User Interfaces that Bridge the Physical-Digital Divide

Date: 
Wed, 14/11/2018 - 11:30 to 12:45
Location: 
Robotarium, Heriot-Watt University
Speaker: 
Dr. Jason Alexander
Lancaster University.

Abstract: Tangible User Interfaces allow users to manipulate physical artefacts as a method for interacting with computing devices. These are usually input or output only; in this work, we explore how shape-changing interfaces enable co-located input and output allowing the computer to directly influence the physical world. We use these novel user interfaces to bring virtual information back into the physical world where we can complement our visual interpretations with tactile explorations.

Centre hosts launch of New Girlguiding Scotland Digital Activity Badge

Edinburgh Centre for Robotics was delighted to provide the venue for the launch of Girlguiding Scotland’s first digital activity badge designed to encourage girls of all ages to develop the skills they need for their digital future.

The Digital Scotland Challenge Badge was created in partnership with Skills Development Scotland (SDS) and Education Scotland, and aims to empower every girl to make the most of the opportunities technology offers.

Centre Students achieve Entrepreneurial Success

Wolfgang Merkt and research assistants Yiming Yang and Vladimir Ivan are developing a high-performance, high-payload, and high-precision mobile manipulation collaborative robot along with an accompanying AI software platform to target applications such as smart manufacturing. The team is supported by Professor Sethu Vijayakumar as Chief Scientific Advisor.

Journal Club

Date: 
Thu, 01/11/2018 - 18:00 to Fri, 02/11/2018 - 17:45
Location: 
Informatics Forum, Room 4.31/33
Speaker: 
Christopher McGreavy
CDT RAS student

Christopher McGreavy will be presenting:

- Gaze and the Control of Foot Placement When Walking in Natural Terrain. J.S. Matthis, J.L. Yates, and M.M. Hayhoe (2018).

 

Journal Club Meeting

Date: 
Thu, 18/10/2018 - 18:00 to Fri, 19/10/2018 - 17:45
Location: 
Rooms 4.31/4.33, Informatics Forum

There is a journal club meeting today at 6pm at the Informatics Forum, rm 4.31/33.

Iris will be presenting:

- Transfer Learning for sEMG Hand Gestures Recognition Using Convolutional Neural Networks, Ulysse Cote-Allard, et al. (2017)

And Ioannis will be presenting:

- Evaluating Theory of Mind in Question Answering, Nematzadeh et. al. (2018)

Why, Robot? Techniques for Trustworthy Robotics

Date: 
Wed, 26/09/2018 - 17:00 to Thu, 27/09/2018 - 16:45
Location: 
Cairn Lecture Theatre, Heriot-Watt University
Speaker: 
Prof. Helen Hastie
Heriot-Watt University

The Inaugural Lecture of Helen Hastie, Professor of Computer Science, Heriot-Watt University

In the near future, we will see a rapid adoption of robots and autonomous systems in modern society, from self-driving cars to robots in the home and in hazardous and hard-to-reach environments. Trust is an important commodity in this regard because it encourages cooperation with the robot and enables smooth execution of the task at hand, with humans and robots working as part of the same team.