ISSS PhD/RA seminar

Our 'bit different' slot this month is being presented by William Lewinger from the University of Dundee who will be talking about his career path from student to lecturer, and all the miniature robots he's played with along the way.

Talk 1: Dr Yoann Altmann - ISSS RA

Time-of-flight (ToF) systems, such as Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) systems have been used for underwater and long-range (i.e. several kilometres) depth imaging. Recently, single-photon detection has emerged as a candidate technology for ToF depth imaging, where the shot-noise limited detection sensitivity and excellent timing capability can be exploited to ensure improved depth imaging than current "analogue" approaches; for example, extending the maximum range possible, imaging under more extreme conditions, or improving depth resolutions and surface-to-surface resolution. In this talk, I will present a new Bayesian method for long-range target detection for applications where the number of detected photons is very low. I will show how, by accounting for the intrinsic spatial structures of single-photon images, it is possible to obtain more accurate depth/intensity images, while providing measures of uncertainty about features of interest (probability of target presence, range,…).

Talk 2: Dr William Lewinger - Newly appointed lecturer at University of Dundee

"Getting from here to There - All paths are not necessarily straight lines (Your mileage may vary) "

As an old saying goes: “There is more than one way to skin a cat”. The same is true for the paths we take through life to get us where we want to be. Most paths will not lead directly to our goals; but there are surprisingly few dead-ends, and a huge host of ways to get to our desired destination.This talk will focus on my paths that led from secondary school and onto a career as a lecturer. There were many detours, but plenty of robots along the way! There should always be robots along the way.