Profile - Tony Prescott - Academic Staff - People - Computer Science

Professor Tony Prescott

Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience

Room number: F-08 Pam Liversidge Building
Telephone: +44 (0) 114 222 6547 (email is better)
Email: T.J.Prescott@sheffield.ac.uk

Director of Sheffield Robotics

ORCID | Google scholar

Selected publications All publications

In addition to his research output Professor Tony Prescott has authored a number of shorter pieces of general interest, about artificial intelligence and robotics, for the online magazine The Conversation.

Profile	Biography I am Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Sheffield and Director of Sheffield Robotics an inter-disciplinary research institute across both Universities in Sheffield. This is my departmental home-page. I also maintain profiles on ResearchGateand Linkedin, and a Youtube Channel with links to online interviews, talks and movies about our robots and research. Qualifications MA Psychology (Edinburgh), MSc Applied Artificial Intelligence (Aberdeen), PhD Machine Learning (Sheffield). CPsychol FBPsS. 2016 Highlights I published a new edited book The Scholarpedia of Touch with Springer (Atlantis Press), co-edited with Ehud Ahissar and Eugene Izhikevich, containing 62 chapters covering the science and technology of tactile sensing. For a flavour of the book see my introductory article The World of Touch, with Volker Durr, on Scholarpedia.org. I was lead author of a chapter about neurorobotics and embodied models in From Neuron to Cognition via Computational Neuroscience a major new MIT Press volume edited my Michael Arbib and James Bonaiuto. I became Director of Research for the University of Sheffield spin-out company Consequential Robotics which launched its first product MiRO a pet-like companion robot for research and education. I became a partner in The Human Brain Project via a competitive open call. My research group is working on episodic memory for the iCub humanoid robot and spatial memory for mammal-like robots both of which will involve modelling the brain's hippocampal system. The UK Parliament's Science and Technology Committee published a contribution I authored as part of their written evidence which was quoted in their final report. The University became #1 in the UK for EPSRC funding in robotics (excluding Doctoral Training Centres) supported by the activity of Sheffield Robotics. The EPSRC's Pioneer Magazine, Issue 17, included articles about Consequential Robotics and a piece I authored about ethical and societal issues in robotics and artificial intelligence. I was interviewed at the ICRA 2016 conference for the Robohub robotics podcast. My TheConversation piece Why Westworld's Robots Should Make Us Questions Ourselves was syndicated by several online media sources including The Independent and Newsweek. I debated Whether a Robot Could be Ethical at the 2016 Battle of Ideas at the London Barbican. Activities and Distinctions Fellow of the British Psychological Society (FBPsS), 2011– Co-founder of the University of Sheffield spin-out company Consequential Robotics, 2016– Editor of Connection Science, 2014- Co-founder of the "Living Machines" International Conference Series, 2012- Co-organiser of the European Union FP7 Co-ordination Action Convergent Science Network for Biomimetics and Neurotechlog Co-founder and Director of the Sheffield Robotics, 2011- Partner in the "Robot Companions for Citizens" FET Flagship pilot project and leader of a working group on Societal Impacts and Ethical Issues in Robotics, 2011-12 Cofounder and co-organiser of the annual Barcelona Summer School on Cognitiion, Brain & Technology, 2008- Co-ordinator of the EU FP7 BIOTACT project, 2008-12 Visiting Research Fellow at Bristol Robotics Laboratory, 2003- Founder and co-director of the Adaptive Behaviour Research Group, 1996- My research has been covered by the BBC One Show, Radio 4 Material World & Costing the Earth, Discovery Channel, The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Observer, The Economist, Science Magazine, New Scientist, Focus Magazine and American Scientist. Plenary and Invited Talks Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences, 6th October 2016 (Invited talk) Battle of Ideas, London Barbican Centre, 22nd October 2016 (Debate) IEEE ICDL-EPIROB 2016, 22nd September 2016 (Plenary talk) Tencent "Way to Evolve" Conference, November 2015 (Invited talk, live streamed) Institute of Contemporary Art "Fear of Missing Out", 30th May 2015 (invited talk) SPIE Biomimetics, San Diego, USA, March 2014 (Opening talk) 'Socially-responsible research in Cognitive Systems: A no-win or a win-win'. EU Cognition III Annual Meeting, Brighton, UK, December 2013 (Plenary talk) IEEE World Haptics, Daejeon, South Korea, April 2013 (Opening talk) European Conference for Complex Systems, Warwick, 2009 (Opening talk)
