The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has named Dr. Bonnie Dorr of IHMC to its Information Science and Technology (ISAT) Study Group for a three-year term. Dorr is a leading researcher in the field of natural language processing. She serves as an associate director and senior research scientist at IHMC’s Ocala branch. The ISAT Study Group brings together 30 scientists and engineers from across the country who provide continuing and independent assessments of advanced information science and technology as it relates to the U.S. Department of Defense. DARPA is an agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible… Read More

The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences announced this week that STEM-Talk has been nominated for the Webby Awards, an international competition recognizing internet excellence. STEM-Talk, an educational service of the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC), received nominations in the science and education podcast categories for the Webby Awards as well as the Webby People’s Voice Awards.  Academy members select winners for the Webby Awards while the People’s Voice Awards are voted on by the public. People have until May 7th to visit vote.webbyawards.com to cast their ballots. As a Webby nominee, STEM-Talk has been singled… Read More

For the second time in its three years in existence, IHMC’s podcast STEM-Talk has won first place in the science and medicine category at the 14th Annual People’s Choice Podcast Awards. The international competition features thousands of nominees in more than 20 categories. According to Todd Cochrane, who founded the competition in 2005, People’s Choice recognizes the top podcasts in the world as nominated by listeners. “The awards are truly independent and the shows that are nominated and win have significant bragging rights as being listener favorites,” said Cochrane. STEM-Talk is nearing its 100th episode and also closing in on… Read More

UWF-IHMC Press Release 20191007.pdf Doctoral program director Brent Venable, center, with Jacques Perry, left, and Duncan Calvert, right This fall, the University of West Florida and the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition welcomed the inaugural cohort of five students to the newly established intelligent systems and robotics doctoral program. The program centers on developing leading-edge software and hardware technology that combines human and machine elements to exploit their respective strengths and mitigate their respective weaknesses. It aligns with the University’s strategic vision for research that impacts Northwest Florida’s economic development and technology enterprise. The first of its kind in… Read More

The University of West Florida and the Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition announce Dr. Kristen “Brent” Venable as the inaugural director of the Ph.D. in Intelligent Systems and Robotics program. UWF is partnering with IHMC for the program, which begins in Fall 2019. Venable will shape and direct the new program, hire faculty and recruit doctoral students. “The highly-anticipated doctoral program has found a well-suited leader in Dr. Venable,” said UWF President Martha D. Saunders. “Her expertise in artificial intelligence matches well with the program’s vision to develop thought-leaders in these exciting fields.” Venable joins UWF from Tulane… Read More

Pensacola’s cutting-edge research center The Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition (IHMC) and the Andrews Research & Education Foundation (AREF), the research arm of the Andrews Institute in Gulf Breeze, have signed an agreement to collaborate on human-performance research. “We’re really fortunate to have two world leaders in human-performance right here in our community,” said Ken Ford, co-founder and CEO of IHMC. “This partnership is going to leverage the work of both organizations for the benefit of sports medicine as well as programs geared toward improving the capabilities and resilience of astronauts, fighter pilots, divers and other elite members… Read More

FloridaWest EDA is pleased to announce that Ryan Tilley of the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition has been appointed to the FloridaWest Board of Directors by the Escambia County Commission. Tilley joins Karen Sindel as one of the two county appointees to serve the community on the economic development alliance board. Ryan is currently the Director of Strategic Program Execution and Innovation at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) and is also a partner in two Pensacola based software engineering companies. Prior to joining IHMC, Ryan was the Chief Operating Officer for VetCV Inc., a… Read More

The February 2019 issue of Ocala Style has named IHMC as the most important, innovative company to open in Ocala in the past 20 years. You can read the article here, https://issuu.com/ocalastyle/docs/0219os_book/32

Pensacola-based Dr. Kenneth M. Ford, CEO and Co-Founder of the Florida Institute of Human & Machine Cognition (IHMC), has been named to join an elite group of industry leaders on the newly formed National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. Created under the National Defense Authorization Act for 2019, the independent federal Commission is expected to review global advances, investments, and strategies in artificial intelligence (AI) and related technology systems, evaluate foreign developments and investments in AI, and recommend steps the United States might take to support its technological edge, while ensuring national security and competitiveness. Among its tasks, the Commission… Read More

FIVE VISIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF MOBILITY, INCLUDING ONE FROM IHMC, UNVEILED AT CES Toyota Mobility Foundation, in partnership with Nesta’s Challenge Prize Centre, announces finalists in $4 million global Mobility Unlimited Challenge at CES in Las Vegas Innovators from around the world submitted game-changing technologies to improve the lives of people with lower limb paralysis Finalists include teams from United States, Japan, Italy and United Kingdom, with devices ranging from a hybrid exoskeleton on wheels to a powered wheelchair share scheme IHMC is one of five finalists to receive a $500,000 grant to develop their idea further. The final… Read More

