Natural and artificial cognition
By studying the behaviour of living entities and combining this with research into robots and software, researchers at Lund University are gaining groundbreaking insights into how intelligent systems work.
Cognition is about how humans, animals and machines perceive, process, store, retrieve and share information. Understanding how this is done has been a goal since the ancient Greek philosophers.
Exploring the behaviour of intelligent units
Researchers continue to observe the behaviour of animals and humans. But they are also developing new artificial intelligence for machines and software.
Researchers in the profile area:
- generate new knowledge about the interaction between the brains of both animals and humans and the way computers receive, process, store and retrieve information
- measure behavioural patterns with advanced instruments
- develop artificial cognition in the form of sensors and software
- improve our understanding of the complex consequences of collective behaviour in natural and artificial units
- seek to address the challenges that may arise as our society becomes automated on a large scale.
Researchers are developing new tools and methods that could validate various theories about natural cognition. This knowledge can be used to create new artificial cognitive abilities for increasingly complex autonomous systems such as robots. This knowledge can also be used to improve our understanding of how animals, humans and robots influence each other.
Collaboration areas
Working closely with industry and the public sector, researchers are developing novel solutions and innovations in the field of cognition.
For example, by studying how insects navigate and position themselves without using too much energy, researchers can copy an engineering solution for future drones. Cognition, in the form of artificial intelligence, will also enable the creation of new robots that behave in ways that we normally associate with living entities.
Researchers can study what interaction looks like between individual animals - and in herds. For example, what happens when many individuals are exposed to a large number of algorithms? This knowledge could be applied to social media such as Facebook and Twitter, or used for educational and political purposes.
To make agriculture and forestry more efficient and environmentally sustainable requires automated analysis of sensor data such as satellite images, drone footage, weather data and land surveys. Artificial intelligence has a key role to play here.
Research environments
The following links are to other websites.
Profile area at LU
Natural and artificial cognition is one of five profile areas at Lund University. The area's unique research aims to improve people's lives and solve global problems.
Coordinator
Kalle Åström
Professor in Mathematics
Phone: +46 46 222 45 48
karl [dot] astrom [at] math [dot] lth [dot] se (karl[dot]astrom[at]math[dot]lth[dot]se)
Deputy Coordinator
Marianne Gullberg
Professor in Psycholinguistics
Phone: +46 46 222 03 89
marianne [dot] gullberg [at] ling [dot] lu [dot] se (marianne[dot]gullberg[at]ling[dot]lu[dot]se)
Research database
Related researchers, projects and publications.
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