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start [2021/12/02 12:05] IIS Webadmin |
start [2026/11/02 14:12] (current) Simon Haller-Seeber [Working With Us] |
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| We seek to answer the question: //How can we enable robots to acquire the knowledge and understanding they require to interact sensibly with unstructured environments? // | We seek to answer the question: //How can we enable robots to acquire the knowledge and understanding they require to interact sensibly with unstructured environments? // | ||
| - | Our research addresses complete perception-action loops, from computer vision to grasping and manipulation, using reactive algorithms and/or cognitive models. Much of our work uses machine learning to enable robots to synthesize and improve complex and robust sensorimotor behavior with experience. Related areas of interest include human-robot interaction, image and video analysis, and visual neuroscience. | + | Our research addresses complete perception-action loops, from computer vision to grasping and manipulation, using reactive algorithms and/or cognitive models. Much of our work uses machine learning to enable robots to synthesize and improve complex and robust sensorimotor behavior with experience. |
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| ===== Working With Us ===== | ===== Working With Us ===== | ||
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| * Check our thesis topics for [[theses/start|Bachelor and Master students]]. | * Check our thesis topics for [[theses/start|Bachelor and Master students]]. | ||
| - | * [[https://ellis.eu/|ELLIS]] PhD Program: [[https://ellis.eu/news/ellis-phd-program-call-for-applications-deadline-november-15-2021|Call for Applications]] | + | * [[:jobs:#notice_for_non-eueea_prospective_master_students|Notice]] for non-[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EU|EU]]/[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Economic_Area|EEA]] prospective Master students |
| + | * We do not currently have any open PhD positions. If you'd like to work with us starting in summer 2027, apply via the [[https://ellis.eu/news/ellis-phd-program-call-for-applications-2026|ELLIS PhD Program]] by 2026-10-31. | ||
| - | <html><!-- | ||
| - | //Bachelor students://{{ ::mobile-manipulator-crop.jpg?nolink&100|}} **Want to create artificial intelligence for autonomous robots?** Want to join our [[@/uibk/piater/courses/RC_Poster2.pdf |interdisciplinary LFUI team]] to compete in the 2020 [[https://www.robocup.org/leagues/16|RoboCup@Work]] competition? Take the [[https://lfuonline.uibk.ac.at/public/lfuonline_lv.details?sem_id_in=19W&lvnr_id_in=703135|Introduction to Robotics]] course in the winter semester 2019-20! | ||
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| - | + | {{ ::iis-group-2026.jpg?direct&1000 |}}\\ | |
| - | {{::dsc_0052.jpg?640|Group Picture}}\\ | + | <html> |
| - | Group picture taken at our retreat in Obergurgl | + | <div style="text-align: center;"> |
| + | <p>Group picture taken at our 2026 retreat at Maria Waldrast.</p> | ||
| + | </div> | ||
| + | </html> | ||
| ===== News ===== | ===== News ===== | ||
| - | <HTML><table><tr valign="top"><td>2021-11-24</td><td>Justus Piater is a panelist at a public discussion on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/elsa-innsbruck_letzte-woche-fand-zum-elsa-day-am-24112021-activity-6871397038093869057-16-7">Privacy | + | <HTML><table><tr valign="top"><td>2026-09-27</td><td>Justus Piater co-organizes the <a href="https://worldmodelworkshop.github.io/">RoBoWoMo: |
| - | in the Digital Age</a>, online. (Organized by ELSA Innsbruck)</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>2021-10-22</td><td>Justus Piater gives an invited talk <i>Robotik und KI in der Medizin – nur | + | Bridging the Gap between Neural and Symbolic World Models for |
| - | Bedarfserweckung?</i> at <a href="https://medical-update-hall.com/veranstaltungen/">Medical | + | Robot Planning, Reasoning, and Action</a>.</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>2026-08-23 – 2026-08-28</td><td>David J. Crandall, Dirk Nowotka, Justus Piater, and Katrin Schöning-Stierand co-organize the <a href="https://www.dagstuhl.de/en/seminars/seminar-calendar/seminar-details/26351">Dagstuhl |
