AI and Society Series: 'Robotics and Embodiment' Online Seminar
AI and Society Series: 'Robotics and Embodiment' (Online Seminar)
in association with ICCE, Goldsmiths, University of London
Held: Tuesday April 12, 2022
Focusing on robots, our third seminar explores the significance of the materiality of the body in the relationship between biology, AI and embodied knowledge.
Some of the computer scientists involved in robotics, such as Rolf Pfeifer and Josh Bongard, are inspired by biology and emphasise the significance of physical systems (the body) to better understand ‘intelligence’. They explore ‘how having a body affects intelligence’. This perspective on ‘embodied intelligence’ could resonate to some degree with the interdisciplinary field of body studies which considers ‘how the body shapes the way we think’ (Pfeifer & Bongard) or what the body can do. Common to biological inspired robotics and body studies is the challenge to ‘cognitivism’ along with the rejection of neuroreductionism. Embodiment in social sciences often implies a process of acquisition of tacit knowledge and techniques, which are often required through repetitive training and experience. This is ‘embodied knowledge.’ Embodied knowledge is a crucial property not only for craftmanship, but also for producing artistic work, such as drawing. The coupling of artificial intelligence and art today, especially ‘algorithmic art’ is now a common production process, which brings about interesting challenges. One of the most fascinating examples of this trend is trying to transfer the ‘embodied knowledge’ of human artists into a machine, such as a robot. In this context, we can see the robot as a platform. We therefore need to consider the meaning and validity of ‘having a body’ in order to explore the ways robotics can give rise to an interplay between biology and technology in developing machines with artificial intelligence.
Speakers
Professor Fumiya Iida (Bio-Inspired Robotics Laboratory, University of Cambridge)
‘Bio-Inspired Soft Robotics and AI towards Embodied Intelligence’ (download PDF file)
Abstract:
Soft robotics research has made considerable progress in many areas of robotics technologies based on deformable functional materials, including locomotion, manipulation, and other morphological adaptation such as self-healing, self-morph, and mechanical growth. While these technologies open up many new robotics applications, but the new challenges emerge in terms of sensing, modelling, planning and controlling. Because of the general complexity of the system based on flexible and continuum mechanics, and a large diversity of system-environment interactions, the conventional methods are often not applicable, and the new approaches are necessary based on the state-of-the-art machine learning techniques. In this talk, I will introduce some of the research projects in our laboratory that make use of soft robotics and machine learning techniques, for addressing the complexity challenges of robotics, ultimately leading to scalable embodied intelligence.
Bio: Fumiya Iida is a Professor of Robotics at Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, the director of Bio-Inspired Robotics, and the deputy director of EPSRC Centre of Doctoral Training in Agri-Food Robotics. He received his bachelor and master degrees in mechanical engineering at Tokyo University of Science (Japan, 1999), and Dr. sc. nat. in Informatics at University of Zurich (2006). In 2004 and 2005, he was also engaged in biomechanics research of human locomotion at Locomotion Laboratory, University of Jena (Germany). From 2006 to 2009, he worked as a postdoctoral associate at the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology in USA. In 2006, he awarded the Fellowship for Prospective Researchers from the Swiss National Science Foundation, and in 2009, the Swiss National Science Foundation Professorship for an assistant professorship at ETH Zurich from 2009 to 2015. He was a recipient of the IROS2016 Fukuda Young Professional Award, Royal Society Translation Award in 2017, Tokyo University of Science Award in 2021. His research interest includes biologically inspired robotics, embodied artificial intelligence, and biomechanics, where he was involved in a number of research projects related to dynamic legged locomotion, dextrous and adaptive manipulation, human-machine interactions, and evolutionary robotics.
Professor Yukie Nagai (The International Research Center for Neurointelligence, the University of Tokyo)
‘Developmental Diversity in Drawing: Robots vs. Children’ (download PDF presentation)
Abstract: Drawing is an embodied activity, which requires cognitive processes. Drawing often demonstrates how people perceive and act on the world and how they model the world in their brain. Especially, immature drawing by children has a potential to reveal the developmental dynamics of their cognitive abilities. My research group has been investigating the underlying neural mechanism of drawing development. We hypothesize that the neuroscience theory called predictive coding provides a unified account for drawing development as well as for other cognitive abilities. Our approach is twofold: we first design braininspired neural networks for a robot to learn drawing and then evaluate the robot drawing by comparing it with child drawing. Our experimental results demonstrate that the predictive processing in the brain enables a robot to generate representational drawing as observed in children and that modulations in the predictive processing cause individual diversity in their behaviors. I will discuss the potential of the predictive coding theory to account for human embodied intelligence.
