Organisers
Dana Damian, Shuhei Miyashita
Abstract
Nature offers some exquisite mechanisms, called homeostasis and morphogenesis, by which life forms can maintain their physical integrity and wellbeing. On the other hand, series of machines, including robots, cannot overcome some of the most insignificant damage, such as a cut in a functional component.
Machines and robots are usually made of durable materials and programmed to execute specific tasks. While typically they are more physically durable and computationally capable than living beings, machines break and fail in situations that are extremely trivial or unexpected for living beings, and often fail to adapt to small changes in the settings they were trained for. Such vulnerabilities render the machines useless, other times introduce risks and sometimes result in fatalities. While machine resilience and adaptability is multi-faceted, there are some fundamental issues that have been under-looked: machine homeostasis and morphogenesis.
The aim of this workshop is to discuss these fundamental gaps between biology and machines and share insights on how to develop a fundamental physical framework for homeostasis and metamorphosis in order to endow machines with the ability to sustain themselves at high entropic states such as hazards and unpredictable conditions. This dialogue will be supported by biologists, neuroscientists, roboticists and artists. The format of the workshop will consist of 15-20 minute talks from invited speakers (from senior professors who bring fundamental science to experienced PhD students who bring the latest developments in this research) with panel discussions at the end. Posters presentations will be encouraged. We plan that the outcome of this workshop will be included in or input to a focused paper.
Organisers
Muhammad Aitsam, Alejandro Jiménez Rodríguez, Alessandro Di Nuovo, Kavyan Zoughalian, Imene Tarakli, Aung Htet
Abstract
This workshop explores the design and integration of next-generation autonomous systems, with a particular focus on the convergence of neuromorphic perception and a broad spectrum of sensing, computation and control techniques. Neuromorphic technology, which emulates the efficiency and event-driven nature of biological perception, serves as a central theme, while the workshop also emphasizes complementary approaches in artificial intelligence, real-time control architectures, and energy-efficient computing. Participants will engage in discussions surrounding hardware-software co-design for real-time AI, adaptive fusion of event-based and conventional sensor data, and power-aware strategies to enable continuous, low-latency operation. The workshop seeks to attract researchers from diverse domains, including embedded systems, robotics, sensor fusion, and sustainable computing, to propose innovative solutions addressing critical challenges in data processing, scalability, and deployment under strict resource and latency constraints. A key objective is to investigate how neuromorphic perception can augment or integrate with traditional sensing and AI pipelines to enhance the robustness, adaptability, and sustainability of autonomous platforms. Emphasis will also be placed on platform-level optimizations to reduce energy consumption while ensuring consistent and responsive performance in demanding application areas such as autonomous vehicles, industrial monitoring, and robotic automation. By bringing together experts from neuromorphic engineering, real-time systems, and AI, the workshop aims to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and identify research gaps, enabling the development of more intelligent, efficient, and resilient autonomous systems. The expected outcome is a broadened understanding of how neuromorphic and conventional technologies can co-evolve to meet the growing demands of real-world autonomy.
Organisers
Giacinto Barresi, Maria Elena Giannaccini
Abstract
This workshop will discuss the intersection of bio-inspired robotics and human factors (AKA ergonomics, the study and the improvement of the interactions between humans and other elements of a system) according to the unique opportunity to leverage biomimetic principles to improve shape human-centred robotic systems. An excellent example is the morphological computation principle, which employs the shape and materials of robots to simplify control and intelligent interaction with the environment. This helps both physical ergonomics and cognitive ergonomics in robotics, and other fields like neurorobotics. Further examples are offered by swarm robotics that can help optimising distributed teamwork and decision-making in organizational ergonomics. The workshop will also investigate challenges in bioinspired robotics that ergonomics can help address. For example, in the field of soft wearable robots there is a trade-off between effectiveness and safety in physical human robot interaction, compounded by the difficulty in controlling soft robots. While approaches like morphological computation can simplify control, co-design of these robots with users is necessary to obtain intuitive and adaptable control. Further examples can be the uncanny valley in social robotics, requiring human-centred design interventions to foster the user trust, and the challenging usability in swarm control. The event will feature expert talks. Afterwards, the participants (speakers and attendees) will engage in an interactive SWOT analysis session. A topic, selected through audience voting from the presented themes, will be analysed for its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, fostering a multidisciplinary discussion on future research and applications of truly human-centred biorobotic solutions.