| - | Update Hall 2021 – Fit für das neue Jahrzehnt</a>, UMIT, Hall in Tirol.</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>2021-08-26</td><td>Justus Piater contributes a talk <i>Digital Science at the University of Innsbruck</i> at Aurora Research Conference Digital Society & Global Citizenship, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. <span class="actions"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="showHide('newsitem2', 'Abstract')">[Abstract]</a></span><blockquote id="newsitem2Abstract" style="display:none">Growing data processing capacities and progress in | + | Seminar 26351 on Digital Transformation of Research and Digital |
| - | analytical methods and artificial intelligence are motivating | + | Centers in the Science Landscape</a>.</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>2026-05-20</td><td>Simon Haller-Seeber appears in the media: <a href="https://www.digital.tirol/page.cfm?vpath=news&rnpageid=42902"> |
| - | entire branches of science to raise new questions and to develop | + | Digitale Bildung aktiv erleben: Der RoboCupJunior Austrian Open 2026 in Tirol</a>. (Interview im Rahmen des RoboCup Junior Austrian Open)</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>2026-05-07</td><td>Justus Piater is a panelist at a public discussion on <a href="https://www.uibk.ac.at/de/medien-kommunikation/kommunikation/intern/">Invited |
| - | new approaches. This digital transformation requires progressive, | + | expert interview on “Human-robotics relations: What does the |
| - | interdisciplinary synergies between the computational sciences and | + | future hold?”</a>, Innsbruck. (Public event organized by the Department of Media, Society and Communication, Universität Innsbruck)</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>2026-04-15</td><td>Justus Piater gives an invited talk <i>Some Latest Results in Robot Learning of Structure by |
| - | all other scientific disciplines. The Digital Science Center | + | Interaction</i> at <a href="https://airov.at/2026/workshop/TactileRobotics.html">Austrian |
| - | (DiSC) at the University of Innsbruck meets this challenge by | + | Robotics Workshop</a>, Leoben. (Annual workshop of the GMAR; at AIRoV 2026)</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>2026-04-08</td><td>Simon Haller-Seeber and Justus Piater co-organize the <a href="https://robocupjunior.at/">RCJ2026 - Robocup Junior Austrian Open: 08.-10.4.2026</a>.</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>2026-04-08</td><td>Justus Piater gives an invited talk <i>Generative KI: Funktionsweise, Möglichkeiten und |
| - | integrating and promoting digitalisation of scientific research. | + | Grenzen</i> at SchulleiterInnen-Tagung „IT-Sicherheit und KI-Einsatz in |
| - | In this talk I will present some examples of interdisciplinary | + | der Schule“, Pädagogische Hochschule Tirol. (Veranstaltung für Schulleitungen der Bildungsdirektion für Tirol) <span class="actions"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="showHide('newsitem7', 'Abstract')">[Abstract]</a></span><blockquote id="newsitem7Abstract" style="display:none">Generative KI-Systeme wie ChatGPT und Midjourney haben |
| - | research by DiSC staff researchers who are experts in specific | + | die Welt im Sturm erobert. Wie können wir sie produktiv nutzen? |
| - | aspects of digital science.</blockquote></td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>2021-08-24</td><td>Justus Piater contributes a lecture <i>Picking and Placing</i> at <a href="https://www.uibk.ac.at/informatik/forschung/gmar-robotics-school-2021.html">2021 GMAR Summer School</a>, Villa Blanka, Innsbruck.</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>2021-07-01</td><td>Justus Piater and Matteo Saveriano give an invited talk <i>Making Robots Learn to Perceive and Act with Understanding</i> at <a href="https://webservices.scientificnet.org/rest/entries/api/v1/blobs/200894">Workshop | + | Wie können wir mit den Herausforderungen umgehen, die durch sie |
| - | and Open Lab on Field Robotics - Interdisciplinary aspects of | + | entstehen? Ich werde diese Fragen von der technischen Seite her |
| - | robotics and its applications in outdoor scenarios</a>, NOI Techpark, Bolzano, Italy.</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>2021-05-26</td><td>Justus Piater contributes a talk <i>Intelligente und interaktive Systeme</i> at <a href="http://www.gmar.at/aktuell/">GMAR Robotics Science | + | angehen und einen Eindruck davon vermitteln, wie diese Systeme |
