Nevertheless the diversity of the field means that currently there is no single forum for bringing together researchers from this range of backgrounds. Discovering examples of research in this area, or important connections between approaches, is too often a matter of chance. Sessions and workshops have tended to lack sufficient focus to enable real, co-operative progress to be made. A consequence is that it is no trivial problem to go from what appears to be extensive and comprehensive biological data to a robot design specific enough for implementation. Any kind of modelling involves abstraction from details of the system.
Similar issues arise in copying the environmental conditions.
It is essential to address this issue if an effective trade in information to and from biology is to occur. Provides a list of what issues you would like to see discussed, what questions you want answered, and what connections you would like to make. Submissions should, by preference, be sent in plain text email to Barbara. Barbara Webb , AI Group, Dept. of Psychology, University of Nottingham Barbara.