Research	Research My research is within the areas of cognitive neuroscience, artificial intelligence and bio-inspired robotics. A particular focus is on the investigation of biomimetic and biohybrid systems: an example of the former would be an animal-like or humanoid robot, of the latter a human-machine interface. Current research is directed towards (i) social cognition for humanoid robots including the possibility synthetic autobiographical memory and of a robot "sense of self”; (ii) active touch sensing for attention, orienting, and spatial memory; (iii) assistive and companion robotic technologies; (iv) haptic interfaces for sensory augmentation; (v) telepresence robotics, and (vi) societal and ethical issues in technology. Some of my research is done under the auspices of the Department's Adaptive Behaviour Research Group and the Active Touch Laboratory.
Grants	Research grants EU Future Emerging Technologies Flagship. T.J. Prescott (Sheffield PI): The Human Brain Project (2016-). Project value to Sheffield €400,000 (over two years). Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). T. J. Prescott (PI): Cyberselves in Immersive Technologies (2014-2015). Project value £50,000. EU Framework 7 Cognitive and Robotics Systems. T. J. Prescott (PI): What You Say Is What You Did (WYSIWYD) (2014 - 2017). Total project value €3,500,000 (€575,000 to Sheffield). EU Framework 7 Cognitive and Robotics Systems. T.J. Prescott (PI): Expressive Agents for Symbiotic Education and Learning (EASEL) (Nov 2013 - 2016). Total project value €2,910,000 (€595,000 to Sheffield). UK Technology Strategy Board. T.J. Prescott (PI): IntelliTable (Sept 2013 -14). Total project value £100,000 (£27,000 to Sheffield). EPSRC Capital for Great Technologies. T.J. Prescott (PI): Human-Machine Cooperation In Robotics And Autonomous (July 2013 -14). £1,000,000. European Union Framework 7 Programme. T.J. Prescott (PI for Sheffield component): Convergent Science Network for Biomimetics and Neurotechnology (Mar 2013-2016). Total project value €950,000 (€172,711 to Sheffield). Weizmann – UK Joint Research Programme. T.J. Prescott (PI): Development of motor-sensory strategies for vibrissal active touch (Oct 2012-2014). Total project value $100,000 ($50,000 to Sheffield). EPSRC. T.J. Prescott (Co-Investigator): Bio-inspired Control of Electro-Active Polymers for Next Generation Soft Robots (Jan 2012-2015). Total project value £359,094 (~£170,000 to Sheffield). EPSRC/UoS. T.J. Prescott (PI): A wearable active sensing device using tactile displays (Sept 2011-2012). £49,998. European Union Framework 7 Programme. T.J. Prescott (PI for Sheffield component): CA-RoboCom: Coordination Action for the design and description of the FET Flagship candidate Robot Companions for Citizens (May 2011-2012). Total project value €1,500,000 (€90,000 to Sheffield). European Union Framework 7 Programme. T.J. Prescott (PI for Sheffield component): Experimental Functional Android Assistant (EFAA) (Jan 2011-2014). Total project value €2,858,000 (€517,000 to Sheffield). UoS Proof of Concept. T.J. Prescott (PI): Virtual Whiskers for Navigation in Hazardous Environments (Nov 2010-May 2011). £10,000. European Union Framework 7 Programme. T.J. Prescott (PI for Sheffield component): Convergent Science Network for Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems (Jan 2009-2012). Total project value €520,000 (€108,000) to Sheffield). European Union Framework 7 ICT Project 215910. T. J. Prescott (Co-ordinator and PI): BIOmimetic Technology for vibrissal ACtive Touch (BIOTACT) (2008-). (Jan 2008-Dec 2011). Total project value €7.8M (~€1.4M European Union contribution to Sheffield). European Union Framework 6 Cognitive Systems Project ST-027819-IP. T.J. Prescott (PI): Integration Cognition, Emotion, and Action (ICEA). (Jan 2006–Dec 2009). €8.08M (~€0.9M to Sheffield). EPRSC EP/C516303/1. Collaboration between 5 UK Universities. K. Gurney (PI) and TJ. Prescott: REVERB: Reverse Engineering the VERtebrate Brain (April 2005-March 2010). £1.8M (~£0.7M to Sheffield). EPRSC GR/S19639/01. Collaboration with Bristol Robotics Laborator. TJ. Prescott (PI): WhiskerBot: A Robot Whisker System Modelled on the Rat Mystacial Vibrissae (September 2003-August 2006). £430k (~£150k to Sheffield). EPRSC GR/R95722/01 T. J. Prescott (PI), K. Gurney, P. Redgrave: Robot control using a model of central structures in the vertebrate brain (Sept 2002–August 2005). £161k.