| - | Talks</a>, online.</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>2021-03-24</td><td>Justus Piater gives an invited lecture <i>Machine Learning, Perception, And Abstract Concepts</i> at Invited lecture at Ontario Tech U, Canada, online. <span class="actions"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="showHide('newsitem6', 'Abstract')">[Abstract]</a></span><blockquote id="newsitem6Abstract" style="display:none">With every spectacular achievement of a machine learning | + | funktionieren. Daraus ergeben sich ein realistisches Verständnis |
| - | system, the long-elusive AI breakthrough is popularly proclaimed | + | für ihre Möglichkeiten und Grenzen sowie einige grundlegende |
| - | to be just around the corner. Most recent successes have been due | + | Empfehlungen für den Umgang mit ihnen im Schulbetrieb.</blockquote></td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>2026-03-31</td><td>Samuele Tosatto gives an invited keynote <i>Accelerating Reinforcement Learning with Off-Policy Data: Promises, Pitfalls, and Future Directions</i> at <a href="https://rl4aa.github.io/RL4AA26/">Reinforcement Learning For Autonomous Accelerators 2026</a>, Liverpool. <span class="actions"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="showHide('newsitem8', 'Abstract')">[Abstract]</a></span><blockquote id="newsitem8Abstract" style="display:none">Reinforcement learning is a promising technique for solving complex control problems in real-world physical systems, such as robotics, plasma stabilization, and particle accelerators. However, RL is often data-hungry, and its classic on-policy formulation is often inefficient, as it disallows data reuse, and unsafe, as it requires the agent to interact with the environment from scratch. |
| - | in large part to massive data and computation, in particular using | + | Off-policy reinforcement learning offers a more appealing paradigm by enabling the reuse of historical data and the utilization of safe, external behavior sources (such as human operator logs). However, this flexibility comes at a cost: off-policy learning introduces significant theoretical instabilities. In this talk, we will analyze some fundamental difficulties in off-policy reinforcement learning, both in value and policy learning, explore the algorithmic landscape that tames them, and see the future direction in which the field is moving. </blockquote></td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>2025-11-19</td><td>Justus Piater gives an invited talk <i>Structural Understanding – The Grand Challenge of Robot |
| - | deep artificial neural networks. But can artificial cognition | + | Learning</i> at <a href="https://elliit.se/news-and-events/focus-period-lund-2025/symposium/">ELLIIT Focus Period Symposium: Robot Learning</a>, Lund University. (The ELLIIT Focus Period Symposium is the highlight of the five-week focus period, during which young international scholars, ELLIIT researchers and other well-established international academics gather in Lund to work together on joint research challenges.) <span class="actions"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="showHide('newsitem9', 'Abstract')">[Abstract]</a></span><blockquote id="newsitem9Abstract" style="display:none">AI has made great progress in recent years, and the |
| - | really be achieved just by further scaling up existing | + | sophistication of robots has been rising with costs falling. Yet, |
| - | machine-learning techniques? I discuss examples of simple, | + | the capabilities of AI-enabled robots are not keeping pace. I |
| - | perceptual problems that are easily solved by humans but very | + | argue that this is due to a lack of structural understanding by |
| - | difficult for today's machine learning methods. These problems | + | current AI systems. I will discuss several lines of research in my |
| - | reflect how humans conceptualize their world. Their mastery is | + | lab that seek to enable robots to generalize better and learn |