The University of West Florida has partnered with the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition located in downtown Pensacola to develop a doctoral program in intelligent systems and robotics. The program will be the first of its kind in Florida and one of only a few in the nation.  “We are very excited about this new doctoral degree program,” said UWF President Martha D. Saunders. “The program brings together the strengths of UWF engineering and computer science programs with the expertise of a world-class research center, IHMC. It’s a game changer.” The new doctoral program aligns with the University’s strategic… Read More

Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward and IHMC are pleased to announce an innovative partnership between IHMC and the City of Pensacola Police Department in the development of a comprehensive police drone program. The program will incorporate specialized drones in police operations such as search and rescue, disaster response, fugitive evasion, threat situations and monitoring outdoor events. “This is a wonderful program that is going make Pensacola a safer community,” said Hayward. “And because we have the expertise of IHMC here in our community, we also are going to be in a leadership role in terms of the use of these specialized… Read More

The Florida Association of the American Institute of Architects released the final results of its Florida People’s Choice competition this week and thanks to many of you, the Levin Center for IHMC Research came out on top. For the past several weeks we had sent out requests that asked people to go online and vote for the Levin Center in the AIA competition. We really appreciate that so many people did. The 30,000-square-foot Levin Center was designed by the Pensacola firm Quina Grundhoefer and was built in 2016. We also owe a big thanks to Pensacola attorney Fred Levin, who… Read More

IHMC Research Scientist Dawn Kernagis is the 2018 recipient of the Young Scientist/Medical Doctor Award that is presented annually by the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society. The award, which was presented at the society’s annual banquet in Orlando, recognizes the work of a young scientist whose performance is consistently outstanding. “I am beyond grateful for this award,” said Kernagis. “I have been blessed to be surrounded by inspirational colleagues and advisers while transitioning from being a full-time diver to a full-time researcher. This is such an unexpected surprise.” Kernagis, who was inducted into the Women Divers Hall of Fame in… Read More

The Levin Center for IHMC Research is one of 39 buildings nominated for the fifth annual People’s Choice Competition launched by the Florida Association of the American Institute of Architects and the Florida Foundation for Architecture. People from around the world can go online to vote for the Levin Center as well as their other favorite buildings in Florida. The buildings that have been nominated were built in the past five years and contribute to the happiness and prosperity of Florida residents. The 30,000-square-foot Levin Center was designed by Quina Grundhoefer Architects and won an award of excellence at last… Read More

Ron and Phyllis Ewers have donated $500,000 to the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, a gift that will allow the research center to make some needed improvements to its glass-enclosed building in downtown Ocala. IHMC’s Ocala facility was once the home of Marion County’s main branch of its public-library system. Built in the 1960s, the building’s futuristic look became a focal point of Ocala’s downtown. In 2009, the then vacant facility fell into the hands of IHMC, a not-for-profit research institute that is part of the Florida University System with branches in Ocala and Pensacola. “I was so… Read More

Quint and Rishy Studer have generously donated $1 million to the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. Studer said the gift to IHMC was a natural stair step for him and his wife, Rishy. “When I taught special education, the whole goal was to maximize a person’s capabilities. When we formed the Studer Group, it was the same thing…our mission was about maximizing human potential. And that’s what the Studer Community Institute and EntreCon and CivicCon are also about. So, when you look at what IHMC does, it also strives to maximize people’s human potential. That’s why this gift… Read More

The former Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Oakland Raiders who has also worked with the Department of Defense on pioneering human performance programs joins IHMC as the High Performance Director. Joe Gomes has 17 years of international experience as a head coach and high-performance director responsible for developing staffs and systems that evaluate and prepare elite professional athletes and the elite warfighter for peak performance. As Gomes transitions into his new role within IHMC, he is focused not only on supporting existing research in human performance and resilience, but also looking to draw from IHMC’s collective expertise to… Read More

Peter Pirolli of the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition is joining an elite group of global inventors whose patents and research have helped improve the world’s quality of life. The National Academy of Inventors named Pirolli and 154 other inventors from around the world to its class of 2017 NAI Fellows. Election as an NAI fellow is among the highest professional accolade bestowed to academic inventors at universities and research institutions worldwide. Before joining IHMC earlier this year, Pirolli was a research fellow in the Interactive Intelligence Area at the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) where he studied… Read More

The next time you’re passing through the Pensacola International Airport, be sure to check out the IHMC research display. Several IHMC robots, including the M2V2 humanoid, Spring Flamingo, Mina Exoskeleton, and tBot, will be on display at the airport on a rotating basis. The display case is located at the main entrance of the airport next to the escalator. There is a monitor above the display case that highlights many areas of IHMC’s research. Brix Design in downtown Pensacola designed and fabricated the acrylic case that houses the robots. The current robot in the display is M2V2, developed by IHMC… Read More