Swarm Engineering Across Scales with Sabine Hauert
Birds do it, bees do it. Even ants and fish in the sea do it. When certain individuals group together, they create a “swarm intelligence”— a collective brain capable of solving complex problems which would be insurmountable for an isolated individual. In the world of artificial intelligence, swarm engineering allows us to make robots that work in large numbers (>1000), and tiny sizes (<1 cm). Using strategies that are either inspired by nature (ant colonies, fish shoals, and bird flocks), or automatically discovered using machine learning and crowdsourcing, researchers have demonstrated how swarms of flying robots can be deployed to create outdoor communication networks, how coin-sized robots can form structures and explore their environment, and how nanoparticles can be designed for cancer treatment. In this SFI Community Lecture, computer scientist Sabine Hauert will explore how individual actions give rise to swarm behaviors, and the challenges researchers face when engineering swarms for desired applications.
Sabine Hauert leads the Hauert Lab for swarm engineering at the University of Bristol (UK), where she is Assistant Professor in Robotics. Her cross-disciplinary research bridges engineering, mathematics, robotics, and the life sciences. Hauert is also an experienced science communicator and President and Co-founder of Robohub.org, a non-profit dedicated to connecting the robotics community to the world.
As an expert in science communication with 10 years of experience, Sabine is often invited to discuss the future of robotics and AI, including in the journals Science and Nature, at the European Parliament, and at the Royal Society. Her work has been featured in mainstream media including BBC, CNN, The Guardian, The Economist, TEDx, WIRED, and New Scientist.
Reserve your free tickets to the lecture through the Lensic Box Office Online.
This lecture is brought to you at no cost by the Santa Fe Institute, with additional support from the Lensic Performing Arts Center and the Santa Fe Reporter.