This paper presents a biologically-inspired, hardware-realisable spiking neuron model, which we call the Temporal Noisy-Leaky Integrator (TNLI). The dynamic applications of the model as well as its applications in Computational Neuroscience are demonstrated and a learning algorithm based on...

Purpose – Aims to collate and analyse data relating to the sales and installations of industrial robots in the UK for the preceding year and, by comparison with data from previous years, identify market trends. Design/methodology/approach – Data has been collected by the annual survey of UK...

Purpose – Aims to demonstrate how robot technology, machine vision, voice recognition and artificial intelligence can be applied to creating an automated surgeon's assistant that is functional and cost‐effective. Design/methodology/approach – Presents the development process that led to...

Purpose – Aims to project how electroactive polymer will replace conventional electromagnetic motor driven solutions for service and industrial robots. Design/methodology/approach – Presents the ability of electro active polymer to provide higher power density for robot actuation over...

Purpose – Examines a recently launched integration of smart cameras into industrial robots to make them responsive to a changing environment. Design/methodology/approach – Reviews the capabilities of the vision‐enabled robot, citing installations in Sweden and the UK, then describes the...

Purpose – Offers a broad overview on Japanese prototype service robot R&D trends and examples. Design/methodology/approach – Displays two examples of service robotics: the forestry robot WOODY‐1, and the android presenter and entertainer/informer/guide Repliee Q1. Findings – More and...

Purpose – Aims to summarise the programme of UV Europe, a conference on unmanned vehicles that took place in Paris in June 2005. Design/methodology/approach – Selects key conference presentations and summarises their contents, indicating the main themes. Findings – Finds very strong...

Purpose – Aims to make an appeal to Japanese robotic community in an attempt to keep global competitivity for the future. Design/methodology/approach – Clarifies the cost structure of the robotic business. Analyses the needs of Japanese society. Leads to suggest the new direction of Japanese...

Purpose – Aims to make an industrial robot work human‐friendly while coexisting with humans in a same working space, without any modification of the manipulator hardware as well as its motion controller. Design/methodology/approach – Presents a weighted path planning approach based on...

Purpose – This paper aims to design a new full‐body tactile sensor which is essential for the application of personal service robot similar to human skin. Design/methodology/approach – The largest difficulty for designing a full‐body tactile sensor is the huge number of output...