Website
Read more about the workshop and its schedule: https://sites.google.com/view/lm25ergbiorob/home
Organisers
Omar Tricinci, Jyoti Sharma, Yashpal Singh Brar
Abstract
Bioinspired microrobotics represents a new frontier in robotics, pushing the boundaries of living machines at the micro- and nanoscale. By mimicking structures, mechanisms, or individual and collective behaviors found in biological systems, biomimetic microrobots leverage nature’s evolutionary advantages to create effective robotic designs. These biohybrid designs – based on immune cells (for instance, CELLOIDS), bacteria, and sperm cells – are leading to a novel generation of microrobots that are gaining growing attention in scientific research, standing out as particularly promising in healthcare applications. These microscopic devices can navigate complex physio-pathological environments, offering innovative solutions for diagnosis and treatments.
The workshop “Biomimetic Microrobots as Microscale Living Machines: New Materials and Technologies for Future Medical Solutions” explores the latest advances in bioinspired microrobotics. The workshop will focus on, but not be limited to, the three crucial aspects in the microrobotics field: the strong interplay between novel materials and design, the advanced fabrication methods, and the bioinspired autonomous and collective behaviors.
The challenges and future directions of bioinspired and biohybrid microrobots in healthcare will be discussed in this workshop, fostering interdisciplinary dialogue and encouraging discussion on miniaturization, biocompatibility, and control strategies for clinical translation.
Website
Read more about the workshop and its schedule: https://sites.google.com/view/lm2025biomicrorobot/home
Organisers
Hiroyuki Nabae, Koichi Suzumori, Akira Fukuhara, Yoichi Masuda, Yasuji Harada, Megu Gunji
Abstract
Biomimetics, a major branch of robotics, aims to reproduce biological functions and apply them to engineering. Despite extensive research, robotics still heavily relies on conventional mechanical systems. As a result, traditional robotics primarily replicates basic functions and external appearances of living organisms, rather than their complex internal structures. In contrast, the body of an animal is intricate, with muscles, tissues, and skin arranged in a redundant, flexible system that is difficult to model mathematically. These organic structures are challenging to represent in conventional robotics, as they are seen as “ambiguous” and often overlooked in both analysis and design. To advance biomimetics, it is crucial to shift the focus from surface-level imitations to understanding the deep, organic relationships within living bodies. This approach can bridge the gap between robotics and biology by integrating biological principles into robotic design, benefiting both fields. The workshop aims to foster collaboration between robotics researchers and biologists, facilitating discussions on the deep tissues and internal structures of living organisms and their interrelationships. Roboticists will share their efforts to understand and mimic these structures, while biologists will provide insights into organisms’ deep structures and knowledge gaps. The goal is to identify challenges and share ideas for advancing biomimetics, paving the way for future research and development in the field.
Organisers
Tony Prescott, Paul Verschure
Abstract
The goal of this workshop is to better understand the cognitive architecture of the human mind/brain, as it has evolved and developed, using analytic (neuroscience and psychology) and synthetic (modelling and robotics) approaches that take a systems approach. A key focus will be on cognitive architectures that connect perception and action and that give rise to motivated behaviour. Speakers currently include Mark Humphries on the brain’s decision-making and reward systens, Angelo Cangelosi on robot modelling of cognitive development, Mehdi Khamassi on modelling goal-directed behaviour, Paul Verschure on the distributed adaptive control architecture, and Tony Prescott on the layered cognitive architecture for motivation. More to be announced soon.
Contributions in the form of short talks are invited. Please contact Tony Prescott (T.J.Prescott@sheffield.ac.uk) if interested. Contributors do not need to have a paper in, or attend, the main conference.
