Can a robot have an immune system?

Wednesday 25 January 2012, 6.45PM

Speaker: Professor Jon Timmis, Department of Computer Science

Computer Science Roundhouse Lectures

Animals and plants have an immune system to keep them healthy.  Robots go wrong and become "unhealthy" very easily.  What would it mean for a robot, or even a "swarm" of robots, to have an immune system?  In this lecture, we will explore immunity in the natural world and how we might translate the idea of immunity into robotic systems to allow them to work even when things might go wrong. Along the way, we will discuss some of the problems in getting such ideas to work in robots, and demonstrate a few of the robots we own here at York, including if they behave themselves, some of our flying robots.

There will be a drinks reception from 6.15pm in the Ron Cooke Hub atrium - please join us for a drink before the lecture begins at 6.45pm.

Other lectures in this series:

• Did Twitter save Bletchley Park?
  

Admission: by free ticket only, available from www.york.ac.uk/tickets.  This lecture is now full, but there is a waiting list in place on our ticketing pages.

Location: Room RCH/037, Ron Cooke Hub, Heslington East

Telephone: 01904 324466