Andrew Glennerster will be giving a talk at the 5th iNAV Symposium, a premier scientific conference on navigation, held in-person from June 17-21, 2024 in Merano, Italy.
“A canvas for spikes”
Andrew’s talk is about a representation that we have not discovered yet, but which we know must exist; namely the representation of a scene that survives movements of the head and eyes, whether this is large scale navigation or the very smallest saccades. The brain is able to store the contingency between a very large number of contexts (sensory-plus-motivational) in which it would trigger particular actions (or other output). In reinforcement learning, this is described as learning a ‘policy’. If we could explain spatial perception using only the brain’s ability to store a policy, we would have made important progress towards understanding 3D perception and navigation.
For more on this exciting idea: Glennerster, A. (2022). Understanding 3D vision as a policy network. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 378(1869), 20210448. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2021.0448
The iNAV Symposium
iNAV is a unique opportunity for researchers, academics, and industry professionals to share their latest research and developments in the field of navigation. With a focus on innovation, collaboration, and practical applications, the conference will feature high-profile speakers, panel discussions, and presentations on a wide range of topics, including:
- systems neuroscience
- human cognitive (neuro)science
- animal behavior
- theoretical neurobiology
- robotics
In addition to the stimulating academic program, the iNAV Symposium will provide ample opportunities for networking and socializing. You will have the chance to connect with like-minded professionals from around the world, share your experiences, and establish new collaborations.