Media Release

Wednesday, 11 July 2001

Two events in Adelaide this week highlight the real work being done with robots and artificial intelligence.

Thursday, July 12:

International robotics expert Professor Rodney Brooks will give a free public lecture at Adelaide University on Robots in the Home, Short Term and Long Term. Professor Brooks is Director of the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT in the United States, and is the Fujitsu Professor of Computer Science. He is also Chairman and Chief Technical Officer of iRobot Corp.

"During the last 25 years, computers have gone from being locked up in special rooms to mass market acceptance-most of the computers in our homes are now invisible in appliances," he says. "Robots are 25 years behind. I will discuss the technical challenges, the ways in which robots might be used, how we will interact with them, and the impact it will have on our society."

Thursday, July 12 - 10.10am
Room S112, Engineering South Building
Adelaide University, North Terrace Campus

Saturday, July 14:

Twelve teams of students will compete in the national round of the "Micro-Mouse" robot race being held in Adelaide this Saturday. The winning team will go on to represent Australia at the Micro-Mouse Asia-Pacific championships in New Zealand later this year.

Micro-Mouse is a small, computer-controlled robotic vehicle. The challenge is to navigate it through a maze in the shortest possible time, requiring skills in computer programming and artificial intelligence. The race involves teams of students from Adelaide and interstate, and is organised by Adelaide University and the Ngapartji Multimedia Centre.

Saturday, July 14 - 1.00pm (race starts at around 2.00pm)
Ngapartji Multimedia Centre