Arrive from 7pm for a 7:30pm start.
Our speaker this month is Dexter Shepherd from the University of Sussex.
Exploring distant worlds presents a unique challenge: robots in space can't rely on real-time control from Earth because communication is limited by the speed of light. Although today's missions, such as Curiosity and Perseverance, carry software that helps them stay safe, we are still far from achieving true robotic autonomy. The future of space exploration will depend on robots that can make their own decisions, protect themselves, and boldly venture into places no robot has gone before.
In this talk, Dexter will share his research on how we can help robots begin to understand their environment. Often, we don't have detailed training data to tell a robot exactly what actions are right or wrong, we only know whether it succeeded at the task. This opens the door to powerful approaches inspired by nature: using evolutionary algorithms to allow robots to evolve their own behaviours, or drawing directly from the strategies insects use to navigate the world.
However, moving from simulated or biological inspiration into the real world brings challenges. Robots need rich, reliable sensing to connect what they learned in simulation with what they encounter in reality. In this talk, we will explore these sensing challenges, the "simulation-to-reality gap," and the key steps needed to create truly autonomous robots for the next era of space exploration.
About the speaker: Dexter Shepherd is finishing his PhD in Bio-inspired Artificial intelligence and robotics at the University of Sussex. Here he has spent many years researching into robots that understand and adapt to their terrain through tactile sensing and evolutionary strategies. In addition to his research, he has been greatly involved in outreach in schools and internationally where he leads educational courses in hardware and machine learning across the African continent.
For this meeting we will be at Wagner Hall on Regency Road, Brighton. Attendance is free, but we would be grateful if those of you who are able to could donate a few pounds to help cover the cost of hiring this event space. We will have a card reader and a money box you can drop your donations in on the night. We also have a bank account you can donate to electronically.
Brighton Astro is inclusive and welcomes everybody.
Please note that the venue has a bar that sells alcohol.
