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Michael Milford

Associate professor, Queensland University of Technology

I am a leading robotics researcher conducting interdisciplinary research at the boundary between robotics, neuroscience and computer vision, and 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 Associate Professor at the Queensland University of Technology, as well as Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Microsoft Research Faculty Fellow and Chief Investigator on the Australian Centre for Robotic Vision.

My research has attracted more than twenty-one million dollars in research and industry funding, both in the form of sole investigator fellowships and large team grants from the Australian Research Council, Queensland Government, Microsoft, Caterpillar Corporation and the Asian Office of Aerospace Research and Development. My papers have won (4) or been finalists (7) for 11 best paper awards including the 2012 Best Vision paper at ICRA2012. My citation h-index is 25, with 2362 citations as of February, 2017. I have given more than 50 invited presentations across twelve countries at top international conferences, universities (including Harvard, MIT, CMU, Boston Uni, Cambridge and Imperial College London) and corporations (including Google Deepmind and Microsoft). I was 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 high school students for fifteen years, with more than 6000 physical sales and educational website and YouTube views in excess of 1.5 million. I am currently launching the company Math Thrills, an initiative combining mass market entertainment and STEM education. Math Thrills received pre-seed funding on Kickstarter ($2500) and seed funding ($50,000) from QUT Bluebox, further funding ($25,000) from the AMP Foundation and is in initial school trials. The initiative has led to awards 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, collaborating with organizations including Harvard University, Boston University, Oxford University, MIT, Edinburgh University, Imperial College London, Caterpillar, the US Air Force and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Avengers: Endgame exploits time travel and quantum mechanics as it tries to restore the universe

Apr 27, 2019 06:21 am UTC| Insights & Views Entertainment

At the end of Avengers: Infinity War half the people (including heroes and villains) in the universe were gone in the snap of a finger from Thanos (Josh Brolin). So how can Avengers: Endgame (in cinemas from this week)...

Remember Blockbuster, Nirvana and pagers? The new Captain Marvel lives in the 1990s

Mar 09, 2019 06:09 am UTC| Insights & Views Entertainment

Captain Marvel flies into movie theatres from today, and apart from introducing a great new hero who combines the righteousness of Captain America and the humour of Thor: Ragnarok, its also a cultural reference bonanza for...

Robots can learn a lot from nature if they want to 'see' the world

Jul 09, 2018 09:38 am UTC| Insights & Views Technology

Vision is one of natures amazing creations that has been with us for hundreds of millions of years. Its a key sense for humans, but one we often take for granted: that is, until we start losing it or we try and recreate it...

Terminator 2 in 3D reminds us what we've still to learn about AI and robotics

Aug 28, 2017 14:13 pm UTC| Insights & Views Entertainment

The classic science fiction action film Terminator 2: Judgment Day has ticked over its 25th anniversary. To celebrate, director James Cameron went one step further than remastering the original 1991 version and has...

The future of artificial intelligence: two experts disagree

Jul 18, 2017 13:49 pm UTC| Insights & Views Technology

Artificial intelligence (AI) promises to revolutionise our lives, drive our cars, diagnose our health problems, and lead us into a new future where thinking machines do things that were yet to imagine. Or does it? Not...

Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 2: a scientist's review

Apr 24, 2017 13:08 pm UTC| Insights & Views Entertainment

Star-Lord Peter Quill and the gang are back as Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 2 opens in cinemas from today in another outing of the galactic blockbuster. Its one of the most fun films Ive seen in years, combining...

How to make a driverless car 'see' the road ahead

Mar 16, 2017 05:33 am UTC| Technology

Microchip manufacturer Intel has invested heavily in the driverless car race with the latest US$15 billion (A$19.5bn) purchase of Israeli tech company Mobileye. Mobileye develops sensors and intelligence technology...

