Michael Milford

30

Articles

69

Comments

I conduct interdisciplinary research at the boundary between robotics, neuroscience and computer vision and am a multi-award winning educational entrepreneur. My research models the neural mechanisms in the brain underlying tasks like navigation and perception in order to develop new robotics and computer vision-related technologies, with a particular emphasis on challenging application domains where current techniques fail such as all-weather, anytime positioning for autonomous vehicles. I currently hold the position of Professor at the Queensland University of Technology, as well as Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Microsoft Research Faculty Fellow and Chief Investigator at the Australian Centre for Robotic Vision.

My research has attracted more than twenty-two million dollars in research and industry funding, both in the form of sole investigator fellowships and large team grants from organizations including the Australian Research Council, Queensland Government, Microsoft, Caterpillar Corporation, Mining3 and the Asian Office of Aerospace Research and Development (US Air Force). Our papers have won or been finalists for 11 best paper awards including winning the 2012 Best Vision paper at ICRA2012.

I have given more than 80 plenaries, keynotes and presentations at international conferences, top universities, major industrial and technology corporations (including Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Toyota, OpenAI) and scientific meetings across thirteen countries to audiences of up to 2000 people. I have collaborated with dozens of universities and corporations around the world including Harvard University, Boston University, Oxford University, MIT, Edinburgh University, Imperial College London, Caterpillar, the US Air Force and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and regularly co-organize international robotics and deep learning-related events including regular workshops at ICRA, RSS and CVPR. I was recently a finalist (top 3 nationwide) in the 2016 Australian Museum Eureka awards for Outstanding Early Career Researcher.

As an educational entrepreneur, I have written and produced innovative textbooks for K-12 students for seventeen years. My new company Math Thrills Pty Ltd combines mass market entertainment and STEM education, and is rolling out in more than 200 schools around Australia. Math Thrills has received pre-seed funding on Kickstarter, seed funding from QUTBluebox and further funding from the AMP Foundation. The initiative has led to honours including the 2015 Queensland Young Tall Poppy of the Year Award and a 2015 TedXQUT talk.

I have dual citizenship between Australia and the United States, and have lived and worked in locations including Boston, USA and Edinburgh and London in the UK.

Experience

  • –present
    Associate Professor in Electrical Engineering, Queensland University of Technology
  • 2011–2015
    Senior Lecturer, Queensland University of Technology
  • 2010–2011
    Research Fellow, Queensland University of Technology
  • 2007–2010
    Research Fellow, The University of Queensland

Education

  • 2014 
    Queensland University of Technology, Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice
  • 2006 
    University of Queensland, PhD
  • 2002 
    University of Queensland, Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical and Space)

Publications

  • 2016
    Routed roads: Probabilistic vision-based place recognition for changing conditions, split streets and varied viewpoints, International Journal of Robotics Research
  • 2016
    Visual place recognition: A survey, IEEE Transactions on Robotics
  • 2016
    Unlocking neural complexity with a robotic key, The Journal of Physiology
  • 2016
    Supervised and unsupervised linear learning techniques for visual place recognition in changing environments, IEEE Transactions on Robotics
  • 2015
    Bio-inspired homogeneous multi-scale place recognition, Neural Networks
  • 2015
    A hierarchical model of goal directed navigation selects trajectories in a visual environment, Neurobiology of learning and memory
  • 2015
    Autonomous Multisensor Calibration and Closed‐loop Fusion for SLAM, Journal of Field Robotics
  • 2014
    Principles of goal-directed spatial robot navigation in biomimetic models, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B
  • 2014
    Vision‐based Simultaneous Localization and Mapping in Changing Outdoor Environments, Journal of Field Robotics
  • 2013
    OpenRatSLAM: an open source brain-based SLAM system, Autonomous Robots
  • 2013
    Vision-based place recognition: how low can you go?, International Journal of Robotics Research
  • 2012
    CAT-SLAM: probabilistic localisation and mapping using a continuous appearance-based trajectory, International Journal of Robotics Research
  • 2012
    Maintaining a cognitive map in darkness: the need to fuse boundary knowledge with path integration, PLoS Computational Biology
  • 2011
    Using strategic movement to calibrate a neural compass: A spiking network for tracking head direction in rats and robots, PloS one
  • 2011
    The Race to Learn: Spike Timing and STDP Can Coordinate Learning and Recall in CA3, Hippocampus
  • 2010
    Solving Navigational Uncertainty Using Grid Cells on Robots, PLoS Computational Biology
  • 2010
    Persistent Navigation and Mapping using a Biologically Inspired SLAM System, International Journal of Robotics Research
  • 2008
    Mapping a Suburb with a Single Camera using a Biologically Inspired SLAM System, IEEE Transactions on Robotics
  • 2008
    Robot Navigation From Nature, Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics
  • 2007
    Learning spatial concepts from RatSLAM representations, Robotics and Autonomous Systems

Grants and Contracts

  • 2016
    Automation-enabling positioning for underground mining ($428,000 + $1,500,000 industry & in-kind)
    Role:
    Project Lead
    Funding Source:
    Queensland Government
  • 2016
    An Infinitely Scalable Learning and Recognition Network ($120,000 per year)
    Role:
    Project Lead
    Funding Source:
    Asian Office of Aerospace Research and Development
  • 2015
    Superhuman place recognition with a unified model of human visual processing and rodent spatial memory ($676,000)
    Role:
    Future Fellow
    Funding Source:
    Australian Research Council
  • 2014
    Center of Excellence in Robotic Vision ($19,000,000)
    Role:
    Chief Investigator
    Funding Source:
    Australian Research Council
  • 2013
    Microsoft Research Faculty Fellowship ($110,000)
    Role:
    Microsoft Fellow
    Funding Source:
    Microsoft
  • 2012
    Brain-based Sensor Fusion for Navigating Robots ($140,000)
    Role:
    Chief Investigator
    Funding Source:
    Australian Research Council
  • 2012
    Visual navigation for sunny summer days and stormy winter nights ($375,000)
    Role:
    DECRA Fellow
    Funding Source:
    Australian Research Council

Professional Memberships

  • IEEE
  • Australian Robotics and Automation Association

Research Areas

  • Neurosciences Not Elsewhere Classified (110999)
  • Adaptive Agents And Intelligent Robotics (080101)
  • Computer Vision (080104)

Honours

AMP Tomorrow Maker 2016, Eureka Prize for Outstanding Early Career Researcher 2016 Finalist, Queensland Young Tall Poppy of the Year 2015

Contact Michael for

  • General
  • Media request
  • Speaking request
  • Consulting / Advising
  • Research collaboration
  • Research supervision