Bio: Yukie Nagai is a Project Professor at the International Research Center for Neurointelligence, the University of Tokyo. She received her Ph.D. in Engineering from Osaka University in 2004 and worked at the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Bielefeld University, and then Osaka University. Since 2019, she leads Cognitive Developmental Robotics Lab at the University of Tokyo. Her research interests include cognitive developmental robotics, computational neuroscience, and assistive technologies for developmental disorders. Her research achievements have been widely reported in the media as novel techniques to understand and assist human cognitive development. She was elected to “30 women in robotics you need to know about” in 2019 and “World’s 50 Most Renowned Women in Robotics” in 2020. She serves as the principal investigator of CREST “Cognitive Mirroring” and CREST “Cognitive Feeling” since 2016 and 2021, respectively.
Professor Frederic Fol Leymarie (The Computing Department at Goldsmiths, University of London)
‘AIM: Art.Intelligence.Machine’ (download PDF presentation)
Abstract: Why art? and what is its link with the emergence of homo sapiens? I will provide an overview of how art practice is a fundamental distinguishing feature of human intelligence and how it has contributed and benefited from a co-evolution of our tools all the way to today's most sophisticated machines. In particular I will emphasise a research agenda where artificial intelligence, robotics, the visual arts, cognitive and social sciences, come together to help us better understand what makes us human. For those interested, a recent publication is available in open access (in English and French).
Bio: Professor Fol Leymarie joined the Computing Department at Goldsmiths, University of London in 2004 to develop areas of Research and Teaching in computing and beyond. After launching a new MSc in Arts Computing, he also contributed to launch the first MSc in Computer Games in the greater London area in 2008. This activity is now complemented by an MA in Computer Games Art & Design. He explores areas of research bringing together creative artistic activities, vision and perception understanding, with computing. He also keen to develop R&D in a more entrepreuneurial context. In 2011, he launched London Geometry Ltd. with Prof. William Latham, which conducts projects focused on interactive visualisation, games, science and art, and in 2015, he launched DynAIkon Ltd. with Prof. Stefan Rueger, focused on biodiversity monitoring and machine learning (www.dynaikon.com). Before London, he was: (1998-2004) in Providence (RI, USA) where he gained a Ph.D. at Brown University in Engineering (on 3D shape understanding), (1994-1997) in Paris (France) as an R&D project manager in industry (on 3D Geographical Information Systems), and (prior to 1994) in Montreal (Canada) where he completed a Master’s of Engineering in AI systems at McGill University. More details on LinkedIn.
Discussant
Professor Shunji Yamanaka (Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies/Institute of Industrial Science, the University of Tokyo)
‘Bio-likeness. A key for subconscious communication between Artificial Intelligence and human in future.’ (download Keynote presentation)
Bio: Yamanaka Shunji is Professor at Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies/Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo. As a design engineer, Yamanaka Shunji has designed industrial products ranging from wristwatches to railway carriages, while also developing the technology behind robots and telecommunication systems. He graduated with a BA in Engineering from the University of Tokyo in 1982 and spent five years at the Nissan Motors Design Centre before becoming a freelance industrial designer in 1987. In 1994, he founded his industrial design practice, Leading Edge Design, where he serves as president. From 2008 to 2012 he was a professor at Keio University. He became a professor at the University of Tokyo in 2013. His recent research focuses on re-examining the relationships between humans and man-made objects through projects such as beautiful prosthetics and lifelike robots.
Yamanaka Shunji has been awarded numerous honours, including the 2004 Mainichi Design Award (sponsored by the major Japanese newspaper, Mainichi Shimbun), the iF Design Award, and multiple Good Design Awards (backed by the Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Infrastructure). His 2010 work, Tagtype Garage Kit, is part of the New York Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection.
Convenor & Chair: Dr Tomoko Tamari (Institute for Creative & Cultural Entrepreneurship, Goldsmiths, University of London)