Economy

China Yuan Hits 32-Month High as Central Bank Manages Appreciation Pace

Chinas yuan strengthened to a fresh 32-month high against the U.S. dollar on Monday, supported by a combination of central bank guidance, a weaker dollar, and seasonal corporate demand ahead of the Lunar New Year. The...

UK Job Vacancies Fall Again as Labour Market Shows Signs of Cooling

Vacancies for jobs in Britain continued to decline in December, reinforcing growing evidence that the UK labour market is cooling after several years of tight conditions. According to the latest survey from online jobs...

Japan Yen Intervention Faces Limits Without Fiscal Reform, Says Noda

Any Japanese government intervention to support the yen is unlikely to have a lasting impact unless it is backed by strong fiscal discipline and credible monetary policy, according to former Finance Minister Yoshihiko...

Rising Yen Pressures Dollar as Markets Brace for Possible Intervention and Fed Signals

The U.S. dollar weakened broadly in early Monday trading as a sharp rise in the Japanese yen heightened market anxiety over potential currency intervention and key upcoming decisions from the Federal Reserve. Investors...

U.S. Stock Futures Slip Ahead of Fed Meeting and Major Tech Earnings

U.S. stock index futures edged lower on Sunday evening as investors prepared for a pivotal week marked by a Federal Reserve policy decision and a heavy slate of corporate earnings. The cautious tone followed a volatile...

Politics

Australia Day Protests Highlight Deep Divisions Over Indigenous Rights and Immigration

Thousands of Australians marked Australia Day on Monday by attending large-scale Invasion Day rallies across major cities, showing support for Indigenous Australians and calling for unity amid growing political and social...

U.S. Security Guarantees for Ukraine Ready as Kyiv Awaits Signing Amid Ongoing Peace Talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has announced that a key U.S. document outlining security guarantees for Ukraine is fully prepared, with Kyiv now waiting for confirmation on when and where it will be signed....

Trump’s Centralized Foreign Policy Sparks Greenland Controversy and Ally Concerns

A recent Reuters report reveals how President Donald Trumps highly centralized foreign policy approach triggered diplomatic shockwaves over Greenland, alarming U.S. allies and even senior officials within his own...

More Than 100 Venezuelan Political Prisoners Released Amid Ongoing Human Rights Scrutiny

At least 104 people identified as political prisoners by a prominent Venezuelan human rights organization were released from detention on Sunday, marking a significant development in Venezuelas ongoing political prisoner...

U.S. Imposes Visa Restrictions on Haiti Transitional Council Over Gang Allegations

The United States has imposed new visa restrictions on members of Haitis Transitional Presidential Council, citing alleged links to gangs and criminal organizations, according to a statement released by the U.S. State...

Science

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Technology

Samsung Set to Begin HBM4 Production for Nvidia and AMD

Samsung Electronics is preparing to begin mass production of its next-generation high-bandwidth memory chips, known as HBM4, as early as next month, according to a source familiar with the matter cited by Reuters. The...

U.S. Lawmakers Demand Scrutiny of TikTok-ByteDance Deal Amid National Security Concerns

U.S. lawmakers are calling for closer congressional scrutiny of a new deal involving TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance, raising fresh concerns about national security, data privacy, and potential Chinese...

Ericsson Plans SEK 25 Billion Shareholder Returns as Margins Improve Despite Flat Network Market

Swedens telecom equipment giant Ericsson announced plans to significantly boost shareholder returns after reporting a sharp rise in net cash and continued margin improvements, even as the global mobile network market...

Microsoft Restores Microsoft 365 Services After Widespread Outage

Microsoft confirmed on Friday that it has fully restored access to its Microsoft 365 productivity suite following a widespread service outage that disrupted users across multiple regions, particularly in North America. The...

Tesla Plans FSD Subscription Price Hikes as Autonomous Capabilities Advance

Teslas Full Self-Driving (FSD) software is set to become more expensive over time as its technology improves, according to CEO Elon Musk. The announcement comes as Tesla Inc. continues its transition away from a one-time...