About

Intelligent machines like robots and self-driving cars can free up cognitive resources, increase productivity, and improve healthcare. However, to perform well they require specific instructions that are context- and task-bound.  In fact, autonomous machines may err in novel, surprising environments, with sometimes fatal consequences.  Humans and animals, by contrast, navigate ever-changing environments successfully, unless they are suffering from ailments like aging-related memory decline.  Therefore, the goal of iNavigate is to infer the principles of surprise-based navigation from behavioral and neural data of fish, rodents, and humans, and to implement and test these principles in mobile robots and bionic devices, thereby providing novel technological solutions for autonomous robotic mobility.  To achieve this goal, academic and non-academic partners consisting of behavioral scientists, neuroscientists, computer scientists, and roboticists, residing in the EU/AC and the USA, conduct joint research on intelligent navigation.  Professional development, new skill acquisition, and career advancement are achieved through international and inter-sectoral mobility, research and innovation, and knowledge transfer during summer schools, workshops, and networking events.

iNavigate was funded by the European Commission (GA ID.873178) under the Horizon 2020 MSCA RISE program for a period of 66 months (4 years and an extension of 18 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic) with a start date of 1 December 2019.  The original Coordinator, Prof. Dr. Tansu Çelikel from Radboud University (Nijmegen, NL), left the project in February 2022.  Boğaziçi University (Istanbul, TR) with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Daniela Schulz as project lead served as acting coordinator for 6 months before taking on the role as Coordinator on 15 July 2023.    

iNavigate's former website (https://www.inavigate.eu/) is no longer in use.