Mission & Vision

The era of intelligent machines has started.  Machines already outperform human intelligence in certain tasks, like playing chess or Go.  However, they are yet to solve rudimentary sensorimotor problems without an explicit set of instructions that are context and task-specific, and thus non-generalizable.  Although they can react to the information from their sensors, they find it challenging to adapt to and execute an action in ever-changing environments where humans and animals thrive.  Therefore, autonomous cars are yet to go off-road and navigate without a map, and robots fail to explore if sensory information is limited or unreliable.  iNavigate aims to bridge this divide by bringing together behavioral scientists, neuroscientists, computer scientists, roboticists and experts of artificial intelligence with world-leading companies with an invested interest in automation and intelligent navigation.  The mission of the iNavigate consortium is to develop a mechanistic (and actionable) definition of how the brain generates action using a set of elementary instructions and translate this knowledge into novel technological solutions to control robotic mobility.

The iNavigate consortium promotes international and intersectoral cooperation to facilitate the development of brain-inspired technologies for intelligent navigation and autonomous mobility.  The consortium exploits the complementary competencies of its members across academic, research, private and NGO enterprises while creating synergy through research, innovation, staff exchange and transfer of knowledge.  It actively promotes networking, geographical and virtual mobility, knowledge utilization and dissemination, and facilitates professional development, new skill acquisition and career advancement in research, innovation, and commercialization.  Thus, iNavigate does not only provide innovative, brain-inspired solutions for intelligent navigation and robotic mobility but also is at the center of international and multidisciplinary training, at the intersection of biology and engineering for intersectoral knowledge transfer.  The project was funded by the European Commission (GA ID.873178) under the Horizon 2020 MSCA RISE program for a period of four years (plus 18 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic) with a start date of December 2019.  If you would like to get involved, please feel free to contact the consortium lead Assoc. Prof. Daniela Schulz (daniela.schulz@bogazici.edu.tr).