Profile

Biography

I am Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Sheffield and Director of Sheffield Robotics an inter-disciplinary research institute across both Universities in Sheffield. This is my departmental home-page. I also maintain profiles on ResearchGateand Linkedin, and a Youtube Channel with links to online interviews, talks and movies about our robots and research.

Qualifications

MA Psychology (Edinburgh), MSc Applied Artificial Intelligence (Aberdeen), PhD Machine Learning (Sheffield). CPsychol FBPsS.

2016 Highlights

I published a new edited book The Scholarpedia of Touch with Springer (Atlantis Press), co-edited with Ehud Ahissar and Eugene Izhikevich, containing 62 chapters covering the science and technology of tactile sensing. For a flavour of the book see my introductory article The World of Touch, with Volker Durr, on Scholarpedia.org.
I was lead author of a chapter about neurorobotics and embodied models in From Neuron to Cognition via Computational Neuroscience a major new MIT Press volume edited my Michael Arbib and James Bonaiuto.
I became Director of Research for the University of Sheffield spin-out company Consequential Robotics which launched its first product MiRO a pet-like companion robot for research and education.
I became a partner in The Human Brain Project via a competitive open call. My research group is working on episodic memory for the iCub humanoid robot and spatial memory for mammal-like robots both of which will involve modelling the brain's hippocampal system.
The UK Parliament's Science and Technology Committee published a contribution I authored as part of their written evidence which was quoted in their final report.
The University became #1 in the UK for EPSRC funding in robotics (excluding Doctoral Training Centres) supported by the activity of Sheffield Robotics.
The EPSRC's Pioneer Magazine, Issue 17, included articles about Consequential Robotics and a piece I authored about ethical and societal issues in robotics and artificial intelligence.
I was interviewed at the ICRA 2016 conference for the Robohub robotics podcast.
My TheConversation piece Why Westworld's Robots Should Make Us Questions Ourselves was syndicated by several online media sources including The Independent and Newsweek.
I debated Whether a Robot Could be Ethical at the 2016 Battle of Ideas at the London Barbican.

Activities and Distinctions

Fellow of the British Psychological Society (FBPsS), 2011–
Co-founder of the University of Sheffield spin-out company Consequential Robotics, 2016–
Editor of Connection Science, 2014-
Co-founder of the "Living Machines" International Conference Series, 2012-
Co-organiser of the European Union FP7 Co-ordination Action Convergent Science Network for Biomimetics and Neurotechlog
Co-founder and Director of the Sheffield Robotics, 2011-
Partner in the "Robot Companions for Citizens" FET Flagship pilot project and leader of a working group on Societal Impacts and Ethical Issues in Robotics, 2011-12
Cofounder and co-organiser of the annual Barcelona Summer School on Cognitiion, Brain & Technology, 2008-
Co-ordinator of the EU FP7 BIOTACT project, 2008-12
Visiting Research Fellow at Bristol Robotics Laboratory, 2003-
Founder and co-director of the Adaptive Behaviour Research Group, 1996-
My research has been covered by the BBC One Show, Radio 4 Material World & Costing the Earth, Discovery Channel, The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Observer, The Economist, Science Magazine, New Scientist, Focus Magazine and American Scientist.

Plenary and Invited Talks

Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences, 6th October 2016 (Invited talk)
Battle of Ideas, London Barbican Centre, 22nd October 2016 (Debate)
IEEE ICDL-EPIROB 2016, 22nd September 2016 (Plenary talk)
Tencent "Way to Evolve" Conference, November 2015 (Invited talk, live streamed)
Institute of Contemporary Art "Fear of Missing Out", 30th May 2015 (invited talk)
SPIE Biomimetics, San Diego, USA, March 2014 (Opening talk)
'Socially-responsible research in Cognitive Systems: A no-win or a win-win'. EU Cognition III Annual Meeting, Brighton, UK, December 2013 (Plenary talk)
IEEE World Haptics, Daejeon, South Korea, April 2013 (Opening talk)
European Conference for Complex Systems, Warwick, 2009 (Opening talk)

Research

My research is within the areas of cognitive neuroscience, artificial intelligence and bio-inspired robotics. A particular focus is on the investigation of biomimetic and biohybrid systems: an example of the former would be an animal-like or humanoid robot, of the latter a human-machine interface. Current research is directed towards (i) social cognition for humanoid robots including the possibility synthetic autobiographical memory and of a robot "sense of self”; (ii) active touch sensing for attention, orienting, and spatial memory; (iii) assistive and companion robotic technologies; (iv) haptic interfaces for sensory augmentation; (v) telepresence robotics, and (vi) societal and ethical issues in technology. Some of my research is done under the auspices of the Department's Adaptive Behaviour Research Group and the Active Touch Laboratory.

