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

IHMC’s podcast STEM-Talk won first place in the science and medicine category at the 12th Annual People’s Choice Podcast Awards on Sunday. The international competition featured more than 2,000 nominees in 20 categories. STEM-Talk also was a runner-up in the People’s Choice Award, the grand prize of the competition. STEM-Talk bills itself as “conversations with some of the most interesting people in the world of science and technology.” “We really didn’t expect this,” said Ken Ford, IHMC’s founder and CEO, who came up with the idea for STEM-Talk. “Our podcast is just a little more than a year old and… Read More

TAMPA, Fla. (Mar. 22, 2017) – The Florida Inventors Hall of Fame announced today that the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition co-founder and CEO Ken Ford is among the eight inventors who will be inducted into the 2017 Florida Inventors Hall of Fame in September. Ford is being recognized for his pioneering work in artificial intelligence and human-centered computing as well as his significant contributions to the United States and Florida’s technology and research communities. The Hall of Fame particularly highlighted Ford’s role in the 1990 co-founding of IHMC. The not-for-profit research institute, which is headquartered in Pensacola… Read More

David Fries has been named a prestigious Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). David is an interdisciplinary research scientist at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) and an expert and true innovator in undersea technologies, especially microsystems and robotics for sensing applications, advanced sensor development, and mobile robotic systems for field applications. He holds more than 35 U.S. patents, 13 of which have been licensed to seven separate companies. David was cited as having “demonstrated a highly prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality… Read More

Dr. Bonnie Dorr, associate director and senior research scientist at the Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition (IHMC), has been named a fellow of the Association for Computational Linguists (ACL). She is one of four people to be named to this year’s class of ACL fellows. The honor is in recognition of Dorr’s contributions to the field of computational linguistics. “Bonnie’s work over the years has certainly earned her this well-deserved recognition,” said Ken Ford, the founder and chief executive of IHMC. “She is an exceptional scientist and colleague who has contributed greatly to the advancement of computational linguists.”… Read More

In a weekend international showdown, the Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition (IHMC) robotics team once again demonstrated its brawn as it placed a strong second in the powered exoskeleton division of the first annual Cybathlon. Held October 8th, in Zurich, Switzerland, the Cybathlon is a global competition for disabled athletes aided by wearable robotic devices.  The unique competition hosted 66 teams from across the globe, competing in six distinct divisions. Using the Mina v2 exoskeleton, developed at IHMC’s research facility in Pensacola, Florida, the IHMC pilot athlete was Mark Daniel. Daniel, who grew up in Pensacola, suffered a… Read More

The Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, (IHMC), officially opened its new, state of the art research facility named after Fredric Levin, a prominent, successful Pensacola businessman and lawyer.  On Monday, Sept. 26th, IHMC hosted a building dedication, ribbon cutting, and unveiled the name of the building followed by an open house and tours of the new facility. The event, attended by several hundred people, was hosted by IHMC Director, Dr. Ken Ford and the IHMC Board of Directors and emceed by IHMC’s Dr. Pamella Dana. Also speaking at the event was the IHMC Board Chair Bill Dalton, Escambia… Read More