| - | thus likely to be an essential prerequisite for autonomous robots | + | faster thanks to explicit notions of structure.</blockquote></td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>2025-09-18</td><td>Samuele Tosatto gives an invited keynote <i>Where are all the intelligent robots? A quest for efficiency in reinforcement learning</i> at <a href="https://sarl-plus.github.io/RL-Bootcamp2025/">Reinforcement Learning Bootcamp 2025</a>, Salzburg. <span class="actions"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="showHide('newsitem10', 'Abstract')">[Abstract]</a></span><blockquote id="newsitem10Abstract" style="display:none">As artificial intelligence reshapes our digital world at a breathtaking pace, |
| - | to attain higher levels of cognitive abilities. To get there, a | + | a curious question arises: Where are all the real-world, intelligent robots? |
| - | few core issues can be identified that should drive research in | + | While we have mastered the generation of text, images, and video by leveraging vast web-scale datasets, |
| - | cognitive robotics.</blockquote></td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>2021-01-28</td><td>Matteo Saveriano gives an invited talk <i>Making robots to learn from human observation?</i> at <a href="https://www.bmeia.gv.at/en/austrian-embassy-ottawa/news/events/detail/article/showcasing-young-austrian-scholars-and-scientists-an-original-seven-part-virtual-lectures-ser/">Showcasing Young Austrian Scholars and Scientists, Austrian cultural forum, Ottawa</a>, online.</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>2021-01-14</td><td>Matteo Saveriano gives an invited talk <i>Hierarchical action decomposition and motion learning for the execution of manipulation tasks</i> at <a href="http://www.gmar.at/aktuell/">Hello Tyrol calling! Robotics Talk online, GMAR, Innsbruck</a>, online.</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td>2020-11-19</td><td>Justus Piater gives an invited talk <i>Machine Learning in Robotics</i> at <a href="https://baiome.org/">bAIome PI Talk, Center for | + | robotics still faces a fundamental data bottleneck. Reinforcement learning (RL) offers a compelling solution, |
| - | Biomedical AI, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf</a>, online. <span class="actions"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="showHide('newsitem10', 'Abstract')">[Abstract]</a></span><blockquote id="newsitem10Abstract" style="display:none">Machine Learning increasingly equips robots with | + | enabling agents to learn autonomously by collecting their own experience. |
| - | learning capabilities and flexibility. This will enable them to | + | However, the path to autonomy is often blocked by the staggering inefficiency of current RL algorithms, |
| - | act purposefully in unstructured environments and to react to | + | which can require millions of trials to master simple tasks. This talk embarks on a quest to tackle this |
| - | unforeseen events. People can teach them intuitively to perform | + | efficiency problem head-on. I will argue that a crucial step toward unlocking the potential of |
| - | tasks instead of having to program them in painstaking ways. | + | robot learning lies in a two-pronged approach: first, by developing statistically efficient |
| - | Robots can learn from experience and can improve their behavior | + | algorithms that can reuse data by leveraging sound off-policy techniques, and second, |
| - | over time. In this talk I will give an overview of methods, | + | by designing better action representations for physical, real-world agents. |
| - | opportunities, and challenges of machine learning in | + | By making our algorithms more efficient and refining their core hypotheses, |
| - | robotics.</blockquote></td></tr></table></HTML> | + | we can accelerate the journey toward real embodied artificial intelligence.</blockquote></td></tr></table></HTML> |
| [[news|Older News]] | [[news|Older News]] | ||
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| Austria | Austria | ||
| - | **How to find us:** See the [[http://informatik.uibk.ac.at/how-to-reach-us/|directions]]. | + | **How to find us:** See the [[https://www.uibk.ac.at/informatik/kontakt/anfahrt.html.en|directions]]. |
| **Legal Notice:** See the [[:impressum|Impress and Privacy Notice]]. | **Legal Notice:** See the [[:impressum|Impress and Privacy Notice]]. | ||
start.1638443142.txt.gz · Last modified: 2021/12/02 12:05 by IIS Webadmin