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Step into a night of discovery as we explore hidden worlds and cutting-edge science. Learn how AI is helping us explore the world under our feet, how robot scientists could creat a "self-driving lab", and technologies that help us touch the untouchable in virtual reality. Join us to experience how innovation is reshaping what we can see, sense, and understand about our world.
Underground Space - Making the invisible visible
Professor Asaad Faramarzi
(Professor of Geotechnical Engineering, University of Birmingham)
Professor Nicole Metje
(Professor of Infrastructure Monitoring, University of Birmingham)
Have you ever thought what lies beneath your feet or how the water or broadband reach your home? Have you ever looked into excavations in your street and seen the tangled ‘spaghetti’ below? For many decades we have used the subsurface to place our sewers, pipes, cables and transport tunnel – they form our arteries for everyday life. For their repair or replacement, we need to excavate. Often, we don’t know where exactly these arteries are located. This talk will cover how we can overcome this, by using quantum technology sensing and highlight the benefit of underground space.
Robot Scientists: How Machines Are Learning to Do Experiments for Us
Dr Sam Parkinson
(Research Fellow, Aston Institute for Membrane Excellence, Aston University)
What if a laboratory could run itself? Robots can mix chemicals, machines can measure results, and computers can decide what to try next. These self-driving labs explore ideas far faster than traditional research, helping discover new medicines, materials, and more sustainable processes. This talk explores how this approach works, what it can achieve, and why human creativity still remains essential.
Touching the void - adding the capability to touch non existing objects in Mixed Reality
Professor Eyal Ofek
(Chair of Computer Science, University of Birmingham)
Virtual reality enables users to feel they are in different location, seeing and hearing virtual objects around them. What would happen if they could touch these non-existent objects?
To enable uch prospects, haptic researchers use different techniques, from wearable robots to the usage of limitations of out multi-sensory processing in the brain. We will look at a few of these approaches and what they teach us about the way our brain works.
To enable uch prospects, haptic researchers use different techniques, from wearable robots to the usage of limitations of out multi-sensory processing in the brain. We will look at a few of these approaches and what they teach us about the way our brain works.
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