Published 6.21.18 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… Read More

Published 4.17.18 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 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… Read More

Published 4.9.18 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… Read More

Published 12.15.17 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… Read More

Published 11.2.17 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… Read More

Published 10.4.17 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… 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

Published 12.13.16 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… Read More

Published 12.5.16 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… Read More

Published 10.13.16 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,… Read More

Published 9.26.16 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. 26, 2016, 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… Read More

Published 6.22.16 Dr. Dawn Kernagis, a Research Scientist at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) and host of STEM-Talk, has been chosen as one of six crew members to join NASA’s undersea analog mission, NEEMO (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations). Living on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, the 21st NEEMO crew will focus on evaluating tools and techniques being tested for future space exploration by living in simulated spacecraft conditions and conducting simulated spacewalks outside of their undersea habitat. The NEEMO 21 crew and two professional habitat technicians will live 62 feet (19 meters) below the… Read More

Published 5.17.16 IHMC is officially a bike-friendly work place. The League of American Bicyclists recognized IHMC as a bronze level Bicycle Friendly Business (BFBSM). IHMC joins a cutting-edge group of nearly 1,200 local businesses, government agencies and Fortune 500 companies across the United States that have a bike-friendly designation. “The business community’s investment in bicycling is playing a central role in making the country a safer, happier, and more sustainable place to live and work,” said Amelia Neptune, League Bicycle Friendly Business Program Manager. “We applaud this new round of businesses, including IHMC, for leading the charge in creating a… Read More

IHMC Board of Directors Vice Chair Dr. William Dalton to be Inducted into 2016 Florida Inventors Hall of Fame TAMPA, Fla. (Mar. 15, 2016) –Dr. William (Bill) Dalton, Founder and CEO of M2Gen®, a subsidiary of Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute in Tampa, and Vice Chairman of the IHMC Board of Directors is among the seven inventors announced today as the 2016 inductees of the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame. Bill Dalton was nominated and approved as an inductee for his revolutionizing developments in cancer treatment and he will be inducted at the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame 3rd… Read More

Published 2.24.16 The Running Man is at it again. IHMC’s “Atlas robot,” which placed second in the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency (DARPA)-sponsored international robotics competition last summer, will be featured in a NOVA documentary this evening, Wednesday, Feb. 24th, called “Rise of the Robots.” It explores how robots are gradually making their way into the real world, with questions such as: “How close are we to a future where humanoid robots are part of our everyday lives? What are the implications of a future with robots that can do a human’s job?” The DARPA competition, held last June in… Read More

Published 12.15.15 As a mathematical sciences major at Rice University in the 1970s, William “Bill” Clancey took courses in 13 different departments—ranging from philosophy and anthropology to art and music. But it was a cover story in Life Magazine about Shakey, the first robot who could analyze and carry out consecutive commands, that opened up Clancey’s world onto the newly emergent field that he would spend much of his career working on: artificial intelligence. Clancey was especially interested in the philosophical and psychological underpinnings of artificial intelligence, pondering questions such as: What is the nature of knowledge? What can computers… Read More

Published 12.8.15  When Dawn Kernagis went to the ocean for the first time as a nine-year-old, she knew that she wanted to explore its depths. She had just moved from Iowa to North Carolina. “I became completely intrigued by the ocean,” she said. “I wanted to be a marine biologist. I started to read everything I could get my hands on.” Her parents gave her scuba diving lessons as a birthday present when she turned fifteen, and she would spend the better part of the next two decades in the sea or studying it. Recently, Kernagis, who is a Research… Read More

Published 11.30.15 The day that a tree can talk—telling you about its ancestry and physical composition, and the air it breathes—is the future that David Fries envisions. “Rather than sit in a classroom where you have representations of a tree on a white board, you are actually in proximity of the tree and can see visualizations of its chemistry, biology and sustainability,” Fries said. In practice, this means that a mobile device could see a tree and then start tracing the flow of nutrients from its roots to its branches. This “fusion of education and entertainment,” Fries said, is one… Read More

Published 11.24.15 The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has elected Ken Ford, director and CEO of the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC), as a Fellow. Ford is one of 347 scientists who have been named Fellows this year. The electing Council elects people “whose efforts on behalf of the advancement of science of its applications are scientifically or socially distinguished.” According to a press release from AAAS, Ford was selected “for founding and directing the IHMC, for his scientific contributions to artificial intelligence and human-centered computing, and for service to many federal agencies.” “I… Read More

Published 9.10.15 Three years of almost non-stop work paid off Saturday when the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition placed second in a $3.5 million global robotics competition held in Pomona, Calif. Team IHMC’s semi-autonomous robot, nicknamed “Running Man,” on Saturday bested 21 other teams from around the world by driving a car, walking over debris, cutting a hole in a wall, turning a valve for a fire hose and performing other tasks — all with spotty communications between man and machine. The course simulated a disaster area in which humans could not safely operate. “I am incredibly proud of… Read More