The symposium will bring together select leaders in AI, robotics and machine learning from Japan, UK, Europe and USA to discuss how we can think outside the box through large-scale initiatives that use Robotics and AI to tackle some of the grand challenges of our generation. Representatives from Japan Science and Technology (JST) Agency and Japan's Moonshot Programme will be at hand to introduce their current initiative and solicit ways of enhancing international collaborations, potentially facilitated by the Alan Turing Institute and other national agencies.

Japan's Moonshot Programme

Moonshot Goal 3: Realisation of AI robots that autonomously learn, adapt to their environment, evolve in intelligence and act alongside human beings, by 2050.

Considering Japan's declining birthrate and ageing population, it is important that robots can be used in all aspects of society - such as working in dangerous or understaffed sites, developing human frontiers, and supporting our everyday lives. For that purpose, robots must be able to learn and act on their own through the co-evolution of AI and robots. Our R&D aims to realise AI robots with advanced bodies and self-developed AI learning.

**We would encourage you to bring your latest research output in the form of a poster up to an A0 size for discussion at the poster session.**

Agenda:

08:30am - 09:00am

Registration

09:00am - 09:10am

Welcome to University of Edinburgh and Edinburgh Centre for Robotics, Professor Sethu Vijayakumar

09:10am - 09:30am

Professor Nicolas Mansard, LAAS/CNRS

09:30am - 09:50am

Professor Toshio Fukuda, Nagoya University

09:50am - 10:10am

Professor Ludovic Righetti, New York University

10:10am - 10:30am

Professor Abhinav Valada, University of Freiburg

10:30am - 10:50am

Coffee Break

10:50am - 11:10am

Professor Shingo Shimoda, RIKEN

11:10am - 11:30am

Dr Ekaterina Komendantskaya, Heriot-Watt University

11:30am - 11:50am

Dr Steve Tonneau, University of Edinburgh

11:50am - 2:00pm

Lunch and Poster Session

2:00pm END

Bridging International Robotics and AI Grand Challenges