Phil Husbands
Encyclopedia
Phil Husbands is professor of Computer science
and Artificial intelligence
at the University of Sussex
in Brighton
near the East Sussex
village of Falmer
, near Brighton
and Hove
. He is head of the Evolutionary and Adaptive Systems group and co-director of the Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Robotics (CCNR). He is one of the founders of the field of Evolutionary robotics
. His research interests are in long-term investigations of artificial evolution of nervous system
s for robot
s, with emphasis on:
He is editor of several books including The Mechanical Mind in History, MIT Press (2008) as well as author of numerous scientific articles. With neuroscientist Michael O'Shea he introduced the idea of GasNets - artificial neural networks that use diffusing virtual gases as modulators. These are inspired by Nitric Oxide (NO) volume signalling in real brains. The Sussex team have also done pioneering work on detailed computationl modelling of NO diffusion in the nervous system.
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
and Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
at the University of Sussex
University of Sussex
The University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....
in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
near the East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
village of Falmer
Falmer
Falmer is a small village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England, lying between Brighton and Lewes, approximately five miles north-east of the former. It is also the site for Brighton & Hove Albion's new stadium....
, near Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
and Hove
Hove
Hove is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, with which it forms the unitary authority Brighton and Hove. It forms a single conurbation together with Brighton and some smaller towns and villages running along the coast...
. He is head of the Evolutionary and Adaptive Systems group and co-director of the Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Robotics (CCNR). He is one of the founders of the field of Evolutionary robotics
Evolutionary robotics
Evolutionary robotics is a methodology that uses evolutionary computation to develop controllers for autonomous robots. Algorithms in ER frequently operate on populations of candidate controllers, initially selected from some distribution. This population is then repeatedly modified according to...
. His research interests are in long-term investigations of artificial evolution of nervous system
Nervous system
The nervous system is an organ system containing a network of specialized cells called neurons that coordinate the actions of an animal and transmit signals between different parts of its body. In most animals the nervous system consists of two parts, central and peripheral. The central nervous...
s for robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
s, with emphasis on:
- Visually guided robots acting in the real world
- Theoretical and practical development of advanced evolutionary algorithmEvolutionary algorithmIn artificial intelligence, an evolutionary algorithm is a subset of evolutionary computation, a generic population-based metaheuristic optimization algorithm. An EA uses some mechanisms inspired by biological evolution: reproduction, mutation, recombination, and selection...
s for hard engineering and design optimisation problems - Development of biologically inspired artificial neural networks incorporating diffusible modulators
- Computational neuroscienceNeuroscienceNeuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system. Traditionally, neuroscience has been seen as a branch of biology. However, it is currently an interdisciplinary science that collaborates with other fields such as chemistry, computer science, engineering, linguistics, mathematics,...
- Computer manipulation of sound and image
- History and philosophy of AI
- machine learningMachine learningMachine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, is a scientific discipline concerned with the design and development of algorithms that allow computers to evolve behaviors based on empirical data, such as from sensor data or databases...
.
He is editor of several books including The Mechanical Mind in History, MIT Press (2008) as well as author of numerous scientific articles. With neuroscientist Michael O'Shea he introduced the idea of GasNets - artificial neural networks that use diffusing virtual gases as modulators. These are inspired by Nitric Oxide (NO) volume signalling in real brains. The Sussex team have also done pioneering work on detailed computationl modelling of NO diffusion in the nervous system.