Rodney Brooks holds this year's HCA-lecture where he will talk about how humans and robots will be working together in the future. The lecture, held on November 16, is open to all.

Rodney Brooks - one of the world's leading researchers in robotics and artificial intelligence - hold this year's HCA-lecture at the University of Southern Denmark. The 57-year-old researcher is known to build humanoid robots, you can put a name and face on. Early in his career he made up with the notion that artificial intelligence is solely about feeding computers with detailed rules and recipes that they must follow to fulfill their tasks. A robot must be programmed for the vast amount of knowledge to carry out acts like a child of three years can do much better, for example. using a fork or walking up a flight of stairs. Rodney Brooks has therefore focused on developing robots - with body and movement - that can learn from people by being around us and read our signals. Rodney Brooks comes to Odense on November 16, where he will talk about how humans and robots working together. He is invited by The Hans Christian Andersen Academy at the University of Southern Denmark, which each year invites a researcher of international excellence to hold a HCA-lecture.

Two tracks: University and industry

Rodney Brooks, who for several years headed the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Institute of Massachussetts (MIT), is now professor emeritus. He retired from his academic duties last year to concentrate on his newest company Heartland Robotics that will build intelligent and quick-witted robots for manufacturing. It is characteristic of the Australian-born scientist that he throughout his career has had business next to university research, for he is very eager to define new ways to build, think and bring robots into our everyday lives. The company iRobot, he has worked with the US military to develop the robot Packbot, which came into use after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center 10 years ago. The robot then helped with the search for survivors in the rubble, and today US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan Packbot robots to find and defuse roadside bombs. And in 2002 launched the same company the world's first robot vacuum cleaner - The Roomba - which today are sold worldwide. Rodney Brooks lecture "Robots and People Working Together" is open to all. It is held Wednesday, November 16 at. 15 in Auditorium 45 at Campus Odense. Robot scientist, known as an entertaining and sharp intermediary speaks about an hour and then a reception, where all the listeners are welcome. Source: SDU