Professor Tony Prescott
MA, MSc, PhD, CPsychol FBPsS
School of Computer Science
Professor of Cognitive Robotics
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Full contact details
School of Computer Science
Regent Court (DCS)
211 Portobello
91直播
S1 4DP
- Profile
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Tony Prescott is Professor of Cognitive Robotics at the University of 91直播, UK, and the co-founder and former director of 91直播 Robotics, a cross-disciplinary research institute across both Universities in 91直播. He is also an active member of the 91直播 Neuroscience Institute. He is a fellow of the British Psychological Society, was a Sage Centre for the Study of Mind Distinguished Fellow in 2018, and a finalist in the 2022 Ana Avatar competition for telepresence robotics.
Tony鈥檚 research mixes robotics and artificial intelligence with psychology, brain theory and philosophy and aims at answering questions about the human condition by creating synthetic entities with animal or human-like capacities such as perception, memory, emotion and sense of self. His approach takes a posthuman perspective, examining the ever-deepening relationship between our species and the technologies we create. He also regularly speaks and writes about the societal and cultural impacts of future robotic, AI, virtual reality and telepresence technologies.
Tony has published over 240 articles and conference papers at the interface of robotics, AI, psychology, and neuroscience, and has received 拢10M in grant funding from UKRI, InnovateUK, the European Framework and Horizon Europe programmes and the Wellcome Trust. He is the co-creator of the award-winning animal-like robots Scratchbot, Shrewbot and MiRo-e, and the lead editor of The Scholarpedia of Touch, published by Springer, and of Living Machines: A Handbook of Research in Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems published by Oxford University Press. He co-founded and co-chairs the annual international Living Machines conference.
Tony has co-founded two robotics spin-out companies, Consequential Robotics, developing education and assistive living technologies, and Bettering Our Worlds (BOW), who develop software that makes it easier to program robots. He is also passionate about the use of robots in STEM education and founded the Skills and Education in Robotics and AI network. Tony鈥檚 research is regularly featured in online and print media and has been covered by the BBC One Show, BBC Breakfast, Tomorrow鈥檚 World Live, BBC Sunday Morning, Sky News and BBC Radio 4 Today, World at One, Costing the Earth, Inside Science and Material World. International coverage has included the Discovery Channel, Arte Channel, and CNN.
Tony maintains profiles on and , and a with links to online interviews, talks and movies about his robots and research. He has authored several shorter pieces of general interest, about artificial intelligence and robotics, for the online magazine .
- Qualifications
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- MA Psychology (Edinburgh)
- MSc Applied Artificial Intelligence (Aberdeen)
- PhD Machine Learning (91直播)
- CPsychol FBPsS.
- Research interests
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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:
- social cognition for humanoid robots including the possibility synthetic autobiographical memory and of a robot "sense of self鈥;
- active touch sensing for attention, orienting, and spatial memory;
- assistive and companion robotic technologies;
- haptic interfaces for sensory augmentation;
- telepresence robotics, and
- societal and ethical issues in technology.
Some of my research is done under the auspices of the Department's and the .
- Publications
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Books
Edited books
Journal articles
Chapters
Conference proceedings papers
Reports
Theses / Dissertations
Working papers
Other
Preprints
- Grants
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- : EU Future Emerging Technologies Flagship. T.J. Prescott (91直播 PI): The Human Brain Project (2016-2023). Project value to 91直播 鈧774,000 (over four years).
- EPSRC. T.J.Prescott (PI): SERAS: Skills and Education in Robotics and Autonomous Systems (March 2020 - Feb 2021). 拢35,500
- Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). T. J. Prescott (PI): Cyberselves in Immersive Technologies (2014-2015). Project value 拢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 鈧3,500,000 (鈧575,000 to 91直播).
- 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 鈧2,910,000 (鈧595,000 to 91直播).
- UK Technology Strategy Board. T.J. Prescott (PI): IntelliTable (Sept 2013 -14). Total project value 拢100,000 (拢27,000 to 91直播).
- EPSRC Capital for Great Technologies. T.J. Prescott (PI): Human-Machine Cooperation In Robotics And Autonomous (July 2013 -14). 拢1,000,000.
- European Union Framework 7 Programme. T.J. Prescott (PI for 91直播 component): (Mar 2013-2016). Total project value 鈧950,000 (鈧172,711 to 91直播).
- Weizmann 鈥 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 91直播).
- EPSRC. T.J. Prescott (Co-Investigator): Bio-inspired Control of Electro-Active Polymers for Next Generation Soft Robots (Jan 2012-2015). Total project value 拢359,094 (~拢170,000 to 91直播).
- EPSRC/UoS. T.J. Prescott (PI): A wearable active sensing device using tactile displays (Sept 2011-2012). 拢49,998.
- European Union Framework 7 Programme. T.J. Prescott (PI for 91直播 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 鈧1,500,000 (鈧90,000 to 91直播).
- European Union Framework 7 Programme. T.J. Prescott (PI for 91直播 component): Experimental Functional Android Assistant (EFAA) (Jan 2011-2014). Total project value 鈧2,858,000 (鈧517,000 to 91直播).
- UoS Proof of Concept. T.J. Prescott (PI): Virtual Whiskers for Navigation in Hazardous Environments (Nov 2010-May 2011). 拢10,000.
- European Union Framework 7 Programme. T.J. Prescott (PI for 91直播 component): Convergent Science Network for Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems (Jan 2009-2012). Total project value 鈧520,000 (鈧108,000) to 91直播).
- 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 鈧7.8M (~鈧1.4M European Union contribution to 91直播).
- European Union Framework 6 Cognitive Systems Project ST-027819-IP. T.J. Prescott (PI): Integration Cognition, Emotion, and Action (ICEA). (Jan 2006鈥揇ec 2009). 鈧8.08M (~鈧0.9M to 91直播).
- 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). 拢1.8M (~拢0.7M to 91直播).
- 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). 拢430k (~拢150k to 91直播).
- 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鈥揂ugust 2005). 拢161k.
- Professional activities and memberships
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Activities and Distinctions
- Finalist in the 2022 Ana Avatar competition for telepresence robotics
- University of 91直播 Principal Investigator for the European Union , 2016鈥
- Sage Centre for the Study of Mind Distinguished Fellow (2018)
- Fellow of the British Psychological Society (FBPsS), 2011鈥
- Co-founder of the University of 91直播 spin-out company , 2016鈥
- Editor of Connection Science, 2014-2020
- Co-founder of the , 2012-
- Co-organiser of the European Union FP7
- Co-founder and Director of the 91直播 Robotics, 2011-2022
- 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 , 2003-
- Founder and co-director of the , 1996-
- My research has been covered by the BBC One Show, Radio 4 Today Programme, Material World & Costing the Earth, Discovery Channel, The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Observer, The Economist, Science Magazine, New Scientist, Focus Magazine and American Scientist.
Earlier Plenary and Invited Talks
- Assistive and companion robot technologies. (AAIC 17 Satellite Meeting), London, 15th July 2018.
- Through a glass, darkly; then face to robot face, at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, February 18th 2018.
- Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences, 6th October 2016 (Invited talk)
- , 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 , 30th May 2015 (invited talk)
- SPIE Biomimetics, San Diego, USA, March 2014 (Opening talk)
- '. 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)
- Recent Articles
for full and free access to our recent review article, courtesy of AAAS:
Prescott TJ & Wilson SP (2023) Understanding brain functional architecture through robotics. Science Robotics, 8(78)