Grants

Research grants

EU Future Emerging Technologies Flagship. T.J. Prescott (Sheffield PI): The Human Brain Project (2016-). Project value to Sheffield €400,000 (over two years).
Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). T. J. Prescott (PI): Cyberselves in Immersive Technologies (2014-2015). Project value £50,000.
EU Framework 7 Cognitive and Robotics Systems. T. J. Prescott (PI): What You Say Is What You Did (WYSIWYD) (2014 - 2017). Total project value €3,500,000 (€575,000 to Sheffield).
EU Framework 7 Cognitive and Robotics Systems. T.J. Prescott (PI): Expressive Agents for Symbiotic Education and Learning (EASEL) (Nov 2013 - 2016). Total project value €2,910,000 (€595,000 to Sheffield).
UK Technology Strategy Board. T.J. Prescott (PI): IntelliTable (Sept 2013 -14). Total project value £100,000 (£27,000 to Sheffield).
EPSRC Capital for Great Technologies. T.J. Prescott (PI): Human-Machine Cooperation In Robotics And Autonomous (July 2013 -14). £1,000,000.
European Union Framework 7 Programme. T.J. Prescott (PI for Sheffield component): Convergent Science Network for Biomimetics and Neurotechnology (Mar 2013-2016). Total project value €950,000 (€172,711 to Sheffield).
Weizmann – UK Joint Research Programme. T.J. Prescott (PI): Development of motor-sensory strategies for vibrissal active touch (Oct 2012-2014). Total project value $100,000 ($50,000 to Sheffield).
EPSRC. T.J. Prescott (Co-Investigator): Bio-inspired Control of Electro-Active Polymers for Next Generation Soft Robots (Jan 2012-2015). Total project value £359,094 (~£170,000 to Sheffield).
EPSRC/UoS. T.J. Prescott (PI): A wearable active sensing device using tactile displays (Sept 2011-2012). £49,998.
European Union Framework 7 Programme. T.J. Prescott (PI for Sheffield component): CA-RoboCom: Coordination Action for the design and description of the FET Flagship candidate Robot Companions for Citizens (May 2011-2012). Total project value €1,500,000 (€90,000 to Sheffield).
European Union Framework 7 Programme. T.J. Prescott (PI for Sheffield component): Experimental Functional Android Assistant (EFAA) (Jan 2011-2014). Total project value €2,858,000 (€517,000 to Sheffield).
UoS Proof of Concept. T.J. Prescott (PI): Virtual Whiskers for Navigation in Hazardous Environments (Nov 2010-May 2011). £10,000.
European Union Framework 7 Programme. T.J. Prescott (PI for Sheffield component): Convergent Science Network for Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems (Jan 2009-2012). Total project value €520,000 (€108,000) to Sheffield).
European Union Framework 7 ICT Project 215910. T. J. Prescott (Co-ordinator and PI): BIOmimetic Technology for vibrissal ACtive Touch (BIOTACT) (2008-). (Jan 2008-Dec 2011). Total project value €7.8M (~€1.4M European Union contribution to Sheffield).
European Union Framework 6 Cognitive Systems Project ST-027819-IP. T.J. Prescott (PI): Integration Cognition, Emotion, and Action (ICEA). (Jan 2006–Dec 2009). €8.08M (~€0.9M to Sheffield).
EPRSC EP/C516303/1. Collaboration between 5 UK Universities. K. Gurney (PI) and TJ. Prescott: REVERB: Reverse Engineering the VERtebrate Brain (April 2005-March 2010). £1.8M (~£0.7M to Sheffield).
EPRSC GR/S19639/01. Collaboration with Bristol Robotics Laborator. TJ. Prescott (PI): WhiskerBot: A Robot Whisker System Modelled on the Rat Mystacial Vibrissae (September 2003-August 2006). £430k (~£150k to Sheffield).
EPRSC GR/R95722/01 T. J. Prescott (PI), K. Gurney, P. Redgrave: Robot control using a model of central structures in the vertebrate brain (Sept 2002–August 2005). £161k.