Phil Husbands (born 27 June, 1961) is a professor of
computer science
Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...
and
artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...
at the English
University of Sussex
, mottoeng = Be Still and Know
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £14.4 million (2020)
, budget = £319.6 million (2019–20)
, chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar
, vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil
, ...
, situated next to the
East Sussex
East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...
village of
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 (8 km) north-east of the former. It is also the site of Brighton & Hove Albion's Falmer ...
, within the city of
Brighton and Hove
Brighton and Hove () is a city and unitary authority in East Sussex, England. It consists primarily of the settlements of Brighton and Hove, alongside neighbouring villages.
Often referred to synonymously as Brighton, the City of Brighton and H ...
. He is head of the Evolutionary and Adaptive Systems group and co-director of the Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Robotics (CCNR). Husbands is also one of the founders of the field of
evolutionary robotics Evolutionary robotics is an embodied approach to Artificial Intelligence (AI) in which robots are automatically designed using Darwinian principles of natural selection. The design of a robot, or a subsystem of a robot such as a neural controller, ...
.
His research interests are in long-term investigations of artificial evolution of
nervous system
In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its actions and sensory information by transmitting signals to and from different parts of its body. The nervous system detects environmental changes th ...
s for
robot
A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be c ...
s, with emphasis on:
* visually guided robots acting in the real world
* theoretical and practical development of advanced
evolutionary algorithm
In computational intelligence (CI), an evolutionary algorithm (EA) is a subset of evolutionary computation, a generic population-based metaheuristic optimization algorithm. An EA uses mechanisms inspired by biological evolution, such as reproduct ...
s for hard engineering and design optimisation problems
* development of biologically inspired artificial neural networks incorporating diffusible modulators
* computational
neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, development ...
* computer manipulation of sound and image
* history and philosophy of AI
*
machine learning
Machine learning (ML) is a field of inquiry devoted to understanding and building methods that 'learn', that is, methods that leverage data to improve performance on some set of tasks. It is seen as a part of artificial intelligence.
Machine ...
.
Husbands has edited several books, including coediting ''The Mechanical Mind in History'' (
MIT Press
The MIT Press is a university press affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts (United States). It was established in 1962.
History
The MIT Press traces its origins back to 1926 when MIT publish ...
; 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
Nitric oxide (nitrogen oxide or nitrogen monoxide) is a colorless gas with the formula . It is one of the principal oxides of nitrogen. Nitric oxide is a free radical: it has an unpaired electron, which is sometimes denoted by a dot in its che ...
(NO) volume signalling in real brains. The Sussex team has also done pioneering work on detailed computational modelling of nitric oxide diffusion in the nervous system.
See also
*
List of computer scientists
This is a list of computer scientists, people who do work in computer science, in particular researchers and authors.
Some persons notable as programmers are included here because they work in research as well as program. A few of these people ...
External links
*
Phil HusbandsCentre for Computational Neuroscience and Robotics (CCNR)*
ttps://www.newscientist.com/article/mg16021544.800-gas-on-the-brain.html New Scientist article on Husbands' and O'Shea's introduction of the idea of GasNetsBooks by Phil Husbands in Google Book Search
Place of birth missing (living people)
1961 births
20th-century scholars
21st-century scholars
Academics of the University of Sussex
Artificial intelligence researchers
English computer scientists
English book editors
Living people
Researchers of artificial life
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