:15pm to 2:45pm, Sunday 4th December

• William Grey Walter: Robot Pioneer

  by Owen Holland

  In 1948, British neuroscientist William Grey Walter built two robots, Elmer and Elise. Almost forgotten for 50 years, they’re now recognised as being two of the most important robots ever built.

  At 2:15pm to 2:45pm, Sunday 4th December

• A Robot Autobiography: How I Learned to Have Fun

  by Chrisantha Fernando

  As a robot, I found enjoyment didn’t come naturally. That was until I installed ‘Have Fun’ by HAL!

  At 3:30pm to 4:00pm, Sunday 4th December

• Artificial Intelligence for Household Robots

  by Nick Hawes

  This talk will look at the artificial intelligence techniques that will make it possible for household robots to see, talk and move.

  • Artificial Intelligence

  At 3:30pm to 4:00pm, Sunday 4th December

• Naturally Inspired

  by Andrew Spence

  Hear how biologists uncovered the secrets of fast-legged locomotion and made one of the world’s fastest-legged robots – Cockroach!

  At 3:30pm to 4:00pm, Sunday 4th December